The late Walter Scott Jr was a giant who never lost sight of what was important

Just when the world needs more than ever to know what a capitalist is supposed to look like, we lost one of the best

This week we lost a giant.

About 40 years ago, I was lucky enough to meet, and then partner with, Walter Scott Jr, who died peacefully last weekend at his home in Omaha, Nebraska.

Four decades ago, I had built the first competitive residential phone company in America, while Walter was chairman and CEO of one of the world’s largest construction companies, the Kiewit Corporation. Under his watch, the Kiewit Corporation had built a competitive phone company for other owners in Chicago, and having not being fully paid for their work, ended up owning one of these companies.

Walter had dispatched his right-hand man to see what a merged company would look like. We merged telcos and began an almost 40-year partnership with a handshake and, later, a one-page document.

Throughout that partnership, I learned that business people should leave everything they touch better than it was before.

I learned that a handshake means something and to treat people fairly, regardless of the circumstances. I learned that giving back to the community is a part of the job description.

I learned that protecting your downside is more important than trying to make an unreasonable profit. In fact, I learned that reasonable is an adjective that should be central to all conversations. I think globally the business community has forgotten these things, and therefore we have lost a giant.

As Warren Buffett said this week: “(We) cannot find a better citizen for a model than Walter Scott.” I’d argue we will have trouble finding a better man, plain and simple.

Just when the world needs more than ever to know what a capitalist is supposed to look like, we lost one of the best, one of the most generous, one of the kindest.

I was always impressed at how Walter had the discipline to be sure we were making a profit, but equally build something of value while training young people and giving back to the community. He did all of these things at the same time.

He believed assets were to be built upon, grown and nurtured, and then left for the next generation to do the same. He believed in improving things, not over-leveraging or stripping jobs, but building value and giving back to the community with the same levels of effort spent on making a profit.

This week we lost a giant. Walter Scott was my north star.

David McCourt is Chairman of National Broadband Ireland an Emmy award winning TV producer and founder and Chairman of Granahan McCourt Capital​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​