PrepOverCoffee is committed to providing easy to understand content about a number of business areas in the hopes of helping leaders stay informed and be better issue spotters. Every so often, there are so many great pieces that capture my attention that I can’t cover them all in an Espresso Shots wrap up.
Corporate Governance/ESG:
What does America’s favorite investor think about ESG? Check out the ESG Advocate’s new article, On Buffett and ESG illustrating the divisive positions related to shareholder value and environmental, social and governance focus.
Speaking of Buffett, The Risk of the Superstar CEO reports that “shareholders, who benefit from the continued leadership of a superstar CEO, are likely to tolerate misconduct despite its effects on third parties (as long as it does not significantly diminish company value). Thus, without the threat of liability under the Caremark doctrine, boards might opt to overlook managerial misconduct.” Read the full paper here.
Find yourself wondering if one of the short-selling hedge funds disguised as “reporters” (discussed recently in The Fast Moving Rumor) was again the recipient of the largest Securities Exchange Commission whistleblower reward in history? The recently announced $279 million reward is currently confidential, so we will probably never know, but the SEC said this: "While the whistleblower’s information did not prompt the opening of the Commission’s investigation, their information expanded the scope of misconduct charged."
Employment and HR Matters:
Wouldn’t it be easier just to investigate and handle the situation?
A local Tennessee contractor is paying a huge settlement to the EEOC for racial harassment and retaliation. Read about the settlement here and join me in wondering how any company could ever let things get so bad.
And while on the topic of bad behavior, in case you missed it, check out Too Big to Care for a deep dive into employment matters gone very, very wrong.
TRAINING TIP: Want a great way to train HR teams on how to draft policies, conduct investigations, take adequate steps to prevent discrimination, and ensure that retaliation is not permitted? Subscribe to the EEOC notices here for “that could never happen - but it does” practice scenarios and real-world issues.
Cases and Controversies:
Still patiently waiting for critical Supreme Court decisions on copyright and Section 230. Refresh yourself on the issues at hand by reading PrepOverCoffee’s:
What Section 230 means to your favorite tech platforms and how product liability can clear things up once and for all
Technology and Security:
Did you see the recent PrepOverCoffee article on the risks of AI imposters of your corporate insiders?
For more AI questions and sample prompts for the boardroom (leaders, can you answer these?): https://www.directorsandboards.com/articles/singlegenerative-ai-c-suite
And check out Deloitte’s recent publication on how tech shapes governance: https://deloitte.wsj.com/articles/rethink-how-tech-trends-shape-governance-956c063
And, is a small fine and some probation enough to deter others from doing the same bad thing? I don’t think so. Check out the shocking conclusion to what we first explored in: Don’t Stand So Close To Me…When One Exeutive Goes Bad: The cyber breach that ushered in a new era of executive liability, and more importantly, what it means to you.
The ending we were not expecting: Former Uber was CISO sentenced to three years of probation.
I guess executive liability is a figment of our imagination.
But for another great viewpoint on how the fear of liability can create the wrong behaviors in leaders, check out “Wrong Lessons…” an article by Jack Jones, Chairman of the FAIR Institute and the creator of Factor Analysis of Information Risk, the FAIR™ standard for risk quantification, and of FAIR-CAM™, the FAIR Controls Analytics Model (and longtime friend of this author).
It is a perspective that should ring true for lawyers, compliance professionals, auditors, and other risk-related functions.
Finance and Accounting
Are you keeping up on SEC disclosures? To my count, only one of the two dozen listed in the article below are final as of today’s date (several had comment periods reopened, and a far-reaching Supreme Court case could affect proposed climate disclosures), but I am sure they are still coming.
https://tax.thomsonreuters.com/news/sec-plans-to-finalize-two-dozen-rules-in-2023/
TRAINING TIP: Intimidated by financials and earnings statements? A great way to learn is to review earnings presentations, read earnings call transcripts for public companies or listen to the earnings calls (if possible). You can often find free transcripts on Seeking Alpha or by visiting a company’s website.
M&A
Planning a merger or acquisition? Check out Bain’s report on how to integrate the cultures effectively, starting with identifying fault lines as part of diligence, assessing the degree of difficulty and potential impact to the value of the deal, and then mitigating the fault lines through the integration itself.
Communications
Strong communications is the key to success in every function. Check out “6 Mistakes that Sabotage Great Communication” including a very interesting connection between imposter syndrome and the resulting “overcomplication” of content.
Running your business
A simple but effective tool for business planning, and getting your business focused is the Business Model Canvas. It’s a Kanban board and business plan all in one. Check some samples out at the links below and accelerate your business strategy focus - whether at the organization, product, or department level.
https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/management/business-model-canvas-template/
https://businessmodelanalyst.com/business-model-canvas-examples/
A different perspective on burnout
PrepOverCoffee has long been obsessed with how we can all create momentum in our professional lives. Now, after quiet quitting and quiet hiring, the latest reporting focus is on burnout.
One of the most common indicators of burnout is feeling overwhelmed.
How better to address feeling overwhelmed than to take on your large projects in small chunks of time, using the Pomodoro Technique?
If it’s good enough for Tom Hanks, it is certainly good enough for me:
Desantis v Disney
Where the First Amendment, bylaws, government control, and a theme park “born” in 1971 (what a good year!) collide.
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/may/09/disney-v-desantis-florida-lawsuit
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/30/opinion/disney-desantis-florida-lawsuit.html
*****And if you missed the first Versatile Leader Roundup, check it out here.*****
We are all lifelong learners here! Have an article that you think might help your colleagues understand a new area? Share it as a comment here.
Happy Mother’s Day to all the human moms, cat moms, dog moms, plant moms, “workplace” moms, and any other mom of a furkid or otherwise!
Enjoy the best and “creepiest” mother songs I could think of.
And speaking of moms, I am traveling to a very “analog” part of Kentucky to visit mine. Did you know that nearly ¼ of US households still do not have internet access?
WELCOME TO ALL THE RECENT NEW SUBSCRIBERS!
If you are a new “ish” subscriber to PrepOverCoffee, don’t forget to take a look at the launch page for evergreen content released prior to your subscription. Also, for more searchable, category based review of content, check out the index.
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