Presuming you do cover these topics somewhere, will our intrepid investor find what you are providing? How hard will this task be for him? Is your website effective in informing, or does it make it a challenge? If it is a challenge, well… why are you allowing it to be a challenge?

It seems IRO’s usually strive for communication effectiveness in ways suitable to the form they are delivering meesages in:

-    for required filings and releases effectiveness is in accurate reporting, a transparent writing style, and balanced treatment of opportunities and challenges;

-    in presentations they shoot for nicely designed PowerPoint slides, hopefully with legibly-sized type and some consistency in visual style;

-    in speech delivery or one-on-ones they practice-up the executives for an engaging and credible delivery.

Yet investor sections of corporate websites are not getting the idea of “effectiveness”. They may be getting the idea of ‘completeness’, but they are just not getting the ‘Internet’ part.

Not many of your favorite websites would consider their efforts to engage their audience complete with the addition of a PDF. Frankly, I can’t think of any good (non-investor related) website that would trust key messages to only PDFs. Well, maybe government websites, but they’re not really in any sort of competition based on effectiveness. Oh, and they’re not trying to achieve a fully and fairly valued stockprice based on informed investors. Oh, and they’re not worried about their cost of capital.

So, back to the idea of considering whether you are communicating foundation material on your website effectively. Ask: “Why should someone who doesn’t know my company invest in it?” “Can my website answer basic questions that will engage them in our story?” “How difficult does my website make it to find these answers?”

Get your visitors, especially potential investors, off to a strong start when they visit your website. (Please Note: I didn’t say “When they visit your Filing Cabinet”).

Don’t make the task of evaluating your company more work then it has to be. Don’t make them convince themselves of your worthiness. Don’t make them play BattleDecks with your sans-remarks Investor Slideshow.

Get your content strategy together. If you’re interested in doing better talk to us at zu.

This screen capture from the I-Metrix brochure displays the concurrent presentation of financials for Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Microsoft, IBM, and Dell generated from the XBRL feeds from Edgar Online. This type of tool will greatly accelerate the data gathering process for potential investors from hours to minutes.

Soon the ‘go-to’ description of your enterprise will become the equivalent of a food label nutrition chart in a ‘just the facts’ approach to providing information.

Here we can compare two brands of chocolate chip cookies.

But is this how we buy food? By only looking at these measurables? We all know that, despite the similar make-up of these products, they don’t taste the same and one will be more successful than the other.

The reasons for success may be better explained in the story that goes with the product then in the nutritional performance data.

When XBRL allows your company to be compared side-by-side with its peers in a generic GAAP-compliant view, such as those provided conveniently by I-Metrix, then what is the next step in the analysis? What’s missing?

What will increasingly matter on the Internet and on your website will be the ‘other stuff’, not the financial reporting. It will be the story the CEO tells investors in person. When he’s running the conversation he isn’t reading XBRL to the audience, he’s adding the context, the long-term strategy, and the positioning explaining markets, outlook, competitive advantage and so forth.

When the quantitative XBRL filtering and screening is over with, and the analyst or retail investor visits your website, are they going to get what’s missing? Or is it just out-of-date, coffee table book statements about the company with links to PDF financial reports that are rather superfluous to the slicing and dicing already done by XBRL readers?

Will they find current high-value materials provided in an engaging way? Will they see the clarity in the plan that fosters a corporate culture that will win in their chosen field and create shareholder value? Will it bring to life the recipe that makes a company a success?

When widely disemminated XBRL viewers focus attention on your last quarter’s earnings blips, are you ready to show an engaging version of why your company is a worthy investment?

Even as we integrate new communication forms and technologies, let’s keep our eye on the website.

