Using handwriting analysis as a recruitment tool — as some City banks once did — is out of fashion. Yet judging company bosses by how they write their names is surprisingly common in academic circles.
Scrutinising signatures is a ploy used by the swelling ranks of academics researching the link between corporate performance and leaders’ personality traits. The latest such study suggests chief executives with sprawling signoffs are particularly likely to announce big share repurchases, which they do not necessarily implement.
An earlier paper made a link between large autographs and poor performance, including overspending on acquisitions. Leaders with extravagant signatures were more lavishly paid than those with smaller scribbles. They are also likely to talk up their commitment to corporate social responsibility. Saving the world is an attractive platform for self-aggrandising CEOs, cynics might conclude.