In a couple of weeks, I'll be in England and Europe, for the third and final time this year. The schedule includes attendance at two conferences, delivery of two keynotes and a bevy of meetings, as follows:

While the schedule is fairly full, some gaps remain for additional meetings (in London).

If you would like to meet, please get in touch. I'd be glad to discuss any aspect of boards, corporate governance or effective board practice; explore a research idea; or respond to (future) speaking or advisory enquiries.

Further to my recent announcement, the full findings of my doctoral research are now available. You can read the abstract here, or download the full thesis (all 359 pages!):

The research is informed by a longitudinal multiple-case study of two large high growth companies. Data was collected from direct observations of boards in session, and multiple secondary and tertiary sources, creating a rich and rare data resource. The analysis revealed numerous insights, leading to a mechanism-based model of the governance–performance relationship and an explanation of how boards can exert influence beyond the boardroom including firm performance.

If you would like to discuss the research (or raise a challenge), ask a question or explore how your board might benefit from the findings, please get in touch. I'd be glad to hear from you.

Longstanding readers of Musings may recall that I embarked on a journey in 2012, to try to understand whether boards of directors are able to influence the performance of the company they govern and, if so, how. The journey has been long and arduous, with many challenges and setbacks along the way to be overcome. 

That journey, my quest to answer a most difficult question, has reached an important milestone, the awarding of a doctorate degree. I'm thrilled that the examination panel has seen fit to recognise the groundbreaking research, a longitudinal study of the boards of two large high-growth companies. The panel's decision confirms the validation provided by the academic community late last year. Here is the doctoral citation:

Copies of the abstract and full thesis are now available. If you want to ask a question, discuss some aspect the research or understand the implications for board effectiveness, please get in touch.

One of the delights of my high school years—close to forty years ago now—was to run. Mostly, I ran 1500m on the track and cross-country events. While I did experience the winning tape a few times, most events saw me finish off the podium. I was a capable but not great runner. Perhaps it was the genes, or technique, or perhaps I didn't prepare sufficiently well. 

My lingering memory from those enjoyable days was a piece of advice offered by a quietly spoken coach, at a regional event, "Leave a little bit in the tank, you may need it at end." ​

The parallels with my doctoral research journey—to discover how boards can influence business performance—are clear. The oral examination is just ten days away now. The journey to date has been arduous yet fulfilling, and not without its challenges and setbacks as you might expect. With the oral examination now in sight, should I go all out or hold a steady pace? Will the oral signal the finishing tape has been reached or will the examiners require emendations?

Several weeks ago I reported, with a sense of frustration, the seemingly slow progress towards the examination of my doctoral research. The lack of any visible progress since the beginning of June has engendered a sensation not unlike a phony war. However, that changed late last week. Some sixteen weeks after the thesis was submitted for examination, a date for the viva voce has been set. I have been called to meet the examination panel on 22 October 2015. 

That a date has been set is good news: I now have a target to work towards. A meeting has been scheduled with the panel convenor (1 October) to understand the process and, importantly, the expectations of the examiners. From there, preparations will start in earnest. The most pressing priority is to re-read the thesis from cover to cover—all 341 pages of it. It'll be interesting to see how much I can remember, given I haven't opened the document since the beginning of June!

Over the last month or so, I've begun to receive questions—several per week—about my doctoral research. Most have been variations on these themes:

On the examination: I had hoped to have some news by now, as eleven weeks has passed since the dissertation was submitted for examination (oral examinations normally occur about 8–12 weeks after submission). However, there was a problem with the examiner panel and some seven weeks elapsed before it was resolved. I've now been told to expect to expect the oral examination during the week of 19 October—another nine weeks away! Thankfully, my head supervisor is trying to accelerate the process, and I've got other things to be going on with.

On the request for a copy of the full dissertation: A copy of the dissertation (The influence of boards on business performance: Evidence from inside the boardroom) will be posted here after the examination and emendation process is complete. A copy will also be available via academic search engines in due course. In addition, I plan to consolidate the main research findings into a slim (but readable, with practical implications) volume. If you would like to be added to a mailing list to receive a copy when it is available, please let me know.

Notwithstanding the rather annoying delay, feedback from several people who know about the research findings suggests it will be worth the wait, both as a useful guide for boards and as a basis for future research. However, such claims are preemptive and presumptive in my view: the dissertation needs to emerge from the examination process first! 

May 31 is an important day on our family calendar: This year doubly so. It's our daughter's birthday (our youngest reached the ripe old age of 21 this year). We hosted a luncheon for her and several of her friends. Gifts were given and stories were told. We had a great time together. The 'doubly so' part is that I finished writing up my doctoral thesis! Some three-and-a-quarter years after setting out (to discover how boards influence business performance), the main output of the doctoral research process, the thesis dissertation, is complete and ready to be examined.

Four copies of the 336-page tome have been printed and bound, and the associated 'submission' paperwork has been signed. Will the thesis dissertation be good enough? I hope so, but only the examiners can answer that question.

Where to from here? Today I will rest, to start dissipating the intensity of the final ten days of the write-up and to 'change gear' (from writing to meeting people). I am en route to London, ahead of three exciting corporate governance conferences—two of which I have the honour of addressing. Tomorrow I will start preparing presentations and thinking about the future.

Just over three years after first setting out, I arrived at a small but significant milestone on my doctoral research today. The candidate final draft of the thesis (a 'mere' 336 pages) was sent to my supervisors for their detailed review. I'm hoping that, subject to relatively minor edits and changes, this draft will be submitted for examination.

The personal satisfaction of arriving at this point is palpable: Some of the numbers: read over 1000 articles; listened to over 6GB of audio recordings of board meetings and interviews; read and analysed over 900 printed pages of documentation; untold hours spent wrestling with candidate theories; and, written over 83,000 words (this is what remains, I've probably written and scrapped at least 20,000 more than this). The going has been tough lately, because writing up a thesis, in an academic style is not my forte. A couple of months ago, I expressed some frustration. