Gosling's Grouse: Personal alpha

Personal alpha

'The Great One' is a subject of much debate for academics, pundits and punters alike. Take sport. Just how important is the manager? Is Jose Mourinho really ‘The Special One'?

In business, how much difference does the CEO make to the fortunes of the business? Is it the sector the business is in which makes the most difference? In sport, economists have calculated that the manager accounts for ‘only’ about 15% of the outcome. But given that high level sport is about small margins, this 15% could be viewed as being very significant. In business, equally, economists have assessed it is the industry, not the leader, that is the most crucial factor. Although you might argue that without Steve Jobs or Bill Gates, Apple or Microsoft might not have existed in the f...