CEOs Give Investors the 'Laser' Treatment

When Liam McGee, chief executive officer of Hartford Financial Services Group, wants to emphasize his commitment to creating shareholder value, he pulls out the precision weaponry. “Our team is laser-focused on execution,” he said in a March 2012 conference call with investors and analysts, laying out plans to divest units and halt some annuity sales. It was one of at least six events in the past two years at which McGee hauled out the lasers.

He’s not alone. At companies ranging from children’s book publishers to organic-food purveyors, CEOs are increasingly training powerful beams of light on their targets. The phrase “laser-focused” appeared in more than 250 transcripts of earnings calls and investor events this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, on pace to eclipse the 287 in all of 2012. “It’s business jargon,” says L.J. Rittenhouse, CEO of Rittenhouse Rankings, who consults with executives on communication and strategy. “What would a more candid disclosure be? ‘We are focused.’ What does a laser have to do with it?”