Having been in the job as chief promoter in a previous life, one thing that does get you going is the pipeline of discussions you are in that are not very close to being able to be announced.

This can leave you with a high degree of positivity whilst you are unable to discuss or even hint on these. Now there is no way to know or be able to assess how big the future pie might be by the smile on the MD's face, but it could be a pointer.

Last week I was at an AGM of a very small cap who will remain nameless. Not one person asked a question, so to save the silence I asked a few questions I already pretty much knew the answers to. The board members gave a lot more info than I thought I knew and helped me decide what to do with my holding. It just baffles me that when I go to these AGMs or General Meetings that so few people ask anything. I have learnt a lot about quite a few different businesses and the way they go from cradle to grave just by asking a question and letting them spout lyrical as they are dieing to tell people what exciting things are going on.

I watched the meeting with XRF Scientific (ASX:XRF) Managing Director Vance Stazzonelli yesterday (side note - really impressed). Then listened to the Baby Giants Podcast when I went for a drive to pick up some golf clubs (separate topic).

Anyway, it got me thinking after watching the meeting and listening to a topic that was discussed on the pod regarding management, particularly MD and CEO's 'presenting' skills.

Claude firstly noted that it was positive to see long-serving management, especially for business models that may be more 'risky' than others (talking about Credit Corp). He continued and said historically he has been caught up in management who may speak to a narrative or be a bit 'OTT' (over the top). Strawman agreed and said it is "their job" to sell their product/service and essentially that they do have a licence to be a bit more hubristic - something that I do tend to agree with; you want management being confident in what they're saying and in their company/organisation. Because if they are not confident and promotional then how am I meant to be or get excited?

However, what I think speaks louder than this is when management are conservative, they are not overly "promotional", and don't play to a narrative or jump on buzz-words (hello 'AI'). Sometimes they may almost play things down which may come across a bit blasé. This is something that I have been more conscious of when I have been watching recent meetings - looking for the management teams/individuals that deliver a message simply, speak confidently, and articulate what they do in an easy and understandable way. Claude said this is something he may even 'overweight' moving forward.

I've certainly been one who can very easily get swept up by charismatic MDs, CEOs or management teams who can emphasise a narrative, which has contributed to some of my mistakes in the past (both investing and otherwise).

I understand there is lots of psychology that goes into this, and therefore it can be difficult to quantify the qualitative side when reviewing management teams so figured I would put some thoughts down and put it to the forum.

Does anyone else have thoughts on this? I am curious to hear others thoughts on how they assess management as this can be difficult and subjective.

Some SM meetings or companies that come to mind where management seem to come across as conservative, and are not overly promotional are, XRF Scientific (Vance Stazzonelli), Alcidion (Kate Quirke), Audinate (Rob Goss), Laserbond (Wayne Hooper), and Energy One (Shaun Ankers).

I do have a shortlist of some that I think were overly promotional - however, I'll keep them to myself unless others are keen to discuss their thoughts as well.