Capital Markets / Investor Relations in Two Minutes or Less
Paul Maurice and Investor Relations
“We needed to lose three to win four. The fact that it was so hard makes it so special.” Paul Maurice
A major question for public company executives revolves around what does best-in-class Investor Relations look like.
What are the qualities and characteristics that constitute great IR?
If you ask 100 people, you will likely get 100 different answers to the question above.
What Does Paul Maurice Have to Do with Investor Relations?
Paul Maurice is the Head Coach of the Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers.
In my mind, his stewardship of the Florida Panthers to a Stanely Cup exhibited three important hallmarks of best-in-class Investor Relations
The Paul Maurice Investor Relations Hat Trick
Paul Maurice had a long road to get to the ultimate career pinnacle of winning the Stanley Cup.
The Paul Maurice hat trick focuses on three areas for assessing best-in-class Investor Relations.
Leadership: Paul Maurice had to be unflappable going up three games to zero, and then losing three games in a row. He had to be consistent throughout the difficult loses.
Experience / Tenure: Paul Maurice had to learn through X coaching opportunities. He had to learn how to scale a team across different personalities and situations.
Situation / Team: Paul Maurice has talked a lot about how he inherited an incredible room and a great group of people. The quality of underlying team and underlying situation matters.
The more disordered the team and situation, the greater the accomplishment when goals are achieved.
Today’s post will focus on the leadership angle, my next post will focus on experience / tenure, and the third will focus on situation / team.
Translating Paul Maurice’s Leadership to Investor Relations
If you are an executive or company seeking best-in-class Investor Relations, here are three things to think about in terms of Paul Maurice’s leadership.
Unflappable: Can the IRO remain a steady and calming force in good times and bad? Can s/he deal with difficult personalities and convert those difficult people to friends of the company over time? Does s/he know how to respond when the proverbial trash hits the fan? We all know it does more than we care to admit in public markets.
Communicator: Can the IRO relentlessly communicate and simplify complex concepts to drive sustained investor engagement over time? Can s/he call all of the company’s sell-side analysts, and those that should cover the company? Can s/he call the buy-side that are interested or should be interested in the story? Can s/he listen to the investor questions being asked and identify second level questions? Can s/he use this constant information feedback loop to simplify and optimize the Company narrative and investor materials?
Coach: Can the IRO influence and improve C-Suite performance? Does the CEO or CFO walk into the IROs office to discuss what is on his/her mind? Can the IRO influence a change in how a CEO or CFO answers an investor question? Can the IRO say “no” to the C-Suite while developing the earnings materials?
Key Learnings: Best-in-Class Investor Relations
Is the IRO unflappable in a crisis and in dealing with difficult people?
Does the IRO relentlessly communicate with the C-Suite and Investors to optimize the narrative?
Does the IRO make the C-Suite better, not only through coaching and advice, but also in terms of talents brought to the table?
Wishing you an epic Wednesday!
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