Here’s a shocker: Pfizer’s directors are talking directly to its biggest investors. The US drug company’s board invited institutional investors to a private meeting in October as part of efforts to calm a shareholder revolt that forced the early retirement of its chief executive in 2006. The move was highly unusual for the US, where confrontational attitudes have been the norm. One Wall Street legal eagle decried Pfizer’s plans as “corporate governance run amok” and said they would undermine competitiveness.

International experience suggests just the opposite. Regular chats between boards and large investors can be beneficial. In the UK, a 2005 company law formalised the role of a senior independent director. At some companies the person in that position has begun meeting informally with big investors to smooth tensions and head off conflicts before they surface.