executive transition

Executive Transition Part II: Preparing Your Executive

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If you missed part I of our series on executive transition, click here to read more about how to prepare for planned or unplanned c-suite changes.

Last time, we discussed how to prepare your organization for an executive transition. Because stakeholders watch these types of big transformations carefully for any signs, positive or negative, of what the future will bring, it is crucial to take the necessary steps to get everyone on the same page.

By far, the most important element of a successful c-suite transition is properly preparing your executive. This is where investor relations officers and communicators really earn their keep. Both roles play a critical role in supporting and enabling a successful executive transition.

Prepare to prepare your new executive.

First, take some time to gather key resources to help your new executive transition smoothly. For instance, create a portfolio including the most recent corporate overview, key messaging statements, shareholder overview, previous public statements, an analysis of the competitive landscape, key events/timing, etc.

Next, before you begin strategizing, put yourself in the shoes of your new executive. Ask yourself and your team crucial questions, for example: Is the new leader, whether interim or permanent, an internal hire or will she need to be brought up to speed on your organization’s culture?

Keep in mind that while the new executive may have been brought on to accomplish specific goals, the more she knows about the organization as a whole, the better able she will be to accomplish these specific goals. So, don’t be afraid to ask the new executive what support she needs from you during this transition period.

Answers to these questions will help you better enable your new executive to smoothly enter her new role. Once you’ve asked and answered these critical questions, you can now put yourself in the shoes of your key stakeholder groups and begin the hard work of prepping your executive for the transition:

1. Define key messages.

As discussed last week, executive transition = risk. Our communications goal throughout this process is to make the change appear less risky, insofar as possible. An orderly transition will give investors, employees, and customers confidence that the company, whether public or non-public, is in control of the transition.

What does this look like in practice? It means, at a minimum, defining key messages around the following: (a) any insight you can provide into the reasons for the change, (b) why the new executive is the right hire at the right time, and (c) reinforcement of key company strategic messages.

(a) Why did the previous C-suite executive leave?

Present a clear rationale for the change, whether it was by choice or not. That said, word choice in describing the transition is absolutely important. Aim for language that is natural, concise, and respectful to all transitioning parties.

Keep in mind that communications during this time can be a delicate balancing act between signaling Board control over the transition, legal sensitivities, and acknowledging organization strategy. So, be prepared for (and even welcome) multiple perspectives as this verbiage works through internal approval processes.

Even under the best of circumstances, there will be speculation about why the previous executive left. This makes it even more important to ensure that lines of communication are clear. Transparency will ensure that the company isn’t perceived as holding back information from stakeholders.

Whatever words you choose, be sure to avoid anything that makes transition communications appear confusing or bitter, as this can stoke speculation, spook investors and employees, and make for a generally unproductive business environment.

(b) Why is the new executive the right hire at the right time?

It’s important to have a clear message about why the new c-suite executive is the right man or woman to take on the job. Discuss the strategic criteria for this hire. What differentiates your executive from his or her peers? Leverage any previous experience leading similar organizations or leading through similar market changes.

Especially if this transition was unexpected, anything you can say to emphasize that your new executive has been preparing to step into this ideal position at this moment, is helpful. Don’t be afraid to think big here. Talk to your Board and your new executive about his vision for the future of the company and find creative ways to work that into your messaging.

(c) How does this support the company’s strategy?

Finally, make sure to re-emphasize the company strategy. This applies whether the overall strategy is changing (e.g., because the previous CEO was fired due to poor performance in shifting market conditions) or the basic strategy is staying the same, while the new leader is free to make small tweaks to business operations.

Either way, it’s a good time to revisit the corporate vision and mission to remind stakeholders that the fundamentals will remain solid through this period of transition. Bonus points for showing how the new executive has demonstrated strengths in key strategic areas.

2. Allow for acclimation.

To the extent possible, give your executive some time to get her feet on the ground and learn more about how the organization runs. Most executives will want at least a 30-day transition period. However, depending on the business circumstances this is not always possible. It’s best to be upfront with your executive about the timeframe from the beginning.

