Talent, Strategy, Risk

CHAPTER 7

Engaging with Investors

A quarter of a century ago, corporate power rested in the hands of the imperial CEO, who might simply tell you to dump your stock if you didn’t like what he was doing (and it would always be a “he”). Since then, long-term investors and activists have taken the stage and, along with market forces, are now holding boards to account. In managing their company’s talent, strategy, and risk, and especially in planning for the long term, boards must also manage the relationship with investors, their most powerful constituency.

This boardroom mandate is essential because investors—especially a company’s permanent shareholders—are ...