Value
Given reduced budgets and tighter cash flow at most companies this year it was understandable that attendance at both conferences was at its lowest in years. NIRI had around 700 attendees and CIRI had about 200. The proportion of vendors to IR professionals was fairly high since the drop in IR professionals was more pronounced than the drop in vendors. I believe the lower attendance has both pros and cons; on the pro side it makes for a more intimate experience and the people attending are serious about being there due to having to justify the expense; on the con side there is less opportunity for networking and the challenges for vendors like zu are obvious (we made the most of our investment by pre-booking as many meetings as possible anticipating exhibit hall traffic would be fair at best).

Both conferences shared some similar topics but due to NIRI’s larger size they had the edge over CIRI because of more sessions on more topics. After what has been a bitter winter and cold spring in most of Canada, I think most would agree going to south Florida outweighs the cool Canadian west coast. Given the larger breadth of learning opportunities and chance to soak up some sun I found it most surprising that attending NIRI was cheaper than CIRI. If I had the choice to only go to only one conference based on budget, the decision would be simple. In fact, there were a number of eastern Canadian IR professionals attending NIRI for this exact reason—value for the money. Early bird registration and exhibit fees were lower at NIRI compared to CIRI (excluding exchange rate).

Relevance
I was thankful for the handful of sessions that were provided at both NIRI and CIRI regarding web disclosure and technology; they also appeared well-attended. But as far as the importance of the conferences and the opportunity they provided attendees, I think both suffered from a lack of interesting program offerings. I’m biased, but I think the recent events surrounding web disclosure, XBRL, and the evolving role of media to engage investors more effectively by better utilizing technology could have been better addressed. I noticed a large shift moving to the IRO’s responsibility as the Internet’s role regarding real-time information distribution becomes more powerful. There is an increased sense of urgency for IR professionals to deal with issues along with more and more regulations that are counter productive to being more responsive. It’s a difficult position to be in and traditional methods of communications may no longer suffice. The need to be transparent, provide investor’s value by being a resource, and taking a proactive, progressive approach with communications are key to gaining the trust of investors and good fodder for session topics.

Aside from the conferences’ agenda, I think that on-demand access to information via webcasts, local chapter events, and accessibility of information on the Internet is making the attendance to physical conferences less important. In order for these conferences to attract attendees, I think not only will the economy need to improve but both NIRI and CIRI will need to reconsider the value they provide and the format it is delivered in.

Summary
Given the size and location, I would tip my hat to NIRI09 as the more valuable and relevant of the two conferences. That said, I have a soft spot for my domestic associations and I appreciated the intimacy of CIRI09 and the quality of the conversations we had. We have more awareness and established relationships in the Canadian market so I’m sure this helped immensely, whereas we were only on our second date with the US market [she’s a bit reluctant, having just come out of a bad relationship, figuratively speaking]. Overall, I am confident both associations will make adjustments to attract back attendees by offering more value and providing more thought provoking topics in new and interesting ways. Afterall, the times they are a changin’.

But on the writing of our webcast presentation: “Design for the Bottom Line: 5 Ways to Reuse Existing Materials for your IR Website”, I experienced that worthwhile feeling of having great clarity of thought after being compelled to make a clear case for the suggestions we supplied. When completing a formal audit of a client site we compare their website to their other IR materials, I also come to these a-ha moments where good ideas seem so clear. I guess that’s why folks like to blog, to fully understand their own thoughts and experiences.

We liked both conferences. NIRI was big, with about 1300 people. NIRI had more sessions and more networking opportunities. CIRI was more intimate and friendly as there were about 270 people in attendance.

Many people stopped by the zu booth on the exhibit floor. We set up a del.icio.us page that highlighted zu.com’s work for our demo. We have been asked to provide a link to it, so click here to see some of the work we’ve done with our clients’.

If you have never used del.icio.us, it is a “social bookmarking” website where you can make bookmarks and share them with other people. I use del.icio.us to keep URLs for traveling in case I need to use a public access computer instead of my own.

On zu’s del.icio.us page, you will see samples of some of our most recent work which can be sorted into categories by clicking the links on the right. If you would like more information, drop us a line.