At the very least, be sure to carve out time before key meetings with employees, investors, and customers to prepare. Discuss the stakeholder group personalities, hot buttons, previous conversations/promises/expectations, and the competitive environment.

3. Consider key prep strategies.

Initial interactions with key stakeholders should reflect: (a) reasons the executive chose your organization and (b) assurance that the early stages will be about listening to key stakeholders to best understand their view and expectations for the organization.

If possible, it is a great idea to organize listening sessions with stakeholder groups during this transitional period. These sessions, can provide your executive with the opportunity to hear directly from employees, top shareholders, and key customers and get them out of the “headquarters bubble.” It can also demonstrate that the company is committed to listening to diverse perspectives during this time of transition.

If your company is public, it’s crucial to prep your new executive on RegFD, especially your firm’s policies regarding RegFD and the quiet period. Make certain that your executive is prepped to handle impromptu questions (in the elevator, at a conference, etc.) by returning to their key message of why he took the job and his commitment to listening to stakeholders for the first 30-60 days.

Along these lines, roleplay likely Q&A with key stakeholder groups. Remind your executive that it’s better to stick to what she knows even if it means not fully answering the question, than going off-script and saying something inaccurate.

As much as you aim to control communications, though, there will be questions, calls, emails sent to IR, CEO, CFO, CCO, anyone who can be reached. Make sure that appropriate communications roles are established and shared. Generally speaking, it is safest to have all questions routed to media relations and investor relations. From there, you can assess and engage your executive as appropriate.

4. Consider your best public introduction strategy.

Is an industry-specific trade show or other important event coming up? This might offer a good opportunity to introduce your new executive in a lower key environment and have key customer or partner intro meetings. These types of events are also good opportunities to conduct initial media interviews.

Do you need more time for your executive to get her feet on the ground? Discuss and agree on a timeframe to set market expectations. Then make sure this information is broadly communicated to key channels through press releases, 8-Ks, internal messaging, etc.

For example, you might include a sentence in an employee update that says, “Jane Doe expects to be meeting with our key customer accounts over the next 30 days and will visit our major employee population centers over the next 90 days.” When speaking to external stakeholders, set expectations with a comment such as, “John Doe will participate in XYZ conference/earnings call/investor day/etc. during the next few months.”

When it comes to ushering in a successful executive transition, there are several moving parts to keep in mind. As complicated as executive transitions can be, they are also exciting times for companies.

It definitely pays to think through your strategy and prepare your executive. Audacia Strategies can help make your executive transition as smooth as possible. We’d love to work with your team to develop the right strategy and outreach plan. Contact us to get started!

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Executive Transition - Handshake

Executive Transition Part I: Planning is Not Optional

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Stakeholders can learn a lot from watching an organization go through executive transition. Handled well, c-suite transitions impart confidence in the organization and its future direction. Handled poorly, leadership changes can alert investors to bigger issues within the organization, whether material or merely perceived.

The c-suite (i.e., CEO/CFO, for our purposes today) is the public face of an organization. According to the 2015 Edelman Trust Barometer, an annual study on global trust and credibility, 43% of people say that they trust the CEO as the spokesperson of the company.

Executives embody the credibility of the company. There is a good reason transition of these key leadership roles is watched so closely: as the c-suite goes, so goes the health of a corporation.

In Part I of this two-part series, we’ll talk about the planning and announcement of an executive transition. Stay tuned for Part II when we’ll discuss how to prep your new executive for primetime.

Executive Transition = Financial Risk

We all know there could be any number of perfectly benign reasons for an executive to choose to leave a particular company, knowing this doesn’t make an executive transition any less of a risk in the eyes of stakeholders.

While you may feel energized by the winds of change blowing through your organization, from the perspective of an investor or a customer, a change in leadership introduces an unknown variable, which is just a different way of saying financial risk.

When the current CEO is performing well, there are questions about whether her successor will be able to maintain the momentum. When the current CEO Is performing poorly, there are questions about how quickly her successor might be able to turn things around.

A leadership change can also be unsettling to employees, since the CEO is the cultural leader of an organization. So transitions also raise questions about the cost to organizations in terms of human capital.

