We start by analyzing business reality. In practice, this means examining fundamental questions like these:

Strength and weakness: divisions & product lines

Growth opportunities vs. cash cows

Specific sales challenges

Customer adoption cycles

Areas of geographical strength and weakness

Where available, we mine financially-oriented media coverage of the company going back at least two years. Then, we go deeper, picking apart investor presentations, SEC filings and analyst conference calls.

We also scour press releases, speeches, mission statements and media reports for evidence of "official" positioning.

At this point, a clear picture emerges of the potential conflicts between business reality and a company's "official" messaging.


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