Moderator

Michael Nowlan, President and Chief Executive Officer, Marketwire, Incorporated

Speakers
Tim Herrod – Manager, Investor Relations, PotashCorp
Viki Lazaris – Senior Vice President, Investor Relations, BMO Financial Group
Jerry Trites – Project Director, XBRL Canada

Online basics and best practices regarding financial reporting on the Internet were shared by representatives from MarketWire, PotashCorp, BMO, and XBRL Canada.

Stating the Obvious: The Internet is changing the presentation and distribution of financial information. Data availability will become commonplace once XBRL becomes mainstream, which will also accelerate the markets’ interpretation of newly released data.

SEC, TSX, NYSE and Canadian securities administrators all accept web filed reports. Best Practices guidelines have been developed and continue to evolve.

Web reporting needs to be thought of as a strategic issue. Not just a copy of paper content. IR pages should contain more than just documents, should also include context and tell the story. Think “presentation” as well as “pamphlet rack”.

A great volume of information can be presented online, so be weary of the risk of information overload. Focus on what is important and of most value to your audiences. Allow depth but don’t crowd out what is new, or treat it as equivalent to new. Think about how investors actually use the site and try to help them in their efforts.

Strategic IR Websites Include:
- Corporate Overview
- Corporate Governance
- Financial Information
- News Releases
- Presentations and Events
- Share information
- Environmental Responsibilities

Careful attention must be paid to site organization, usability, and navigability. Find the best sites and use them as models.

Real Life Experiences
BMO found that users spend an average of three minutes on their IR section. Drew the conclusion that information must be quick to find and easy to use so that users can make the most of their time. If it’s difficult, they will leave without finding what the need.

BMO uses four principles to guide their website:

- Completeness
- Transparency
- Responsiveness
- Ease of use

PotashCorp makes a concerted effort to be timely in the posting of information on their website. Their audiences rely on quick access to information and are increasingly demanding quicker responsiveness. For instance, Potash is deliberating using a blog for Crisis Communication. The Potash site has won numerous awards for being a superior example of an IR website.

Best Practices & Emerging Trends
Content Management Systems (CMSs) make it easy to update content on your own without having to rely on the IT department. A good IR site is about providing good information in well-considered way. Don’t be distracted too much by bells and whistles (they have their place) — Focus on critical content, organization, and presentation. Think about what information goes together with other information and provide well thought out links. Don’t be trapped by the documents original source or type.

Users expect to be engaged. Keep info fresh, timely, and topical.

A New trend is in reaching out to debt investors (bond holders) and having relevant info available to them. They are interested in many of the same performance issues as shareholders, but typically have a longer-term perspective. Consider the information pertinent to them and making it more convenient.

Due to advances in technology and penetration of high-speed Internet, the use of multi-media is encouraged. This includes such things as:

- Podcast
- Blogs
- Conference Call webcasts
- Conference calls with associate transcript and slides (Non-PDF format)
- Photos
- Video elements, exec interviews and views.

Overall, this talk was a good introduction to the basics of online reporting of financial information. PotashCorp and BMO had some valuable experiences and best practices to share. In the future it will be interesting to see the adoption rate of XBRL standards by Canadian Corporations since it is a process already taking hold in the US.

Building positive relations with the public is not as easy as it used to be. Today financial markets characteristics are: short-holding periods, record date capture, massive stock lending, etc. Companies need to target the right potential holders that align with the company’s long-term goals. Michael believes: “The strategy without execution is hallucination.”

The quality of financial reporting matters and will attract investors. Companies need to be accessible to potential investors and provide the feedback and street views to their employees, especially the CEO and CFO. Michael stated: “If you don’t measure for success, you get failure.” CGI may have the only IR department that is ISO certified. They also believe in balancing the interests of employees, shareholders, and owners, which would mean no management bonuses when the company’s performance is down from the shareholders’ point of view. Over the last 15 years CGI has grown their revenue 15 times, and increased their employee base 26 times. The IR team needs to understand the strategy but more importantly the operations.

