I think you both are on to something.  It does seem that there is a lack of focus and direction which I think makes and organization spread in any and all directions that they perceive profit.  With focus in any one direction the org with have path on which they can build off of instead of running in all directions at once with no one ever making a real breakthrough. Being metric based just means that you are more focused on building shareholder value than making long-term decisions.  That works well in some businesses, in others and I think this is more true in Technology this is not a valid long-term strategy.