My top recommendation about annual reports: don’t miss this opportunity to foster a compelling, human voice for the top executive in the Letter to Shareholders. By voice I mean a personality. I mean style . . . leadership style, communication style. Vision.

Good letters, even corporate letters to shareholders, are personal. One of the best letters I ever read was from Michael Eisner at Disney (I didn’t write it, but wish I had). It read as if it came from the heart; it was rich with personal anectode that managed to reflect the position of the entire Disney enterprise. It represented personal struggle and triumph, and by extension, corporate struggle and triumph.

Unfortunately, too many public companies believe the annual report is the place to spew and spin the corporate line. Too many letters have the dreary weight of multiple authors: the CEO, the CFO, Chairman the public relations team, corporate counsel, other lawyers. I say let the CEO speak! Let shareholders get to know this person running their company!

Save the other stuff for the “marketing” section.

Here’s an annual report I wrote a while back for First Albany Companies. The letter didn’t end up the way I had hoped but it’s not terrible. Of course, First Albany later crashed and burned, then emerged from the ashes as BroadPoint Securities Group, Inc.