Create an environment in which employees enjoy working together and as owners build a company they are proud of. At CGI, 80% of employees are shareholders. Every dollar they put in, the company matches it. Turnover rate in India is 13% and 50% of the employees are shareholders. Every year a shareholder meeting is held including employees and shareholders. The most important asset is the talent and capability of CGI’s employees. People do not want to work in an environment where they are told what to do and/or how to do it. Without the company’s multiple voting share structure CGI would not have grown internationally. Companies need to focus on the long-term in order to create long-term value.

Q&A
1. How much resistance do you get from the new investor about the structure of the business?

Not much. It is very emotional for people and not very fact base. The junior guy in the room usually brings up the question. When you ask them about other multiple voting share companies, they realize there are many. CGI is able to add incremental value and do the right thing. The company has never had to use the class B shares for any voting activity since they became public.

2. How is the current economic impact affecting CGI?

CGI’s business cycle is counter- cyclical. A good piece comes from outsourcing with 55% recurring. When the economy tightens the CEO and the board re-examines what is strategic and what is core, and more gets moved from the back room to the front room. Where other companies spend 25% of their time on the service front for example, CGI spends 100% of their time.

Interesting note for IT service companies setting up in the far east:
More money has been lost though poor project management than has gained on labor arbitrage.

My impression of this year’s conference is that it is smaller than last year. There are about 270 attendees compared with about 300 last year, which is only a slight decline. About 150 of the delegates are from vendors and IR service providers. About 120 attendees work as IROs.

The smaller number of delegates at CIRI makes it is easier to get to know folks as you run into them more. This makes for a friendlier atmosphere where you can become “pals much quicker”. Being friends means that you can learn more from your peers at the networking events, which is a huge plus. You can also call them up after the conference to discuss the issues or get advice.

However, the low number of IROs concerns me. While I like the smaller conferences, I wonder where the people are? There are about 4,000 public companies in Canada, and about 100 of them are represented here at CIRI. Why so few? Are a huge majority of public firms small-cap with no IRO or no IRO travel budget? Are IROs too busy for conferences? Father’s Day? Is the conference targeting the right topics? Have all of the staff changes at CIRI affected their ability to deliver a good conference? Has anything changed in Canadian IR in the past year?

My feeling is that attendance is tied to many of the above issues and probably more. What do you think? Post your comments below or join the discussion on the CIRI Conference FriendFeed room.

I spoke with Darrell and he allowed me to grab all of his tweets, so I thought I would try something new and repost all of his tweets as a blog entry. Here is Darrell’s coverage of the session in microblog format via Twitter (note the hash-tag at the start of each tweet allows search engines to index the content of the tweet):

#CIRI08 in the capital market fraud session – Neil Stewart , IR Magazine is giving an intro about 1 hour ago from web
#CIRI08 Enron and Worldcom IROs were NIRI members during the fraud about 1 hour ago from web
#CIRI08 Lawrence Ritchie Vice Chair from OSC speaking about 1 hour ago from web

