Page 257 - Executive Warfare

The New Bosses

Second, you must be prepared to make your case to the analysts. At
John Hancock, we had analysts attack us on a number of issues, and they
often simply had the facts wrong. So
give them the correct facts.
Third, don’t try to hide your mis- MAKE SURE THAT
takes. If you are wrong and an analyst is YOUR
right, then get out in front of it and ORGANIZATION HAS
admit,“Yes, we blew this one.”This way, EXCELLENT
you may convert those analysts who INVESTOR
don’t like your stock. RELATIONS PEOPLE
Of course, some analysts are not con- WHO ARE
vertible. And being on the spit at meet- RESPECTED BY THE
ings and on conference calls, only to be ANALYSTS WHO
probed by them, is not a lot of fun. I’ve FOLLOW YOUR
listened to thousands of analyst confer- INDUSTRY.
ence calls over the years, and I’ve heard
a number of CEOs and CFOs blow their
cool under pressure. Generally, they call the analyst some form of nin-
compoop.
This is not recommended. Sure, you’ll get a few “attaboys” in the
company cafeteria afterward, but you will pay for it. Not only will there
be investors listening in who may then
rethink your stock, but the other ana-
lysts will now swarm as if you’ve THERE IS NO
attacked the whole hive. Worst of all, UPSIDE TO GETTING
you’ve just enhanced the nincompoop PERSONAL WITH
analyst’s reputation, since it’s a badge ANALYSTS.
of honor among analysts to ask such
probing questions that management gets ticked off. There is no upside
to getting personal with analysts.
On the other hand, I don’t believe in simply lying down, either. At one
meeting, an analyst was so eager to argue with me about our Internet

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