Success Quote by Tom Hicks

A businessman’s bluntest creed is often disguised as advice, and Tom Hicks’ line lands with that kind of boardroom clarity. “The best thing we can do is develop our own” sounds modest, even civic-minded, but it’s really a statement about control: build internally, own the pipeline, minimize dependence on outsiders who can raise prices, walk away, or demand concessions. In a world where growth is frequently purchased - via acquisitions, star hires, blockbuster deals - Hicks is praising the slower, less glamorous alternative that compounds quietly: talent development, homegrown products, proprietary systems, organizational muscle.

The phrasing matters. “The best thing” is not “a good thing”; it’s a hierarchy-setting claim, the kind leaders use to discipline a room drifting toward flashy shortcuts. “We can do” frames it as capability, not ideology: the point isn’t moral purity, it’s strategic advantage. “Our own” does the heaviest lifting, signaling identity and loyalty while also hinting at asset capture. What you develop “yourself” is likelier to be aligned to your culture, your timeline, your margins. It’s also likelier to keep bargaining power on your side.

Contextually, this is a classic response to volatility: markets shift, external talent gets expensive, competitors poach, and purchased success arrives with integration headaches. Hicks’ subtext is a bet that the most durable edge isn’t bought; it’s cultivated - and therefore harder for rivals to copy.