#CIRI08 Canada has 13 separate regulators that all perform the same function which means there is a potential overlap of activity. about 1 hour ago from web
#CIRI08 CSA tries to harmonize legislation and coordinate activities. (is this why XBRL is such a no-show in Canada?) about 1 hour ago from web
#CIRI08 CSA tries to harmonize legislation and coordinate activities. (is this why XBRL is such a no-show in Canada?) about 1 hour ago from web
#CIRI08 OSC’s mandate is to protect investors from fraudulent and to foster fair and efficient capital market and confidence about 1 hour ago from web
#CIRI08 Tom Newkirk speaking now – What issues is the SEC focusing on? about 1 hour ago from web
#CIRI08 SEC Evergreen priorities – Ensure accurate info, Comparability, Allocate capital appropriately, Provide access to the market 41 minutes ago from web
#CIRI08 New priority is hedge funds, a lot of concern that hedge funds are getting information before others — SEC trying to figure it out 39 minutes ago from web
#CIRI08 New priority is hedge funds, a lot of concern that hedge funds are getting information before others 39 minutes ago from web
#CIRI08 Market timing regarding recent mutual fund issue — SEC uncovered hedge funds had leading information 38 minutes ago from web
#CIRI08 Norman Inkster speaking now “Canada is lacking in enforcement – Conrad Black would love to move back here and get his $$$$” 37 minutes ago from web
#CIRI08 47% of Fraud is discovered through Internal controls, 45% by investigation by mgmt, 37% employees 33 minutes ago from web
#CIRI08 SOX 302 (certification of financials) doesn’t stop fraud – but does make it easy to know who to blame 31 minutes ago from web
#CIRI08 although whistleblowers are a key aspect of discovering fraud most caused them to end their career or life in some cases 29 minutes ago from web
#CIRI08 Key message is that OSC and other regulators should be focused on prevention and internal controls — rather than enforcement 25 minutes ago from web
#CIRI08 “Is SOX causing companies to not go to the states?” Tom Newkirk thinks very unlikely 23 minutes ago from web
#CIRI08 Q&A happening now 22 minutes ago from web
#CIRI08 mention Danier Leather & IMAX – Bill198 – aggressive forecasts and market expectations are risky and create significant liability 19 minutes ago from web
#CIRI08 Vulnerable companies traits – weak or unmonitored controls, company dominated by 1 or 2 mgrs 17 minutes ago from web
#CIRI08 (continued) mgmt comp strongly tied to earnings, employees poorly paid, mgmt focus on short term results 16 minutes ago from web
#CIRI08 OSC and Ontario are the only ones on CSA that support a single regulator (L.Ritchie from OSC speaking) 14 minutes ago from web
#CIRI08 Tom Newkirk making some funny comments about Spitzer lol 10 minutes ago from web
#CIRI08 if your company comes under investigation how can you protect shareholder value-typically declines as soon as investigation starts 9 minutes ago from web
#CIRI08 virtually no answer to this… 3 minutes ago from web
#CIRI08 session wrapping up – time for lunch — yummy half a minute ago from web

Beverly Topping
President and Chief Executive Officer, Institute of Corporate Directors

Investors are increasingly raising their disapproval with the board of directors. Transparency and exemplary disclosure is necessary. The IRO is the vehicle to measure the feelings from the shareholders. An IRO represents the voice of the shareholders. Information given can be used for strategic decisions. Shareholder activism is here to stay.

Tips to diffuse activist shareholders:

• Know who your shareholder base is and how to engage them.
• Thoroughly access your own shareholder base.
• Rethink how you plan to use the Internet to communicate to your shareholders.
• Don’t underestimate regular audits.
• Don’t rely just on the sell side to tell your story.
• Don’t underestimate the importance of engaging shareholders, employees, etc.

David Carey listed the type of information he provides to the board:
Weekly:

• Provide the board a short summary of trading activity for the week (ex: trading statistics, price performance, etc.)

Monthly:

• Monthly stock performance (comparison to peers), monthly trading statistics, IR activities (conferences, one-on-one meetings), analyst ratings

Quarterly:

• Same material as monthly plus:
• Ownership information (ex: who is selling/buying? If not buying/selling, why not?)
• Relative movement in key stock valuation metrics relative to peers (ex: P/E or cashflow multiple, price NAV)
• Sector outlook

Ad Hoc

• Electronic copies of analyst reports on your firm
• Electronic copies of particularly insightful or useful analyst reports on your sector/industry
• Information on any major legislative changes
• Include a short summary of the relevant material in the report and why the board should read it

Interesting note:
Out of approximately 80 session attendees only three people said they actually presented information to the board personally.

Eric Rosenfeld
President & CEO, Crescendo Partners, L.P.

