We recently had a tornado in New Jersey. I know it’s hard to believe. One of my business partners said his wife had his kids sleep in the basement given the dramatic forecast. Her instincts were right considering that the tornado touched down less than 25 miles from their house....
Analysts are not your friends. At least that's what we tell executives when we prepare them to interact with Wall Street for the first time. Rather, analysts are analysts. They get paid to study, scrutinize and provide investment opinions about your company, your peers, and your industry. They work in a very competitive environment....
Creating a zero injury workplace requires the commitment of every employee. That certainly makes sense but some corporations employ thousands of individuals. So how can you influence the behavior of so many people and drive the cultural change needed to create a safety culture? Buy-in is crucial but success can only occur when employees are...
A CFO at a technology company in turnaround mode once asked me about the merits of hosting an investor day. Management had been demonstrating progress in executing the company’s strategy and the stock was in recovery mode. Profitability was on the mend and the company continued to return a sizeable amount of cash to shareholders. But, it remained...
The process of directly interacting with the investment community is an increasingly important responsibility for IROs, CFOs and other investor-facing executives, given a myriad of changes in the regulatory, research and investing environments. Through their roles in communicating with the Street, these executives play a key part in supporting informed opinions regarding the companies that...
Remember when marketing was such a big part of investor relations? It still is – yet so much of the weight is now being carried by sell-side analysts. The concierge model, as some call it, has become an increasingly important part of analysts’ roles these days. They have to open doors for institutional investors to...
I can remember preparing a CEO for an IPO years ago and there was some concern that he was personally selling too many shares in the offering. When management sells into an IPO, it can send a signal that growth is slowing. After all, if you believe in the company's investment potential, why would you...
Many investment stories will fail – at least temporarily – at some point. They have to – because they are what they are – stories – and rarely do they fully take into account downside scenarios or the various bumps that may surface on what can be a rough road to value creation. That’s why...