I was initially very skeptical of this idea and I still am. Like many threads have pointed below, long term strategy is super easy to game. Oh 'we haven't made any money this quarter because we are debating and finalizing our long term goals'. This could become the anathema of rapid iteration.

NVidia and FB are perfect examples of consistent performance Q over Q. That doesn't mean they don't have a long term vision. I'm sure there are many such companies that I haven't heard of.

Companies not going public has little or nothing to do with the focus on short term earnings. Companies are not going public because 1. There are alternative sources of cheap cash PE funds etc. 2. The cost of doing an IPO is incredibly high (in terms of time). 3. Associated processes Sarbanes-Ox etc are a pain to manage.

CEOs are willing to sacrifice some equity to avoid all these hassles and remain private.