Since all eyes are on you, c-suite transitions are really make or break. It’s so important for these types of big changes to be planned and carefully orchestrated. Okay, let’s talk strategy!

2 Types of Transitions: Planned and Unplanned

There are really just two types of c-suite transitions: planned and unplanned. You should have a plan either way! (Now is probably a good time to review my recent post on Crisis Management.)

There are unique challenges associated with each type, but with the right transition strategy in place, you will be equipped to manage unfolding events as much as possible.

1. Planned Executive Transitions.

If you have the luxury of knowing that a c-suite transition will take place, make sure you have a plan to communicate and acclimate external stakeholders (e.g., shareholders, customers), as well as employees.

While executive transition is generally viewed as a risk, there are steps you can take to minimize the risk in the eyes of investors. A well-considered transition plan indicates a healthy corporate succession plan aligned to the company’s stated strategy.

Additionally, if you have the benefit of time and a transition period of anywhere from a few weeks to a few months, it’s an opportunity to engineer a smooth hand-off between executives.

Joint meetings with current and interim leadership, as well as investors, customers, and employees are a strong signal of organizational health during transition. Consider what will infuse your audience with the most confidence.

2. Unplanned Executive Transitions

If a CEO/CFO must step down unexpectedly, be prepared. This means being ready to communicate quickly, transparently, and as completely as possible. At the very least, I recommend having the interim leader identified along with his qualifications as soon as possible and preferably simultaneous with the transition announcement.

You should also discuss the Board’s search process for a permanent leader and criteria for the next leader. Also, discuss Board strategy—particularly, if the transition is a result of the Board wishing to move in a new direction. If possible, a broad timeline for a decision will also help calm stakeholders as there will be key milestones and communications to watch.

It’s always important to communicate as much as possible, as transparently as possible. But during times of executive transition, strong communication is absolutely essential. Communications that appear to be less than forthcoming and/or light on path forward will only breed rumors and ramp up perceived risk.

Keep this quote at the forefront of your communications strategy:

“If you don’t give people information, they will make up something to fill the void.” – Carla O’Dell, Ph.D., President, American Productivity & Quality Center

There will be questions, calls, emails sent to IR, CEO, CFO, CCO, and anyone who can be reached. Make sure that appropriate communications roles are established and shared. This responsibility will generally fall to media relations and investor relations.

Don’t forget about timing

Whether your executive transition has been a long time coming or out of the blue, your communications strategy for transitions should also include strategies around timing. In corporate communications, timing really is everything.

For instance, unexpected transitions raise questions about an organization’s financial health. One way to ease this concern is to consider timing the transition announcement to coincide with a quarterly release. If such timing is impossible, reaffirm or refer to previous transition strategies with which stakeholders are familiar.

It’s also important to announce the transition to employees, simultaneous with an external release. If you announce internally and externally at different times, rumors will fly compounding concerns about who is really steering the ship.

I recommend going so far as to have a specific employee communication plan to address key cultural characteristics and how the c-suite transition will affect the organization from a big picture perspective. When your executive is up to it, set up a town hall meeting where employees can be formally introduced to the new face of the company and have their questions answered.

Next week: we dig deeper into how to prep your executive (interim or permanent) for a successful transition.

In the meantime, if your organization is gearing up for an expected or unexpected transition, Audacia Strategies is here for you. Having the right strategy in place will convert your transition into a transformation. Contact us today to set up your consultation session.

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maintaining strong business relationships

Maintaining Strong Business Relationships: Do You Have a Strategy for Checking In?

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Maintenance is key if you want to preserve your assets. You take your car in for a tune-up every few months. You pay someone to secure and update your website. You even do yoga to maintain a healthy body. But are you maintaining strong business relationships?

In corporate communications, maintaining strong business relationships is a crucial asset. The right relationship can be the difference between getting constantly stonewalled by receptionists and getting the CEO’s direct line. The right relationship can open the door to your next large shareholder or help you gain insight into a potential client leading to a new contract.

Building Better Business Relationships.

