The Quiet Power of One Share

A story, quote, and lesson about why your voice is never too small

Don’t be afraid to speak up.

In recent months, Netflix has been chasing something bigger than just “the next hit.” It’s been chasing gravity.

So when news broke that Netflix had struck an agreement to buy Warner Bros. Discovery’s studios and streaming assets for $72 billion, it felt like the natural next step in the streaming arms race: more IP, more prestige, more leverage. HBO. Warner Bros. DC. A content engine that could feed the algorithm for a decade.

But the story didn’t end with a handshake.

Because within days, Paramount Skydance jumped in with something louder and messier: a $108.4 billion hostile bid, offering $30 per share in cash for the entire company. And unlike a friendly merger, a hostile bid doesn’t depend on winning over the executives first. It goes around the boardroom and heads straight for the people holding the shares.

Warner Bros. caught in the crosshairs of both Netflix and Paramount. Credit: Natalia Montiel

When Paramount made its move, Warner’s board told shareholders to “take no action at this time.” Netflix’s side pushed back too, with Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos arguing that promised “synergies” often really mean cutting jobs, and that Netflix wasn’t trying to build value by shrinking the industry.

And hovering over all of it is the reality that these deals aren’t decided by vibes or headlines. They’re decided by process: shareholder votes, tender offers, regulatory reviews, breakup fees, and a lot of lawyers earning their December bonuses.

Which brings us to the surprising human lesson hiding inside a corporate cage match: Even if you’re “just one of the masses,” you’re still a decision-maker in the system you’re part of.

Because in a tender offer, every share counts. And the difference between a giant deal going through or collapsing can come down to whether enough individuals choose to act.

“It is not too late to realize the benefits of Paramount’s proposal if you choose to act now and tender your shares.”

- David Ellison, Paramount CEO in a letter urging WBD shareholders to back Paramount’s bid.

It’s easy to read that line as corporate persuasion. But step back, and it’s also an admission of something deeper: The “small” people matter.

Not because they have the loudest megaphone. But because systems, companies, communities, even families, are often shaped by quiet participation. The vote you assume won’t matter. The message you don’t send because you think it won’t change anything. The concern you swallow to “keep the peace.” The idea you keep to yourself because you don’t feel important enough to say it out loud.

Most of us live like we’re background characters in someone else’s movie.

We assume impact belongs to presidents, CEOs, influencers, the confident, the chosen. And if we’re honest, sometimes we hide behind that belief because it’s safer. If our voice “doesn’t matter,” then we don’t have to risk being wrong. Or awkward. Or ignored.

But this takeover drama shows what’s true in markets and in life: You don’t need majority ownership to have agency. You just need intention, and the courage to use your seat at the table.

That applies everywhere.

In government, your voice shows up as a vote, a local meeting, a call, a conversation, a refusal to accept “that’s just how it is.” In your workplace, your voice can be the difference between a bad culture staying normalized or finally being challenged. In friendships and family, your voice can be the moment truth enters the room, especially when everyone else is silently hoping someone else will say it first.

Will people always listen? No.

But the point is this: the world changes when enough individuals stop underestimating themselves.

So now I ask you:

Where have you been telling yourself your voice is “too small” when it might be exactly the missing piece needed to move the future in a better direction?

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