![\"Denial\"](\"https:\/\/svapm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/denial_frankmerriman.thumbnail.jpg\")
One of the biggest problems we face today is the egregious mismanagement and reckless incompetence of many American corporate boards which utterly fail to do their primary job of holding managements accountable.<\/p>\nOne of the biggest problems we face today is the egregious mismanagement and reckless incompetence of many American corporate boards which utterly fail to do their primary job of holding managements accountable.<\/p>\n
Don’t Be an Ostrich We will do this in four posts:<\/p>\n What’s Happening on Wall St?<\/strong> [kml_flashembed movie=”http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/UC31Oudc5Bg” width=”391″ height=”322″ wmode=”transparent” \/]\nA couple of things about this clip.\u00a0 In addition to its humorously irreverent and more accurate than you might think description; it is also over a year old.\u00a0 The credit crisis is not new.\u00a0 It has been brewing for awhile and its resolution will take awhile.<\/p>\n Expect to Feel the Pain<\/strong> More concerning is that this is a credit crisis, not an equity crisis.\u00a0 The stock market crash is the symptom, not the cause.\u00a0 I won’t go into the details [Editor: Please don’t], but the cause is the credit crisis – banks unwillingness to lend to other banks and now businesses.<\/p>\n How this will work out is the real question.\u00a0 Uncertainty leads to questions of confidence. How will the uncertainty be resolved? Transparency. What’s visible can be dealt with, it’s what isn’t currently visible that will drive people to want to know more.<\/p>\n Who will want to Know?<\/strong> NEW YORK, Sept 15 (Reuters) – Shareholders sued Merrill Lynch & Co Inc Chief Executive John Thain and the company’s board of directors on Monday over the proposed buyout by Bank of America Corp, claiming the terms of the deal are unfair [to shareholders]. (Full Story)<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n What is important is that the suit is filed personally against John Thain and the board of directors. They are personally liable. The suit claims John Thain and the board “have clear and material conflicts of interest and are acting to better their own interests at the expense of Merrill public shareholders.”\u00a0 There will not be enough D&O (Directors and Officers) Insurance to satisfy investors after all the money that’s been lost.<\/p>\n Nothing like the fear of a class action lawsuit to persuade you to get more transparency in your business.\u00a0 Where is money going, how is it being spent, what returns are we getting from projects we invest in?<\/p>\n Private companies will answer similar questions from their own investors and executives. Furthermore, suppliers will want to be sure firms can pay. Vendors will want to be sure they can deliver. Banks will want to know how funds are being used.<\/p>\n We are heading into budgeting season.\u00a0 Expect Ronald Reagan’s “Trust, but verify” to accompany the belt tightening.\u00a0 Whether you call it transparency or regulatory oversight or SOX or corporate governance or [Editor: the following line was deleted, you can’t use that language.]; executives, directors and investors will want to know more.<\/p>\n Why Are Investors Like Icahn Using This Moment To Demand Change?<\/strong> Have you started seeing changes?<\/p>\n About the Author <\/em><\/p>\n One of the biggest problems we face today is the egregious mismanagement and reckless incompetence of many American corporate boards […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":898,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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\n<\/strong>Many people watch what is happening on Wall St hoping they will not be affected. Sooner or later, it will affect you. Rather than avoiding the issue and burying your head in the sand, let’s understand what’s happening, what it means and what you can do to get ahead of the curve.<\/p>\n\n
\nEven if you’re not in financial services, expect to feel the pain. Consider that as of Friday Oct 8th 2008, US stock markets are down over 42%.\u00a0 $8.2 Trillion dollars has been lost.\u00a0 If there are 300M Americans, each is out $28,000. [Editor: This is worse than a divorce.\u00a0 I lost half my money and I still have to put up with you!]\n
\nFor public companies, executives and the board of directors will want to know.\u00a0 Hence the Carl Icahn quote.\u00a0 Consider this:<\/p>\n
\nIn addition to the reasons stated above, but there are historical reasons for wanting transparency. Understanding this will provide you insight to take advantage of the opportunities which will arise.\u00a0 We will take that up in our second post: 2. The Credit Crisis: Why It Is Important – A Little History.<\/p>\n
\n![\"AndrewMeyer\"](\"https:\/\/svapm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/andymeyer.thumbnail.JPG\")
Andrew Meyer studied systems and industrial engineering before spending fifteen years implementing global IT and Business Process Re-Engineering projects. Frustrated with seeing communication issues hurt projects, he returned to get his MBA from the University of Southern California and focused on project communications and risk management. To apply this to real-world problems, Andrew founded the Capability Alignment Professionals (http:\/\/www.CompanyAlign.com<\/a>), which is dedicated to aligning incentives and improving communications. To see more of his writing, please check out his blog Inquiries Into Alignment (http:\/\/alignmentinquiries.blogspot.com\/<\/a>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"