60% of proxy battles end up in favor of the activist shareholders. Activist shareholders will look at the entire sector. Three areas that activists focus on:
1. Financial structure — Activists may suggest how the company could improve their focus (ex: leverage to the balance sheet)
2. Alternative strategies — Activists may alter the key strategy or suggest that some of the business divest
3. Governance — Activists may look at the board compensation and structure

Activist shareholders are not just hedge funds. They will be engaging in your company’s large shareholders. Don’t think you are not immune.

Clues that an activist shareholder is on the phone/in your stock:

• Very smart
• Asking detailed questions regarding taxes, earnings growth, synergies, etc.

How to deal with them:
Activists can be aggressive. IROs need to keep in mind that all shareholders need to be treated equally. An IRO needs to ensure that an activist does not put words in their mouth or pin them down in terms of timing. An IRO must remember to take them back to the company’s disclosures for facts.

An analyst wants to know the business well. An IRO may want to think of them as media.

How to anticipate activist activities:

• Monitor activities of activists in the company’s sector
• Shareholder identification/surveillance

What can companies do to defend themselves?
Planning:

• Build an advisory team (ex: bankers, PR firm, IR firm, proxy firm)
• Monitor trading activity and filings
• Establish support from shareholders
• Prepare for the worst (ex: build communications plans)
• Engage the analyst in a dialogue (ex: make sure they understand your strategy)

Strategic:

• As an IRO, put yourself in the shoes of the activist shareholders (ex: review your strategic plan, bridge the gaps in your strategic plan)
• Review your board
• Continually update your investors

Financial:

• Understand how you can maximize your revenue in the short- and long-term

The differences between being an activist in Canada vs. the United States are:

• Ability to reposition a shareholder meeting, 21 days later call a special meeting for shareholders, and a few days later hold a vote to replace directors of the board. In the United States you can’t do this. Sometimes you need 50% to vote to replace directors.
• In Canada you don’t need to surface unless you have 10%, in the US it is 5%.
• The poison pill was adopted as a way to give the board time to look at other options when dealing with a battle. In the US the “just say no” defense is used, the board can say no.
• There are more concentrated holdings in Canada.
• There is the impression remedy in Canada. No similar remedy in the US.
• Compared to the US, companies have less liquidity in Canada.

This talk is about how communicators or IROs can get a seat at the mythic “table”. Essentially, how can you become a trusted advisor to the senior exec?

Well, getting the boss to listen to you apparently starts with getting into the mindset of leaders. What’s wrong with your own (communicator’s) mindset? Well, communicators think that saving the world (or whatever the problem is) as a “communications problem” with a communications solution. Leaders see communications as a small part of a solution, not THE solution.

As a matter of fact, leaders don’t want you to provide the solution, that’s their job. They are the ones who will synthesize strategy, who synthesize solutions. Consequently, you need to provide them options, from which THEY will choose a solution.

To understand them, then, pay attention to what leaders read and think about. Good places to start: Harvard Business Review, or books about leadership and strategy such as “From the Gut” by Jack Welch, Good to Great, John Cotter’s books, etc.

James suggests, if you want to be a trusted adviser:

1) Provide advice on the spot, bosses work in real time (like outside advisors). They don’t want you to get back to them with an idea tomorrow.

2) Bosses also like to hear from multiple voices. A communicators reaction to this might be: “why does he talk to me, and then talk to 19 other people? What am I, chopped liver?” Bosses like to take advantage of all the expertise at their disposal. James observes leaders rely on other experts in the company 75% of the time, the rest they “make up as they go along”.

3) Your job is to help them with “what to do next”.
Communicators think they provide “solutions”. Your boss wants ingredients to choose from, to craft their own solutions. So, “what is the next incremental step we can take” is the main thing to think about. It’s their bus, you don’t get to drive it.

4) Tell them things they don’t already know. The higher up the manager, the less they suffer fools. The higher up they go, the better communicators they think they are. (This is why they’re deaf when you talk). So talk about other things than just communication issues. Ask yourself: “Is what I’m about to say important?”

