A survey of 100 MBA students at leading business schools in the UK has revealed what the business leaders of the future consider to be the best business decisions ever.
The survey, which was conducted on behalf of the Guinness Storehouse, ranks the decision by Arthur Guiness to sign to sign a 9000-year lease on a disused brewery at St James's Gate, Dublin for an annual rent of just £45, as one of the top ten business moves.
The survey was undertaken to mark the anniversary of that lease which was signed on New Years Eve 1759.
The top ten decisions according to the survey are:
1. George Lucas convincing 20th Century Fox to give him the merchandising and sequel rights for Star Wars, in return for cutting his directing fee by $500,000.
2. Bill Gates' Microsoft launching the 'Windows' application in 1985, promising an easy-to-use graphical interface which would revolutionise computer usage.
3. Dr John Pemberton, working in a small pharmacy in Atlanta in May 1886, produced a brown fizzy drink. On the suggestion of his bookkeeper, he decided to call it Coca-Cola, bottle it and sell it at the soda fountain.
4. A toothpaste company boosting sales without increasing the number of its customers or the amount of times they brushed their teeth; the company simply increased the size of the hole in the tube, so consumers used it more quickly.
5. Arthur Guinness signing a 9000-year lease in St James's Gate, Dublin in 1759 to ensure he would have a continuous supply of water, paving the way for the world famous beer, which is now available across the globe.
6. Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel opening the first gambling resort in a desert in 1946. He filled 40 acres of the desert with imported lawns, cork tress, live flamingos and artificial ponds. Las Vegas was born.
7. A match company saving millions, purely by removing the strike from one side of the box.
8. Richard Branson leaving University to set up his own recording studio.
9. Levi Strauss stopping the sale of canvas tents and wagon covers to those joining the Californian Gold Rush in 1850, and instead concentrating on durable trousers.
10. Walt Disney renaming his Mortimer Mouse character Mickey and creating an entertainment icon.