ASPEN CORPORATE VALUES STRATEGY GROUP

Briefing –Fall 2006

Imagine: In 2015, if we look back on a decade of steady improvements in investments and

business decisions that incorporate long-term metrics in pursuit of long-term competitiveness and
renewed trust in business, what will have been the contributing factors?

The Aspen Institute’s Corporate Values Strategy Group (CVSG) is dedicated to re-introducing
long-term bias in corporate and investment decision-making. The current focus is on promoting
changes in corporate practice, investment practice, and policy in support of long-term
competitiveness. Long-term competitiveness includes the critical issues of managing to differing
time frames; focusing on forward-looking, strategic metrics as indications of corporate health; and
restoring trust in U.S. business.

Our theory of change incorporates the notion that thoughtful managers respond to decision rules
and metrics that are more forward-looking and sensitive than quarterly earnings, share price and
DCF. At the Aspen Institute, we believe that rebalancing the short-term/long-term focus of
business is critical to creating the necessary conditions for leading with values in business.

CVSG Strategy
The Corporate Values Strategy Group is open to businesses with a shared interest in creating the
conditions for long term value creation. The work of the CVSG embraces multiple,
complementary approaches to stimulate dialogue among key influentials, and develop a
compelling case for change. A vanguard group of companies will forge a standard of best
practice based on management principles in pursuit of long-term value creation. Specific
activities include:

1. Research on Economic Impacts of Short-Termism. A literature review undertaken by

The Aspen Institute has 100+ relevant academic and press articles exploring a broad range
of topics related to short-termism in our capital markets. The key questions guiding our
search are: what evidence exists that our capital markets are indeed becoming more
focused on the short-term, and what are the real economic impacts of short-termism on
firm-level and national economic performance? What is the case for change?
2. Institutional Investor Working Group. The Global Markets Institute at Goldman Sachs
is working on the role of institutional investors in re-invigorating long-term perspective in
our capital markets. What practices among institutional investors support a long-term
perspective among investors and corporate leaders? How can the relationship between
investors and firms be reshaped to strengthen a long-term perspective among both
groups?
3. Working Group on Forward-Looking, Strategic Metrics. Re-introducing long-term
bias in corporate and investment policies depends on the insight of managers and investors
into the long-term health of the firm. We are working with members of the CVSG to
identify best practices: What metrics drive forward-looking, strategic indicators of
corporate health? How do long-term oriented companies compensate and reward their
executives?

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 4. Policy and regulatory environment. The Business Roundtable and Council of
Institutional Investors are collaborating on a series of meetings to discuss policy ideas:
December 2006 and January 2007.
5. Earnings Guidance and Communication with Wall Street. Utilizing research by
McKinsey and Aspen, this working group will explore best practices of companies that are
rethinking earnings guidance and testing new metrics and approaches to communicating
with investors: First roundtable in November 2006

Corporate Values Strategy Group—Annual Convening

Each year, the Aspen Institute convenes a group of corporate executives, investment managers
and policy experts to explore the five areas of work above. A list of attendees at our June 2006
convening is as follows:

Beth Brooke, Global Vice Chair, Ernst & Young LLP

Peter Bridgman, Senior Vice President and Controller, PepsiCo, Inc.
John Castellani, President, Business Roundtable
James Down, Former Chief Executive Officer, Mercer Management Consulting
Patrick Gross, Chairman, The Lovell Group
R. Glenn Hubbard, Dean, Graduate School of Business, Columbia University
Daniel Janki, Vice President, Corporate Investor Relations, General Electric Company
Roger Kline, Senior Partner, McKinsey & Company
Robert Kueppers, Deputy CEO, Deloitte & Touche USA LLP
David Langstaff, Director, SRA International
John Manzoni, EVP and Managing Director; Chief Executive, Refining and Marketing, BP p.l.c.
William McDonough, Vice Chairman & Special Advisor to the Chairman, Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc.
Suzanne Nora Johnson, Vice Chairman, Goldman Sachs & Company
Harriet Pearson, Vice President, Corporate Affairs and Chief Privacy Officer, IBM Corporation
Peter Peterson, Senior Chairman, The Blackstone Group, LP
Judith Samuelson, Executive Director, Business and Society Program, The Aspen Institute
Henry Schacht, Partner and Senior Advisor, Warburg Pincus LLC
Damon Silvers, Associate General Counsel, AFL-CIO
Steven Wagner, Managing Partner, U.S. Center for Corporate Governance, Deloitte & Touche LLP

For additional information and a report of the June Summit 2006, please contact:
Judith Samuelson, Executive Director,
The Aspen Institute’s Business & Society Program.
jsamuelson@aspeninstitute.org / (212) 895-8001

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