Before we talk about maintaining strong business relationships, though, it’s important to consider how to build better relationships in the first place. Regardless of industry, the most successful people in business are relationship builders.

This can sound initially daunting, especially to introverts. But keep in mind that building relationships in business is not rocket science; so don’t overthink it. If you remember what your Kindergarten teacher taught you, you already know how to create strong relationships:

  • Be proactive, not pushy.
  • Listen more than you speak.
  • Don’t be afraid to be vulnerable.
  • Meet face-to-face whenever practical.
  • Be honest and encourage honesty in others.

Establishing business relationships can take time, however, so once you have the ear of influencers in your industry, be sure to continue cultivating these connections.

Don’t simply call people when you need something. You want them to be happy to pick up the phone when you call. Once you have built those core business relationships, it’s time to develop good habits for maintaining and nurturing them.

Is it Time for a Relationship Tune Up?

Don’t worry, I’m not about to suggest that you take a Buzzfeed quiz (as fun as that might be). But I am suggesting that you create systems to guarantee that you take time to check-in with your most important business relationships regularly. I even schedule time in my calendar for what I call relationship tune ups.

Starting the conversation is as easy as stepping away from our desks, inviting one of your connections to have coffee, and asking her what industry trends she’s seeing or what she did last year that worked really well. We often get so busy in our own projects that we lose track of other important initiatives in our organization—and the people that are working hard to make them happen. This can make us forget how nice it feels to be heard. So just ask.

Who Should I Connect With?

I intentionally cultivate relationships with anyone who knows my industry, including (gasp) my competitors; anyone who understands business; and anyone who makes me feel like the best version of myself.

It’s important to build relationships across all segments. If you focus only on building and maintaining strong business relationships with customers, you are ignoring potentially game-changing resources. So, avoid the temptation to write off suppliers and manufacturers just because you’re going after the “big fish” in your industry.

You might be surprised who can help you get to the next level and meet some amazing people along the way!

In 2017, to meet your goals and accelerate growth, keep the following partners on your radar:

1. Business Enablers – Set meetings with departments such as finance, human resources, and legal to help anticipate any big changes that could affect your investors’ bottom line in 2017.

2. Operations – The better you understand the business, the more effective you’ll be at communicating with investors and advising leadership. So talk to the heads of operations to find out what new products or services will be released or what new clients and contracts they are most excited about. Offer to host a town hall meeting sharing your expertise (give us a call if you need ideas here—we have lots of suggestions!) in exchange for getting the chance to see a product demo.

3. Media – Communicate with your media contacts of course, but rather than telling them what you think they should know, ask them what changes they would like to see and what information their audiences would appreciate most.

4. C-Suite Executives – This relationship can be bound by formality. Still, it doesn’t hurt to ask about your working relationship and processes. Is meeting on a quarterly basis working for you? What else could we be doing to help you feel prepared before an investor meeting/town hall/CNBC interview? Is 80 pages of earnings Q&A sufficient? Would you prefer more or less?

5. Peers and Colleagues – Have coffee and ask them what they’re working on or ask for advice. Many people have innovative ideas they keep to themselves until someone asks the right question.

6. Professional Groups – What are the most important resources you need to move your company forward? Rather than trying to reverse engineer everything yourself, pick the brains of those who have already plowed the way ahead of you.

7. Personal and Life – It’s those who are closest to us who can give us the most crucial information about ourselves. Our spouses, friends, children, family often know us better than we even know ourselves. So, ask, “how am I communicating?” “How am I handling stress?” Consider that whatever you are doing at home is probably spilling over somewhere else.

At Audacia Strategies, we specialize in maintaining strong business relationships. We love to help clients solve communications issues. Call us today to schedule a free consultation and we can meet for coffee!

What business relationships will you be working to maintain this year? Let’s continue the conversation in the comments below.

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corporate communications

In Corporate Communications, Timing is Everything

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You might be surprised to hear that corporate communications and standup comedy have something in common—timing is key. Whether you are announcing a corporate merger or delivering a killer punchline, if your timing is off, your message will fall flat.

