Three key pieces of advice for certain success at the podium: practice, keep cool and be sure to have an agenda.
by David Moss
Few of a CEO’s public appearances present greater risks. You can’t skip it, and anyone who’s bought a share can take a shot at you.
Nightmare Scenario: The Angry Crowd The question-and-answer session at the annual meeting turns ugly: You’re alone at the microphone. A swarm of angry shareholders, environmentalists and labor activists is asking loaded, repetitive questions. Your blood pressure is rising. The clock is ticking.
Wrong Idea: Suppression
Letting your inner control freak take over by trying to stage-manage the meeting in advance can backfire. At Weyerhaeuser’s annual meeting in 2005, for example, management insisted on written questions, limited the Q&A to 30 minutes, ended it early with questions unanswered and, when one institutional shareholder rose
in protest, had him marched out of the room by security guards. Result: terrible PR and a public apology by the CEO.
Right Idea: Preparation
The trick to running a smooth and decorous meeting, says Suzanne Bates, president of an eponymous executive-coaching consultancy, involves both control and communication. The moment can be mastered — and the nightmare avoided — by any chief executive willing to put in the work. Her three tips:
• Anticipate the hardest questions — you know what they’ll be — and prepare to answer by writing out your responses beforehand. Make the time for a little speech prep: Unless you practice your responses in front of an audience, you’re likely to screw up. “Doing it by the seat of your pants is way too risky,” Bates says, “even though you know your business inside and out.”
• Remember that while some shareholders just like to hear the sound of their own voice, others will raise valid points. In either situation, set a tone of openness from the outset and be careful of rising irritation in your own voice. If you think you’ve addressed an issue, but a questioner keeps plodding, gently cut him off before you start to lose the rest of the crowd. “Develop the art of respectfully closing down the conversation,” Bates says. The key: Be able to disconnect your emotions.
• Never give a rote report. Talk to the audience at large and remember which constituencies hold sway over the others, but think of this as an opportunity to make your mark. “If you give shareholders and analysts your real insights,” Bates says, “they’ll think of you not only as a leader, but a cutting-edge thought leader.”