February 24, 2025· 44 min

Here's What It Takes to Make a Great Company

David Rosenthal Ben Gilbert

Orality

Model

84%

Oral-dominant (speeches, podcasts, storytelling)

Speaker Breakdown

HostTracy Alloway(1,120 words)

M:29%

HostJoe Weisenthal(2,711 words)

M:28%

GuestDavid Rosenthal(1,521 words)

M:93%

GuestBen Gilbert(2,199 words)

M:94%

Oral Indicators

Agonistic34%

very, basically, literally

Engagement74%

you, our, your

Memory Aids100%

listen, now, right

Repetition100%

like (132x), know (98x), it's (65x)

Parallelism70%

And Joe Wasenthal...., But in the meantime, you can f..., And I'm Joe Weisenthal....

Sound Patterns58%

49 question(s), alliteration: "markets move", alliteration: "barclays brief"

Formulaic Phrases5%

you know what, i mean

Literate Indicators

Hedging7%

quite, maybe, could

Passive Voice2%

be announced, is located, is determined

Abstract Nouns23%

investment, fiction, nonfiction

Subordination8%

because, thus, though

Sentence Length32%

Avg: 13.0 words/sentence

Word Complexity48%

investment, analyze, anticipate

Academic Markers4%

according to

Impersonal Style26%

619 personal pronouns found

Descriptive Style91%

basically, slowly, really

Description

People love listening to stories about making it big, and there are no shortage of success stories in the world of global business. There's TSMC, which has grown to become the most important producer of semiconductors. There's Hermès, which has been a power player in luxury consumer goods for over a hundred years now. Or how about Starbucks, Berkshire Hathaway, Renaissance Technologies, or Ikea? The list goes on and on. But what actually makes a company great? And why do some businesses succeed where others fail? The Acquired podcast has become a must-listen for their study of some of the most interesting companies in the world. In this episode, we speak with Acquired co-hosts Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal, about what makes a business truly great. Read More: The Five Habits of Highly Successful Companies Companies to Watch in 2025 Only Bloomberg subscribers can get the Odd Lots newsletter in their inbox each week, plus unlimited access to the site and app. Subscribe at bloomberg.com/subscriptions/oddlots See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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