When corporations have a big announcement to make, a lot of time and energy goes into figuring out precisely how to state the message. What should the press release say or what language should the CEO use when discussing changes with investors?

While it’s certainly important to get the messaging right, keep in mind too that good corporate communication has less to do with what you say, than how you say it.

Let’s consider some important questions to ask when dropping big announcements.

 1. Is your announcement subject to regulatory restrictions?

First, you must consider the federal regulatory rules of your industry. There are most likely rules regarding what you can communicate, to whom, when, and how. So make sure you brush up on the SEC disclosure requirements and corporate communications law relevant to your industry.

Example: Material Announcements

Speaking of regulatory restrictions, Regulation Fair Disclosure (Reg FD) requires all publicly traded companies to release material information to all investors at the same time.

This hasn’t always been the case. In the 1990’s, financial services companies routinely held conference calls with market analysts and some institutional investors giving them in-depth information about the company. Recognizing that this gave institutional investors an unfair advantage over individual investors, the SEC ratified Regulation Fair Disclosure (Reg FD) in 1999.

As a result, companies are required to simultaneously make material announcements to all shareholders. Ideally, leadership would communicate the changes during a scheduled conference call with investors or town hall meeting.

However, if word of a material event or material information is inadvertently leaked to some investors or analysts (i.e., an “unintentional selective disclosure”), as soon as a senior company official learns of the disclosure, she is required to disclose the information publicly. Companies must make the announcement either (a) within 24 hours or (b) by the start of the next day’s trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

2. What are your competitors doing?

How much of a splash your announcement makes, at least partially depends on the behavior of your competition. If you have good news to share, you want to capture as much attention as possible. With bad news, you want to be as transparent and complete as possible in your initial communications to avoid continually referencing the issue and detracting from your broader corporate strategy.

Example: Product Launch

Let’s say you are ready to roll out a new product that will take your industry by storm. Sure, you are excited about the product. But if you rush to make the announcement without a strategy, you risk being overshadowed.

For example, if you know your competition always releases new products on the Tuesday before Christmas, it might seem that you could steal their thunder by announcing on the same day. But you also risk having to share the spotlight with a close competitor. And unless you are confident that your corporate communications team can outshine your competitor, it’s probably best to steer clear of this kind of shouting match.

While there’s no crystal ball to predict what opportunities are on the horizon, waiting a bit before releasing big news can pay off.

3. Does your corporate communications policy respect your staff?

Some announcements affect your internal staff more than shareholders or the general public. For instance, corporate reorganization could mean layoffs for staff members, while individual shareholders see a moderate increase in their returns.

Example: Corporate Restructuring

When making an announcement like a corporate restructuring, it’s important not to take your staff for granted. Relationships internal to your company are as important, or even more important, than external partnerships.

So, put as much thought into announcing corporate restructuring as you would into announcing a corporate acquisition. Just as you wouldn’t want investors to hear through the grapevine about a planned restructuring, you wouldn’t want your staff to hear about potential layoffs on the news.

As with any external message, be mindful of how your internal announcement will affect your audience. Don’t let emotions get in the way. If you are the head of a division, the corporate restructuring might be bad news for you as well. But when you make the announcement to your team, be considerate of their feelings in hearing the news for the first time.

Having the right overall strategy for timing corporate communications takes a blend of planning, finding the right words, and practicing authentic human engagement. At Audacia Strategies, we don’t do standup comedy, but we have helped many companies like yours find the right timing strategy for big announcements. Schedule a Free consultation to discuss your specific needs.

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Reg FD

Reg FD: How to Avoid Holiday Legal Headaches

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‘Tis the season for company holiday parties. A party can be a great way to blow off steam during an especially stressful time of year in the financial world. While it’s a good idea to unwind in an informal environment, you don’t want Reg FD (Regulation Fair Disclosure) spoiling your fun.

Holiday mixers can bring together a variety of stakeholders like CEO’s, financial advisors, brokers, analysts, and investors. Add in a generous supply of alcohol and you have a recipe for failure to comply with Reg FD.

