Should Board Directors Be Engaging Institutional Directors Directly, As The NACD Blue Ribbon Report Recommended? If So, What Are The Important Dos And Don’ts

Listen To The Audio Conference

If you missed the original webcast on this subject, sponsored by The Capital Markets Board, you can hear it on our website, www.optimizeronline.com under “What’s New”.

It drew rave reviews from listeners and sparked a series of very lively after-event discussions…Among the top takeaways, always have your corporate governance officer on hand to “moderate” such discussions, keep track of what was said, what was promised, and what follow up actions are in order. The top no-no: Never let a director do one-on-ones… as, rather frighteningly, some have done, according to several listeners.

A few worthwhile additions to the comments of the “blue ribbon panel” of panelists: Following the call, all the panelists realized that a main takeaway – the pressing need to “humanize” corporate and director communications may not have come across as strongly as it did during the ‘prep-call’. Another very important point that got lost in the discussion of many complex issues - where the importance of “speaking with one voice” got a lot of play – this is NOT really about “speaking”…it’s about LISTENING! Another major point, where panelists basically ran out of time, is the pressing need for directors to address strategic issues – without trying to micro-manage the company. Investors consistently identify this as both the most important issue – and the one where director involvement most consistently falls short in their view. Given the response, there will be a second panel on this subject, for sure…after the Annual Meeting Season.

We’ll keep you posted