Putting the (shareholder) cart before the (customer) horse?

 

 

In 2008, while speaking with Allstate Insurance Company claim reps who had stubbornly been withholding the final $12k insurance claim balance due one of my insured property owner customers who had suffered damage to their property after a severe wind and hail storm had blown through town, I came across an on line article mentioning a comment made by Allstate President Tom Wilson at an Allstate shareholders meeting that went like this:  "Our obligation is to earn a return for our shareholders."  While I didn't disagree with his comment, I did find fault with the way he was going about achieving that goal - which was (and is still the case today) to maximize shareholder returns by underpaying and denying hundreds of millions of dollars-worth of his insured customers legitimate property damage claims.   

After reading his quote, I wrote a letter directly to Wilson and his then President of Allstate P&C that reminded both of the failures of Enron, WorldCom, Adelphia and others and the life changing examples of the executives in charge of those companies who had thought it was a wise idea to put shareholder returns ahead of customer service.  I then gave Wilson all the reasons he needed to want to make sure that the final claim payment due my customer would be immediately forthcoming.  He did, as a matter of fact, make sure that the final claim payment was sent to my customer within a week of receiving my letter.  

Shareholder value capitalism has left the building...

To the wise corporate director as well as C-Suite executive who, with the legal doctrine of conscious avoidance always top of mind, has been paying attention these days, it has become abundantly clear that the flawed premise behind shareholder value capitalism that placed maximum shareholder returns and short term gains ahead of all else has become an outdated and outmoded concept.  Former GE CEO Jack Welch once called the practice, "the dumbest idea in the world."  He added that, "Shareholder value is a result, not a strategy...your main constituencies are your employees, your customers and your products."  In Roger Martin’s 2010 Harvard Business Review article entitled “The Age Of Customer Capitalism” he wrote; “the goal of shareholder value maximization and the compensation approach that goes with it are bad for shareholders."

It is also a practice that, as illustrated in the Boston University Law Review excerpt shown below, is likely to attract the attention of todays more astute individual and institutional shareholders who are no longer willing to passively stand aside and trust that corporate directors and C-Suite execs, including those representing roofing and related building product distribution companies, are not still subscribing to the outmoded and no longer viable shareholder value maximization model. 

 

BOSTON UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW

FROM APATHY TO ACTIVISM: THE EMERGENCE, IMPACT, AND FUTURE OF SHAREHOLDER ACTIVISM AS THE NEW CORPORATE GOVERNANCE NORM

"Today, the public company shareholder is far from apathetic. Such shareholders have actively sought to increase their voting power and influence over director elections and other important corporate matters.  Not only have shareholders been voting, but they also have been voting against management preferences. Moreover, shareholders increasingly have begun to request, and in some instances demand, that corporate officers and directors engage with them around a range of issues."  Lisa M. Fairfax

 

Then there is all of the endless hype touted by some corporate leaders regarding up and coming AI based CRM and related programs that promise to dramatically increase productivity (and therefore shareholder values) to new heights never before achieved.   The linked video below however, provides a more objective and realistic look at the AI promise.  

 

From the MIT Sloan Management Review on AI - 5/28/25

"Many analysts predict that AI will transform the global economy, but MIT economist Daron Acemoglu offers a contrasting view. In this video, he explains why AI might automate only 5% of tasks and add just 1% to global GDP over the next decade, and he shares his perspective on how business leaders should approach AI investments."

 

Suggesting that "exceptional shareholder value" will be achieved through the use of CRM's, AI, M&A's and employee input may sound impressive but it really tells potential and existing individual, institutional and insider shareholders nothing about how that will actually be accomplished.  Predicting "exceptional shareholder value" in order to attract investors while not taking meaningful and substantive action that would allow the building products distribution company to truly achieve that goal is, at the very least, misleading.  At its worst, it is, in my experienced opinion, a dereliction of duty that would not likely survive SEC "safe harbor" or proper "conscious avoidance" scrutiny.  

When it comes to the business of both commercial and residential new build and retail remodel construction contracting, those AI driven CRM and related AI programs so highly promoted by building product sellers as the end all solution, will undoubtedly prove somewhat helpful in increasing efficiencies - such as product ordering, scheduling, billing, etc.  They will not and cannot however, help storm damage restoration contractors and their insured customers to overcome the hurdles and obstacles intentionally placed in their way over the past fifteen years by the P&C insurance industry which are the primary cause of the billions of dollars-worth of annually missed roofing, siding, and related building product materials orders across the USA.  