The good news is that with minimal prior planning, you can easily avoid having the SEC slap an individual or your company with an injunctive relief, such as a cease-and-desist order, monetary fine, and required disclosure of the violation.

First things first: What’s the rule?

The SEC Reg FD rule reads as follows: “Whenever an issuer, or any person acting on its behalf, discloses any material nonpublic information regarding that issuer or its securities to [certain enumerated persons], the issuer shall make public disclosure of that information… simultaneously, in the case of an intentional disclosure; and… promptly, in the case of a non-intentional disclosure.”

The key phrase here is “material nonpublic information.” Material information is anything that a reasonable shareholder would consider important for deciding whether to take some action with respect to a company’s securities.

According to the US Supreme Court, material information includes, among other examples, anything relevant to earnings, mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures or tender offers, new products, and developments regarding customers or suppliers.

That’s quite a list. Ensure that you stay off the SEC’s radar by following these rules:

1. SEC Reg FD applies to ALL company communications.

Don’t think that just because you are at a party and not on official company business, your offhand remark to a shareholder “doesn’t count” as a selective disclosure. A selective disclosure can be intentional or unintentional and Reg FD applies to all types of company communications.

For instance, a CEO’s spontaneous response to an unanticipated question posed during a dinner party with analysts present could reveal information to which all shareholders should have access. If there’s any question, put yourself in your investor’s shoes. If you could see yourself acting on the information provided, then it’s probably off limits.

Unintentional disclosures like the one above trigger an obligation on the part of the company to go public with the information within 24 hours or prior to the beginning of the next trading day. So, the best policy is always “better safe than sorry.”

2. Remind your expanded team of their responsibilities.

It’s not a bad idea this time of year to remind all employees and partners of their confidentiality agreements and other legal obligations. Send a friendly reminder email or call everyone together for a short meeting. Not knowing the law is no excuse, of course, but a lot of headaches can be avoided by taking this simple step.

Specifically, Reg FD rules apply to directors and executive officers; persons performing investor relations or public relations functions; and employees and agents who regularly communicate with securities market professionals and stakeholders. But any employee acting at the direction of senior management is also subject to the law.

3. If you have questions, consult with Finance and Legal.

What do you do if, despite your best efforts, something happens that you believe to be a violation? First, consult with Finance/Investor Relations and Legal internal to your company. The last thing you need is to intensify the problem by trying to sweep it under the rug. So, now is the time to own the problem and deal with it head on.

Your Finance and Legal departments will be able to tell you whether you need to take additional legal steps. Depending on the scope of the violation and whether it’s a fireable offense, you may also need to consult with HR.

Also, by consulting with the experts, you can avoid blowing out of proportion something that might require a simple solution. In many cases, issuing a press release or scheduling a public conference call to answer questions will bring you under compliance with the law.

In short, when it comes to Reg FD, prevention is always your best option. A lot of trouble can be avoided by simply communicating with employees and reminding them of their legal obligations. Let’s make this holiday season SEC free!

If you are looking for more great advice about corporate communications, Audacia Strategies is here for you. We can help you develop a corporate communications strategy that works for you and your whole team. Schedule your free consultation today.

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3 Steps to a Competitive Intelligence Strategy

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In my post last week, I kicked off our series on situational awareness with a discussion of the importance of knowing your company when it comes to discussing earnings with investors. This week we continue the conversation breaking down a second component of situational awareness, competitive intelligence.

While knowing yourself is key to putting your earnings in perspective for investors, another piece of this puzzle is knowing where your peers stand. In simple terms, figuring out a viable strategy for competitive intelligence means understanding your competition relative to your company and relative to major industry challenges.

Where do I even start?

Of course, figuring out where to start is far from simple. Clients often ask: How do I keep tabs on my competition in a respectable way? How do I create and implement on-going systems for competitive intelligence? And how do I translate the relevant information I find into the most meaningful format for my team?

Before I start going over details, let’s consider the big picture. I often describe competitive intelligence in terms of your company maintaining a “ready stance.” Like an athlete entering the ring with her opponent, you don’t want to be caught flat-footed by your competition. You want to be ready for anything and able to anticipate the moves your competition makes, so you can adjust accordingly.