Many communicators suffer from the “face time delusion” — we measure our success by the time we spend in the proximity of the boss. The real question is: am I ready to provide something that matters to the boss?

5) Are you a person of tomorrow, or a person of yesterday?
Strategy is about what you’re going to do tomorrow and beyond. Do you (communicators) study the great strategies or strategists? You should. Many are military-related.

Managers job: to accomplish the business objectives. Leaders job: to decide where the company is going next. Can’t have a strategy without a destination. (“If you don’t have a destination any map will do”).

James’ definition of “Strategy”:
“Strategy is mental energy, that is verbally injected into a company to move the company forward”.

Greatest energy is on display when folks are talking about what is going to happen. James emphasizes verbal energy, such as is contained in “The Pitch”. He points out that the pitch is how we make things happen. It’s not done on paper — it’s done verbally with verbal skills. It’s how things get done.

Write to Time
If you only rely on written things, better get your verbal skills better! We speak at 150 words a minute. Write to time. This will lead to more concise documents. From this we derive the 3-minute drill, or 6 Step Process, for giving advice.

So here’s the 6 Step Process.
This is the template you should follow when dealing with an issue or opportunity with your boss.

1) Explanation — 60 words discussing Why this is on the agenda, what it’s about. Introduce what you’re going to talk about, if necessary, also introduce yourself.

2) Analysis – 60 words on what’s the urgency, problem, or threat.

3) Goal step – 60 words on describing the end point. The boss may immediately agree to it without further explanation or disagree with it and so negate the need to continue. If they don’t agree it is the correct destination then there’s no point in planning the trip.

4) Options step – This is the most important step. Take 150 words — 1 full minute. Here you provide 3 options for action or decision. Bosses like options, so they can make the solution.

Here are three principal solution approaches:
- Doing Nothing (0% solution);
- Doing Something (100% solution); and
- Doing Something More (125% solution).

Offering 3 options will keep you in the game, keep you at the table. You also won’t “Die by Question” (get torpedoed by an issue from a particular stakeholder on a particular suggestion). You get to stay in the room.

Coming up with three options will also force you to think outside your particular box. So you’ll have to consider other areas: leadership, things about other parts of the business, and so forth. This is good.

5) Recommendation step — 60 words. Be ready to recommend the option you think the company should take.

6) “Justification” step — 60 words. Be ready to defend your recommendation.

Follow this approach and they will hold up meetings for you. “Julie always has a bunch of ideas.”

“This approach will change your life. It will make you more important.”

End meetings on time
You won’t get more done with a meeting that runs longer than planned — have another meeting if you need to.

Be a “tomorrow” person
People ask: what about studying the past to know about the future? Best approach as far as historical study: pattern analysis. Pattern recognition allow us to “know a lot by knowing a little”. A trusted advisor should understand the past in terms of what will happen in the future.

This also happens to give us “evidence” when we’re giving advice. “The situations have played out for companies such as (name) in the past is that!” As leaders do things by process, and have been trained to be process thinkers, they are somewhat at odds with a communicators more organic means of coming up with an idea. The boss wants to know “where’s the process, where’s the evidence?”

The six step approach provides the process they need to get to the solution.

James says, when you give advice you’ll be wrong about half the time using pattern recognition, but without, you’ll be wrong 75% of the time.

Everything is pattern oriented. Recognize the pattern, it helps you predict the future. This is what matters to bosses. So this is the mindset you need to understand to matter to them.

Lessons ” key concepts”
- Understand leadership
- Talk to time, write to time
- Come up with options (make yourself do it) — essential

- Follow the 6-step process

Mr. Lukaszewski is a terrific speaker, the kind you feel you can totally trust as having the wisdom and experience to support what he is saying — good pick CIRI!

For more on James visit his website.

Bob and I spoke about First Uranium, his views on the IR industry in Canada and finished off with tips for newer IROs. Check out the interview below.