The collection was formed over 50 years, with an eye "for the perfect line, profile and shape, in a magical way that cannot be improved upon, " says Charles Cator, chairman of Christie's furniture department.

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Not that the Carlton boss is one to throw money around recklessly - he has built his empire on an aggressive buying strategy, but keeps a firm eye on the bottom line, abhoring debt and keeping what he calls "old-fashioned" accounts.

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The metrics that impact your bottom line today may change tomorrow, so managers need to keep an eye on their models and assumptions.

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These include disciplined project management skills that will allow a company to process a resource play as efficiently as if it were an assembly line, repetitively drilling and fracking and completing wells one after another with a rabid eye on cost control.

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Duncan Miles, an Englishman who plays a member of the French 45th Regiment of line infantry, recalls having a tear in his eye as Mr. Schneider tipped his two-cornered hat to the troops during a re-creation of the 1806 battle of the Jena.

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