I have questions for investors and market participants but first, let me set them up…
I recently read Jeff Jarvis’ book What Would Google Do? (WWGD?). I enjoyed the read so much that I posted such to the author (indirectly) on Twitter. He responded; that is the great thing about Twitter. You never know what big shot in the world of Web 2.0 is listening. BT (before Twitter), my chances of interacting with a huge wheel like Mr. Jarvis would be somewhere between zero and none.
Recently, I had a long drive to do between my home in North Carolina and coastal South Carolina. I had also ordered the audio version of the book What Would Google Do? I found that my best ideas came to me while driving and if I combined that with a good audio book, the understanding of the content was magnified and fostered great ideas. Listening to Mr. Jarvis read his own book was a really neat experience. It brought emotion and passion to what I had only seen in text before.
The principles covered in WWGD? applies to all companies and businesses; be it a one person show or a large company. The ideas that came to me during that long drive goes right along with what I have been preaching to CEOs of micro and small cap companies for 4 years now. When I first brought up these ideas, nearly everyone that provided feedback thought I was an idiot. Long before I even was aware of Web 2.0, I thought companies that were open and transparent, and worked with their shareholders to create a teamwork environment with them would stand a much better chance of success than those that did not.
Now, finally, the questions:
- As an investor, are you more likely to invest in a company who updates developments frequently?
- Is communication and trust important to you as an investor?
- Here is a good one: If a company admits they screwed up in the past and want to make things right, how does it affect your perception of that company?
- Is it important that you can connect with a company’s management team through email, phone or social media platforms?
- How likely are you to invest in a company that solicits input from its shareholders?
The answers to these questions may seem obvious. However, the questions are not obvious to most publicly traded companies…
Now, what other questions can YOU come up with?
