Values & behaviours

As business is about relationships and behaviour at all levels, should the board be putting more emphasis on cultural governance? What would a cultural governance system look like and what effect could we expect it to have?

Brand & reputational risk

One of the biggest unmanaged risks from a corportae governance perspective is reputation. Nano-technology and new media mean reputations can be destroyed in hours. With complex stakeholder communities, extended supplier chains, and ever increasing strategic partnerships, how do we assess our reputational risk in the event of an unforeseen happening? What new capabilities should we be building to manage these risks?

Stewardship

If the handing over to a future generation of a sustainable and appreciating asset is the criteria for judging corporate success, most management teams are failing, spectacularly. How do we build a new way of thinking into our business activities that will enable us to stand infront of our grandchildren and say 'look after it, as we did for you' ?

Tacit knowledge & Corporate learning

It's far from evident what learning, if any, has resulted from the credit crunch. The worry is, on the up-swing, the old ways of behaving (greed, selfishness, short termism) will return to the boardroom. How do we stop this happening and codify the learning, thereby enhancing the 'capability' of corporate UK to build sustainable businesses? What would this 'capability' be and how could we engender it?

Board & top team effectiveness

Every top team and board member knows deep down that they can not speak their inner truths, without fear of recrimination. Recent research at Cranfield shows that 67% of UK board members had issues of significant strategic concern they felt unable to air with their board colleagues. The same research showed that 85% of board members did not know the functions of their colleages on the board. How do we create an environment of openess, sharing and enquirey, such that the difficult and more challenging questions can be asked in a way that fosters a more collective way of working, accepting and living with diversity of thought and approach?