How Do Top Films Relate to the New Shareholder Advisory Votes?

Effective communication. Engagement. Getting constituents to ignore the "noise" and buy in to your message. These are all important challenges faced by public companies this year as they prepare for the two new shareholder advisory votes required at their annual meetings under the Dodd-Frank Act: Say-on-Pay and the frequency vote.

These challenges are also important themes of the two best films of 2010: "The Social Network" and "The King’s Speech". I loved both movies, although I agreed with the Golden Globes voters who gave "Social Network" the Best Picture nod last night. But I hadn’t focused on the connection between the two films until I read "Top Two Films Offer Lessons on Life and Media", a very insightful commentary in the Minneapolis StarTribune by editorial writer and media commentator John Rash. As Rash points out, both films address the challenges of connecting with people in a new age of media:

In "Social Network", the main character’s personality and his approach to relationships create difficulties in his business and personal dealings. Nevertheless, he finds a way to tap into the basic human desire for connection, creating a medium that has been adopted by 500 million (and counting) people.

In "King’s Speech", the advent of radio presents a daunting challenge to a new king afflicted with a stammer. His ability to communicate with the masses ultimately depends on his personal friendship with a commoner from Australia.

As Rash puts it:

The Internet, and in particular social networks, have accelerated the rise of personality over policy. . . .

Ultimately both films are fundamentally about friendship - about how it's human, not wireless, connections that count. . . . Both films show how human bonds can be built or broken by the new challenges and opportunities of the new media age. Either way, the results are often consequential . . . .

Interesting observations. So can the films teach any lessons to public companies facing shareholder advisory votes for the first time? Maybe that, even in an age of new media, personal connections will continue to be important - possibly more important than ever. I’m working with numerous companies that are starting to worry about convincing large shareholders to support the company’s recommendations. Much of this process will be done one-on-one, through meetings and phone calls rather than over the Internet. The personal touch may be one way to combat negative feelings about corporate governance and executive compensation, fueled by the new media in the past couple of years.

One way or another, if you haven’t seen both films, don’t miss them.

In "Preview of Coming Attractions, and a Movie Review," I commented on another very good film: "Julie and Julia." This was not only a well-acted portrait of Julia Child and a modern day follower, but it was also the first mainstream movie about blogging.