Panic may be a natural reaction to the historic market turmoil we're witnessing. However, after we shake our heads in disappointment, take a deep breath, realize that the next few months, or longer, will be tough, and turn off CNBC, we must get back to work.

Boards of directors are often unpleasantly surprised when an investor becomes an activist and launches an attack on the company, pushing them to put the company up for sale or to spin off a unit. They are caught off-guard not necessarily because they were unaware of the investor's dissatisfaction with performance or pace of growth, but instead with the timing of the attack.

The recent announcement that Gershon Kekst was selling the firm that bears his name to the French giant Publicis might signal the end of an era, though Kekst himself would surely scoff at the idea.

Companies seeking to expand their investor base these days often face a tough question with no single correct answer: Should senior management make time to meet with hedge funds?

Executives of companies with active investor relations programs might be considering whether to trim activities or "hunker down," given the choppy stock markets. They shouldn't.

Somewhere right now a group of IR/PR corporate staffers are sitting in a conference room vigorously debating how best to handle their company's annual report.

Each year, a handful of companies that believe the market has not fairly valued their stock decide that the time is right to "explore strategic options," often a euphemism for putting the company up for sale.

While it takes many qualities to make a great leader, the ability to persuade has to be near the top of the list. In politics, examples abound, from Lincoln to Churchill, from Gandhi to John Kennedy.

If the devil is in the details, we are witnessing the devil at work when it comes to the practical impact of Reg FD.

Can you imagine America looking to Jerry Lewis to determine future U.S. foreign policy? Or waiting with bated breath to hear Jay Leno's take on immigration legislation?