Session 05 · Capital Allocation
Capital Hierarchy
Where does your company place capital today — and tomorrow?
Every CEO faces the same four levers for deploying surplus capital. The order and weight you assign to them reveals your real strategic priorities — not the ones on the slide deck.
Start by ordering these four options from most important to least important for your business right now.
Reinvest
Deploy capital back into the core business — organic growth, capacity, technology, talent.
M&A
Acquire or merge with another business to accelerate growth, enter new markets, or consolidate.
Dividends
Return cash to shareholders through regular, predictable dividend payments.
Buybacks
Repurchase our own shares to return capital, signal confidence, and improve per-share metrics.