| CLEARLY, PROMISING TO select the world’s 100 best reports (a la The Sporting News’ annointing the 100 best baseball players of all time) was over-reaching.
For one thing, this competition—to select the world’s best annual reports—has been in existence only since 1983. Major league baseball traces its beginnings to the previous century.
Also: Ground rules to make things fair, to make sense of these choices, were established.
An essential rule was that a firm must be on the list of world’s best more than twice.
That ruled out for inclusion on the list in the adjoining column the likes of Lowe’s Cos., Potlatch, American Express and InterNorth, all 1983 best.
Similarly, Manufacturers Hanover was excluded. It made the world’s best list for 1984, its 127 points putting it in second place, one point behind Koppers, the marvelous Pittsburgh firm gobbled up by someone or other. (Koppers, with 128 points again, finished second to Gannett in 1985, then tied for seventh place with 114 before disappearing from the scene.)
With its ’85 report, Manny Hanny’s 127 points (again) gave it a tie for fourth place with San Diego Gas & Electric.
What about SDG&E? Why isn’t it on the list? Its 1984 product finished
fourth with 123 points. A year later, it tied for fourth, as indicated, with 127. The San Diego-based public utility finished No. 4 with its 1986 report with 120 points, second in ’87 with 125—then disappeared from the Top 10 scene. Into the dumps, frankly.
Its producer, Lynn Taylor, took her enormous abilities to—Great Western. Its 1988 report scored 120 points, sufficient for sixth best. Its year-later 126 points enabled it to move up a notch. But then it, too, faded. Taylor left.
InterNorth’s ’83, tied for No. 8 with American Express (with 115 points), surfaced the following year as Enron. Its 123 points were good for eighth place. Likewise never to be heard from again.
Same with the likes of Bindley Western, Snap-on Tools, Battle Mountain Gold, Federal-Mogul, COMSAT, Apogee, AT&T, Atlantic Energy and Hillenbrand Industries.
Ameritech’s George Stenitzer produced reports first, for Southwestern Bell based in St. Louis, Mo., then in its new guise, SBC Communications based in San Antonio, Tex. They scored 103 in 1992, 125 in ’93.
Stenitzer left to join Chicago-based Ameritech, whose 1994-7 reports he was responsible for. With scores, respectively, of 130 (tied for No. 1), 134 (world’s best), 135 (tied for No. 1), and, again, 135, plus a 100% CPI.
Stenitzer’s score puts him in second place, right behind Donald E. Janis*, ex-corporate controller of Wisconsin-based Mosinee Paper Corp.
Janis’ six-year average: 129 points, Stenitzer’s, two points fewer.
* He’s now president of Austin, Texas-based Hilton-Janis Consulting. (512) 291-4711. email address: DonEJanis@aol.com
| |
| Company | Score |
| Don Janis*
| 129 |
| George Stenitzer
| 127 |
| St. Paul Cos.
| 126 |
| Chevron
| 125 |
| Lynn Taylor
| 124 |
| Armco
| 123 |
| Koppers
| 123 |
| AFLAC
| 120 |
| Bruncor
| 120 |
| Knight-Ridder
| 119 |
| NW Natural
| 119 |
| Reuters
| 119 |
| Phillips Petroleum
| 118 |
| PepsiCo
| 117 |
| Sonoco Products
| 116 |
| Southern Co.
| 114 |
| Quaker Oats
| 113 |
| Transamerica
| 111 |
| American General
| 105 |
| Gannett
| 104 |
| Kemper
| 104 |
* Technically, Mosinee Paper. But after Janis left, its report tanked. Clearly, he was responsible for its successes. |
