Talk is better than

Chairmen should talk to their chief executives. It’s a simple point, but one that Andreas Schmid, chairman of Switzer-land’s Kouni Travel, forgot. He neglected to mention to the group’s board and chief executive, Armin Meier, that he was negotiating a merger with UK competitor First Choice. The resulting power struggle forced Schmid out. It’s generally not acceptable to leave a chief executive out of such important negotiations. After all, management probably has the best inside information abo...