Capital Markets Investor Relations in Two Minutes or Less
What Playoff Hockey Teaches Public Executives
Despite having two of the best players in the NHL, the Oilers lost game three of the WCF 5 to 3.
The Oilers dominated the first period taking a 2 – 0 lead, but fell apart the rest of the game.
There are four components of playoff hockey that lead to winning a Stanley Cup.
The four tenets of good playoff hockey are the same for best-in-class Investor Relations and public companies.
The Four Hallmarks of Great Playoff Hockey
1. Playing Full Throttle for 60 Minutes
Never take a period off. The Oilers took two periods off and lost.
A public company that leases Megawatts or sells a product, must execute on those actions each and every quarter.
A management team can not afford to say we had a great year, so lets phone in the fourth quarter and see how it goes.
That is a recipe for shareholder value destruction.
2. Avoiding Neutral Zone Turnovers
Neutral Zone turnovers often lead to the odd man rush, a 3 on 1 breakaway.
The 3 on 1 breakaway for a public company is an activist attack or short attack.
These attacks almost always occur when a company fails to execute on what it says it intends to do.
3. Clear the Defensive Zone
Great playoff teams are always able to get the puck out of the defensive zone.
If you can’t get the puck out of the zone, you will give up a lot of goals over time.
Public companies and Investor Relations clear the defensive zone with:
Good communications with investors combined with strong investor materials.
Thoughtful and insightful earnings calls, Q&A, earnings releases, and investor presentations.
Providing best-in-class materials clears the zone and prevents the odd man rush activist or short attack.
4. A Goalie That Stands on His Head
The best playoff teams benefit from a goalie that stands on his head.
Think Martin Brodeur or Dominic Hasek, goalies that can see 40 or 50 shots a game and give up 0 or 1 goal.
Best-In-Class Investor Relations represents the goalie that stands on his head for a public company.
Strong Investor Relations Officers and teams are walking perception studies on their company and can see crises or problems around corners and over the horizon.
Best-In-Class IR keeps that Ovechkin one-time from landing in the back of the net.
Key Learnings
The Oilers have the two best players in the NHL: Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
Think of them as a company with a great CEO and CFO.
The problem is it is not enough to win!
Like good playoff teams, companies need a goalie that can stand on his head.
Best-In-Class Investor Relations = the show stopper goalie a company needs for success!
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