So, what steps will help you take the competition by storm?

1. Rethink your competitive intelligence process.

Having a strategy is the best move you can make. Before you approach your board and investors, sit down with your team, develop a clear sense of scope, and think through the different roles members will play.

To guide your strategy, read through your competitors’ earnings transcripts. If their investor presentations are available online, look for clues about their perspective on the market. Are they taking a conservative, moderately conservative, or more aggressive approach? Finally, study their research reports. The more you know about their models and go-to sources, the more you can develop a competitive profile.

Also, make sure you don’t miss the forest for the trees. In other words, don’t just think hard about, say, your closest individual competitor. Looking at the market dynamic between several competitors can yield an innovative strategy, which could offer more guidance than studying any single competitor in isolation.

2. Talk to others in the industry.

When you see others in your industry at networking events or conferences, don’t shy away from talking shop. For example, when a colleague from research and development calls you up to ask about one of the models in your report, strike up a conversation about new federal regulations. While you should never ask about a specific company, it doesn’t hurt to ask for general feedback about your shared industry.

Now, I’m not suggesting that you do anything underhanded or anything that makes you uncomfortable here. Don’t think of this as digging for dirt. If you think of those you talk to as thought partners, your conversation will be cordial and mutually beneficial.

You will be surprised at what people are willing to disclose if you simply ask. Chances are you will come away from your conversation with information that can guide your investment choices and give you a better sense of where your competition is headed in the upcoming months.

3. Put processes in place for developing feedback loops.

Once you have thought about your own processes and gathered information about the competitive landscape, you can make the most of the information by establishing the right processes for getting it up the chain to your executives.

Bringing the information to the executives is really the final step though. You want to come to the table ready with a plan for implementing policy changes and systematically measuring results.

Also, keep in mind that data collection does not equal competitive intelligence. Competitive intelligence is more about creating strategy than it is about gathering loads of information. A little bit of information can go a long way. This means you don’t need to spend millions on a massive database and you shouldn’t simply dump data into the lap of analysts asking them to come up with a strategy.

Developing the right feedback loop requires an “all hands on deck” approach. Have a clear sense of the scope and role for each member of your team. Then take a few simple steps: mandate intelligence reviews at critical decision making stages; have a designated competitive intelligence analyst who sits in on all strategic meetings; and tap into any internal channels that can help implement strategies for competitive intelligence.

Parting thoughts

When it comes to competitive intelligence, the name of the game is to be proactive, predictive, and to revise your strategy according to what your competition might do. If you follow the above tips, you’ll be on your toes when it comes to monitoring your competition and staying on top of industry trends.

Used well, competitive intelligence will lead to increased strategic agility and the ability to adapt to market shifts. Don’t miss next week’s installment of our series all about what to do when markets behave badly. While we all have our fingers tightly crossed that the US election won’t upset the stock market, it doesn’t hurt to be prepared for the worst, right?

At Audacia Strategies, we’ve been practicing our “ready stance” for a long time. We don’t just provide flashy presentations and strategic advice from the sidelines. We roll up our sleeves and stand with you shoulder to shoulder until we achieve the measurable results you are after. Are you ready to schedule a free consultation and find out what a difference Audacia Strategies could make for your company?

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investor relations

Investor Relations Starts At Home: 3 Tips for Disclosing Q3 Earnings

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This week it seems like everyone in the financial world has been obsessing over companies like Apple and Google releasing their Q3 earnings reports. For analysts, preparing to disclose earnings is one of the biggest challenges of investor relations. Wall Street has been in a holding pattern during the past 30 days. But the perceived wisdom is that if any of these big companies reveals an earnings surprise, it could be just the jolt investors need to bring them out of their malaise. I’d say the jury is still out though.

There is no doubt that quarterly earnings are a crucial measure to watch. Still, as you develop a strategy for communicating your company’s Q3 earnings to investors, consider that finding the right message is as important as the actual data you are communicating. It’s always a good idea to keep things in perspective. Since companies aren’t valued in a vacuum, having situational awareness is essential to communicating the right message to your investors.

