one back two forward

Sometimes you have to take a step back to go two forward.

If the shareholders see fit to push through Board changes then there will no doubt be some teething issues with anything new. It's a fact of life. The new guys will endeavour to hit the ground running but the change may be unsettling for staff so they'll have to manage that. I can't see CBIO being any different to any other organisation, with change there comes resistance.

Bullies keep the majority in line by threatening them with the unknown. The fear of losing your investment, the fear of throwing away relationships with large pharmaceuticals, the fear of XToll being ignored due to lack of drug commercialization landscape, are examples of the unknown which Mr Jones is trying to use to keep shareholders subservient.

When reading the Boards’ letter to shareholders, I could follow a lot of what they were saying. They put together a good argument as to their structuring of the 31 July announcement. They shot back some good points as to possible shortcomings of the challengers. But where is their LEADERSHIP to shareholders (fight to protect their wealth)? Where is their INTEGRITY to fairness? Where is their HONOUR to respecting the position they hold?

Mr Jones’ actions are that of a school yard bully and he has lost these attributes of good governorship. He dismisses his own shareholders rising up against him because he does not fight for them. He does not represent them. Too me, he embodies self. He cannot fathom why he has to justify his position. He does not feel the mood, the emotion of the small folk.

The small folk are facing that fear and REJECT it. The resilient folk are banding together in strength to demand good governorship and bring it back to the company and represent shareholders the way they expect.

I rather like the quote on the website www.cbiogm.com.au by Mr David Murray, Chairman of the Australia Future Fund, (formerly Commonwealth Bank’s CEO for 13 years)
“If you are running a stockmarket listed company, your only objective is to create shareholder wealth. You shouldn’t have any policies contrasting [with] that objective. Of course, you need to act within the law, treat people fairly and so forth, but wealth creation should be your single most important objective.”

Democracies work because the bullies get found out. Fear is a good weapon if you are up against the weak. I think Mr Jones has once again underestimated the shareholders.

The pharmaceuticals aren’t going to walk away from XToll because they like Mr Jones. This is farcical to the extreme. To hazard a guess they would be in it to create pharmaceutical shareholder wealth. I can’t believe I even had to write that! The deal will get done if XToll is good enough it’s just who do you trust to get it done with your best interests in mind?

One step back may mean two, three, four or more forward.