As Jim Nortz explains, a boots-on-the-ground, eyeball-to-eyeball assessment can be a powerful and effective way to conduct first-party due diligence. After all, “there ain’t nothin’ like touchin’ and feelin’.”
Read Part 1 here.
In the early 1990s, I served as Senior Safety, Health and Environmental Counsel for a multinational specialty chemical company. A couple of years after joining the firm, Roger Sharp was hired and assumed the role of Senior Vice President of Operations. Roger was a giant of a man. Standing at 6’3” and weighing in at well over 350 pounds, he was a very imposing presence. Hailing from West Virginia, Roger spoke with a heavy drawl and carried himself like John Wayne – and it wasn’t an act.
To get acquainted with the company, shortly after his arrival, he went on a months-long tour of our chemical plants around the world. Upon his return, I popped in his office to welcome him back and asked him if he was worn out from all his travels. In response, Roger confessed that his global tour was taxing, but remarked, “there’s nothin’ like touchin’ and feelin’.”
Many years have passed since that conversation with Roger, but I have since learned the wisdom of his insights and have concluded that perhaps the single most effective means of mitigating Intermediary…