The Problem and the Solution

Up until the year 2010, contracting to repair the storm damaged properties of insured property owners was still a relatively simple process.  Since 2010 however, with the P&C insurance industry's introduction of UPPA and increasingly aggressive push to save money by unfairly under estimating and/or denying billions of dollars worth of their insured customers legitimate property damage claims, the storm damage restoration industry has been on a continual downward and quite costly spiral.

Because of the serious lack of in depth understanding on how the property damage insurance restoration process really works - starting with building product distribution company shareholders/investors, to company directors to C-Suite executives and on down the line to the storm damage restoration contractors who actually order and pay for the needed building products, the distributors of those building products have, in Toto since 2010, been missing out on billions of dollars worth of annual building product sales revenues.  The same problem exists with both privately and publicly held distribution companies that sell roofing, siding, and related building products to storm damage restoration construction contractors.  

As a result of those annually missed building product sales revenues, regardless of hopeful "exceptional shareholder value" predictions made by building product distribution company leadership to investors who have or are considering investing their hard earned money with a building product distribution company, until the problem and the causes behind the losses is addressed - which is primarily a result of inadequate to non-existent advanced storm damage restoration contractor process training, shareholder values will never prove exceptional.

By getting my advanced and one of a kind top down approach 3RSystems, LLC construction, insurance & investment, and legal industry experience based storm damage restoration into the hands of their thousands of valued storm damage restoration contractor customers however, the building products distribution company with the wisdom to invest a tiny fraction of their profits into getting the training program into their storm damage restoration contractor customers hands will take a number one position in the industry.  

As the only building products distributor licensed to offer the training program, that company will be in a powerful position to further accelerate the recapture of those billions of dollars-worth of annually missed building product sales revenues.  Also to consider is the fact that once the building product company's competitors' storm damage restoration contractor customers learn about the program, they will most certainly be motivated to bring their business over to the building products distribution company that made the investment so they can take full advantage of the training.  

Considering the amount of money storm damage restoration contractors pay to building product distribution companies every year for their products and services, it is appropriate that building products distributors make the small investment needed to make advanced training available to their valued storm damage restoration contractor customers.  Only then will the building product distribution company who does make the investment be able to honestly and truly achieve maximum ROI for the shareholders who have placed both their money and their trust in them.

Having been clearly been made aware of the problem by me over the recent past, what have the leaders from the top three building products distribution companies done to solve it?  Little to nothing, actually - so far, which leads me to believe that they don't view their storm damage restoration contractor customers, as Jack Welch once put it, as one of their main constituents.         

STORM DAMAGE RESTORATION CONTRACTORS - If a building products distributor is not willing to invest a small fraction of the profits they have earned as a result of your building product orders into getting advanced training into your hands, they don't deserve your business.

 

Involvement in Managed Repair Programs likely implicates participants as complicit 

 

STORM DAMAGE RESTORATION CONTRACTOR food for thought:

Which building products distributor deserves your valuable business? 

 

ABC Supply Company, Diane Hendricks - Chair.  As the number one roofing and related building products distributor in the country, Diane privately holds one hundred percent of the company shares.  Neither Diane nor any of her company leadership has ever taken any substantive action to, or shown any interest in, helping to solve the problem..

SRS/HOME DEPOT, Dan Tinker/Ted Decker - President(s).  It is my understanding that Tinker has done a good job for his employees.  However, neither his directors nor C-Suite executives have shown any substantive storm damage restoration process knowledge or competence and have never done much of anything for his/their Pro storm damage restoration contractor customers to help them to advance their training.  

QXO, Brad Jacobs - Chair/CEO.  Although he may be proficient regarding AI and M&A, neither Jacobs nor any of QXO's newly appointed directors or C-Suite executives has shown any substantive storm damage restoration process knowledge or competence.  Jacobs could learn a lot by following the examples of his world famous neighbor just minutes to the north of his Palm Beach residence who is also the Father-in-Law to QXO investor and Independent Director and Affinity Partners head, Jared Kushner.  Although growing a business through mergers and acquisitions is a business strategy, so is profit maximization which, in relation to the business of building products distribution, can only be achieved by an educated storm damage restoration contractor customer base.  Jacobs predecessor Julian Francis (Beacon) proved to be just as uninformed, unresponsive, and disinterested.  

