I've Got Some Explaining To Do - Director Tenure and Other Tweets

I recently tweeted that  "I’m beginning to think that [director] term limits aren’t such a bad idea." Let me explain. I'm not a fan of age limits; for reasons of enlightened self-interest or otherwise, I object to the notion that a person ceases to be a valuable board member when he/she reaches a certain age. And this seems to be borne out by the fact that companies' retirement ages vary all over the lot. Moreover, some companies waive retirement ages when it's deemed to be "in the best interests of the company" (whatever that means), so they don't necessarily work.

At the same time, I don't buy the approach of some European investors that once a director has served for some period of time, he/she ceases to be independent. How can you be independent on Monday and not independent on Tuesday?

So maybe term limits provide a way for companies to ease out directors who become superannuated for one reason or another? I'm not sold on it, but in the absence of robust disclosure as to why Ms. X continues to be a great board member after 15 years of service (and, in fairness, that kind of disclosure is extremely difficult to provide), maybe it's worth thinking about. Surely a discussion wouldn't hurt?

I also tweeted that I oppose efforts to legalize insider trading. I know it's legal in some jurisdictions, and I've heard arguments that it's going to happen anyway so why not legalize it, but that's like saying that people still commit murder so why not legalize that too. Just saying....

Lamm's Lyrical Library

I've been looking for years for a satisfying recording of Don Giovanni. It's a difficult opera, because it is very dark at times and very funny at others and very beautiful throughout. I'd almost given up, but I recently came upon a recording conducted by John Eliot Gardner with Luba Orgonasova as Donna Anna, Rodney Gilfry as the Don and Ildebrando D'Arcangelo (don't you love that name?) as Leporello, among others. It's a lovely recording and comes as close to being a perfect recording of this classic as I've ever heard.

Lamm's Literary Lyceum

I just finished reading Sarah Dunant's novel about the Borgias. It's called Blood & Beauty. Unfortunately, I learned that the combination of the two yields boredom. The book is atmospheric but flat. Sorry!