3) Don’t Talk to Management

Author does not speak to the management of the companies he is researching
• his experience
◦ Talking to management might be detrimental to his investment returns


The problem
• senior managers, CEOs are usually highly skilled salespeople
• It does not matter how their companies is doing , they cam spin it in a positive way


Author it not saying it is immoral for them to do so, it is just a requirement of their job
• need to win over their board etc


Knowing his own rational limitation , he would prefer to not have a potentially reality distorting influence



Counter argument: I need to know the company’s culture, or the top management’s culture

-if you need to chat with a CEO to decided if you wanna invest in the company , it is a huge warning sign

-author: it is better to observe them indirectly, reading their annual report, public data and news stories



The RULE:
Beware of CEOs and other top management , no matter how charismatic , persuasive ,and amiable they seem