Storm damage restoration contractors - with the value (and profits) you bring to building product distributors every year in mind, you should only give your valuable business to the building products distributor who puts your interests ahead of shareholder values by getting proven and advanced 3RSystems, LLC storm damage restoration contractor training in your hands.  When that is done, you, the building products distribution company, and their shareholders will all make more money than ever.

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As President of 3RSystems, LLC and Regulatory Compliance Administrator with the American Policyholder Association (APA), great progress is being made in, as shown here, exposing the problem, holding the P&C insurance industry, their TPA's, and industry friendly politicians accountable, and changing the storm damage insurance claims restoration process landscape to better serve the American insurance buying public.  Building product distributors who likely have little but should take great interest in how the insurance restoration process should work and how it directly affects their businesses, need to re-think the value of the business their storm damage restoration contractor customers bring to them and make 3RSystems, LLC storm damage restoration contractor training available to them - ASAP.

Just imagine the results of putting your storm damage restoration contractor customers first by getting the training as described above into their hands.  In the process, you will have built the strongest army of elite storm damage restoration contractors in the country who will be equipped to overcome most anything the P&C insurance industry places in their way.  As more and more of your competitors storm damage restoration contractor customers learn about the program, they'll be moving their business over to your building products distribution company en masse.  Also Imagine, the response of your current and potential shareholders when they learn about the changes you have made which will, without question, drive their shareholder values to levels never before achieved by a building products distribution company as well as attract high value M&A candidates.

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BUILDING PRODUCT DISTRIBUTION COMPANY INVESTORS 

Do your due diligence in regards to investing your hard earned money in any building products distribution company - no matter whose name is behind it.  As shown above, "exceptional shareholder value" is a relative term.  If the distribution company you are considering investing in or have already invested in has not provided the recommended 3RSystems, LLC training to their storm damage restoration contractor customers, shareholder values will never reach the level of exceptional.  3RSystems, LLC will be advising all potential and existing institutional investors to consider whether or not, based on what has been revealed above, they should invest in or remain invested in any particular building products distribution company.  If you are invested in any of the above named companies, if they have not provided the recommended 3RSystems, LLC training to their storm damage restoration contractors, I recommend that you sell your interest in that company.  Storm Damage Restoration contractors are recommended to give their valuable business to the building products distributor that does provide the training to their storm damage restoration contractors.  

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So, how does a guy who barely made it though high school achieve, both in and out of court, what is shown in his bio on the "About" page of this website against numerous highly educated attorneys and their corrupt clients, a corrupt big city District Court Judge, numerous corrupt USA multi-million dollar valued automobile dealership groups, a corrupt nationally known near billion dollar flooring company, misguided law enforcement officials at various levels from different states, a corrupt Cypress based software company, various USA and Switzerland based property & casualty insurance company CEO's, corrupt high profile property management companies and their employees and vendors, and a internationally known many decades old investment organization?   Why would a big city Chief Judge refer him to a sitting Supreme Court Chief Justice who personally approved of him personally threatening a corrupt District Court Judge with a criminal charge?  Why would leaders of some of the country's most well know multi-billion dollar corporations seek his advice on various financial matters?   

As evidenced above, over a number of years, by making it clear to many in high positions and places of influence that, contrary to their own misguided beliefs, they were not as smart as they once thought themselves to be, many serious wrongs have been made right.  That is ultimately what this website is all about and what getting advanced and proven 3RSystems, LLC storm damage restoration contractor training into the hands of pro storm damage restoration contractors will help to accomplish. 

Whichever building products distributor has the wisdom to understand what I have presented, and therefore, also understands the need to and the benefit of getting my advanced and proven 3RSystems, LLC storm damage restoration contractor training into the hands of their valued storm damage restoration contractors, do contact me through the contact link near the top of the page to learn how to put the program in place at your company.  Your storm damage restoration contractor customers, your employees, and your shareholders will all thank you for it.

Much of my time is currently being spent completing two books that will provide readers with unique experienced based perspectives that compare how much of the world works and how it should really work, and a law student curriculum that will teach young law students the difference between how the legal system works and how it should really work from a proven and winning Pro Se litigant based perspective.  However, once an agreement has been reached to place my 3RSystems, LLC storm damage restoration contractor training program with the building products distribution company that possesses the wisdom to see the value in making the training available to their thousands of valued storm damage restoration contractor customers, I will place my other pursuits on hold and focus my energies exclusively on promoting the program to their storm damage restoration contractors and educating them on the process.  

Sincerely,

Larry M. Burtis

President/CEO, 3RSystems, LLC

 

 

 

 

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