In fact, situational awareness is so essential to investor relations that we think it deserves a three-part series of its own. So we’ll start off in this post with tips for helping you view your company from the outside in. We will follow up with posts about knowing your peers and knowing the market.

What is situational awareness and why is it key for your quarterly earnings strategy?

As you might have guessed, there are three main components to situational awareness: knowing yourself, knowing your peers, and knowing the market. Each of these components plays a role in preparing you to discuss your company’s valuation with investors. Investors want you to give them the numbers, but they also want you to help them interpret the numbers. Remember that they are looking to you as an expert on their investment.

This is especially true when it comes to disclosing earnings. Building a successful investor relations strategy is about getting into the minds of your investors. From an investor’s perspective having more information is always preferable to having less, so anything you can do to put those numbers in context will be well received.

Think of it this way. Which is more helpful for investors to know:

  • Your earnings rose 10%?
  • Or your earnings rose 10% while your closest competitor’s earnings rose 8%?

That the second one jumps out as more helpful demonstrates the power of situational awareness. Now, we’re not saying you call out your competitors’ results specifically but you definitely want to note the “industry-leading” results during your earnings call. An investor relations strategy that integrates situational awareness doesn’t simply focus on telling the story of your quarter. It also positions your company relative to how your peers performed and to how the market itself performed, giving your investors a more complete picture of your company’s performance.

So let’s talk strategy.

What does it mean to know yourself?

1. Know your company better than anyone else.

This should go without saying, but no one external to your company should understand your company better than you do. So develop your own models, craft earnings polls, and get into the minds of analysts to understand how they are really evaluating you.

Additionally, rather than making assumptions about what analysts are thinking about your company based on their research, reverse engineer the research whenever possible. Get your sell side analysts’ models and compare and contrast. If it becomes obvious to you that analysts are operating under incorrect assumptions, build some commentary into your earnings call discussion to explain any discrepancies and to give more context for their revised models.

2. Know what the analysts ask.

Examine the questions analysts asked about your company and your peers during the last quarter (or even during the last few quarters). Compare those questions to what they are asking during the current earnings season. For example, if analysts asked about the risks associated with a particular raw material three quarters ago, but haven’t asked since, this might explain discrepancies between your internal reports and the external reports you’re seeing.

Don’t simply assume the questions analysts ask are consistent from quarter to quarter. While it can be tempting to dismiss a lower than expected valuation from analysts on grounds that they don’t have the complete picture, investors will rightly hold you accountable for failing to anticipate and adjust internal models.

3. Know yourself relative to your peers.

This bleeds over into what we’ll talk about in more depth next week, but part of knowing yourself includes knowing how you will handle the release of peer earnings reports. Because many data points are more meaningful in the context of understanding industry trends, keeping tabs on your competition is key to understanding how to position yourself with investors.

For instance, in the defense industry where there has been a mostly flat business landscape for much of the past year, it makes sense for defense contractors to pull back and take a more austere approach to allocating resources. But if you know your competition is taking this approach, while your company is increasing its investment in research and development, for example, you may have a powerful discriminator that sets you apart from your peers. Well communicated and in context, a carefully considered, seemingly contrarian investment strategy could really pay off in potential valuation.

Long story short, if you aren’t keeping tabs on your competition and how they handle macro-issues facing your industry, then you are operating at a serious disadvantage. It’s a little bit like showing up to a tennis match with a ping-pong paddle. Of course, it’s important to work on your backhand, but if you haven’t studied your competition carefully, you risk underestimating them.

Stay tuned for next week’s continuation of this series on situational awareness and investor relations when we’ll discuss knowing your peers on a deeper level. In the meantime, if you would like help communicating a consistent and compelling investment story, we’re always ready to talk disclosure strategy (with as much geeky detail as you can handle, of course). No matter how well you know your company, we understand that it can be challenging to know how to frame your message and to develop the right outreach plan. Contact us today. We’ve got your back!

Photo credit: Wavebreak Media Ltd