You shouldn't be handed over to the vice president of public relations. Sullivan prides himself on answering each and every letter written to the company by one of its shareholders. He also candidly addresses questions at RPM's annual meeting, asking members of the audience to jot down their questions on a piece of paper, rather than standing up and addressing the board. Shareholders certainly aren't shy about asking the toughest of questions. We try to explain why our make-up is what it is, and why we pay people what we do.
Many companies pride themselves on their openness.
Yet, there truly are some questions that a company cannot answer. For example, at the Kellogg Company , number 18 in our survey, members of the investor relations team know better than to answer questions about the company's predicted volume and sales levels for the next quarter. Besides, no one can predict the future. We don't have a crystal ball and can't estimate the numbers for shareholders. Even if they could, giving away those numbers could cost the company its competitive edge.