Year-end thoughts.

• Position: FROM THE EDITOR - Editorial

Maybe a new trend for the magazine page, but I am again in a different photo in a different scene. This time, I have the FEI/FERF logos at my back, as the photographer caught me crossing the red carpet to enter the reception area for FEI's Seventh Hall of Fame Gala, which was held in New York on Nov. 12, and which celebrated the 2012 class.

That class includes four extraordinary financial executives: William J. Ihlanfeldt, Hans G. Storr, Robert P. Wayman and John K. Wulff. Read more about this important and elegant event on page 70.

It seems clear that if there's one thing we can learn from the past year of campaigning and the recent election season, it's that someone can have what they believe is the right idea or plan to get a certain job done, but if it's not communicated effectively, you lose. This lesson is not one that was planned, so I can't say there is an article to overcome such deficiencies in this issue--but you can count on it during 2013.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Consider, financial executives and other senior managers may be competent--even brilliant--in what they do, but that doesn't mean they can "sell" their vision for what they believe needs to be done to their management or board of directors. The core curriculum that goes into producing top-notch financial executives likely does not include communications courses as a key subject. Perhaps all senior-level career training should include communication skills.

What we do have in this issue, however, are several articles of importance for financial executives. For example, the cover story on mergers and acquisitions by Randy Ottingter, executive vice president at Kotter International, notes that though the much-published fact that about 70 percent of M&A deals fail, in order to be successful in growing their businesses, "financial leaders should not forego acquisitions; they should forego handling them so...