Adafruit: From Ultimate Driving Machine to Ultimate Rent-Seeking Machine: The BMW Logo Screw Patent.
If you haven’t already heard, BMW’s R&D teams have been busy “innovating.” Unfortunately, they aren’t focusing on the things that actually matter—like stellar engine performance or the legendary driving dynamics that gearheads love. Instead, the C-suite execs decided that the best use of their engineering budget was to design a proprietary security screw specifically intended to prevent BMW drivers from fixing their own cars.
I think the focus on the shareholder perceptions is the core issue. It’s compounded by the short term interests of said shareholders.
That short term focus causes a lot of damage to a lot of people.
But, of course, too many shareholders are sociopathically focused on their own enrichment with absolutely zero concern for the harms thay cause to the rest of society.