Benefits of Succession Planning

We recently discussed Succession Planning. This study reports that the percentage of public companies with a board-approved CEO succession plan has increased from 14% in 2004 to 54% in 2007. The report also notes that succession planning is an effective way to control executive compensation:

"Many experts see better succession planning as the antidote to excessive executive compensation. The more eager (or desperate) a board is to bring in a stellar CEO from the outside, the more it is willing to offer up a candy store of incentives – which make headlines as "pay for failure" packages if and when today's incoming star becomes tomorrow's outgoing executive. "Going outside can be frightful," Alfred DeCrane Jr., former CEO of Texaco
Corp. and a veteran of four compensation committees, recently told The Wall Street Journal. "You can negotiate, but if you want to close the deal, you have to close it."

Free Basic Financial Education

Are you looking for a way to provide yourself, your family and friends, or your employees with some free basic financial information? The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) created Money Smart, "a training program to help adults outside the financial mainstream enhance their money skills and create positive banking relationships." There is an instructor-led version and a computer-based instruction version, which is available online or on CD-ROM. The program consists of 10 modules that take 1-2 hours per module to complete:

1. Bank on It - an introduction to bank services
   
2. Borrowing Basics - an introduction to credit
   
3. Check It Out - how to choose and keep a checking account
   
4. Money Matters - how to keep track of your money
   
5. Pay Yourself First - why you should save, save, save
   
6. Keep It Safe - your rights as a consumer
   
7. To Your Credit - how your credit history will affect your credit future
   
8. It Right - how to make a credit card work for you
   
9. Loan To Own - know what you're borrowing before you buy
   
10. Your Own Home - what home ownership is all about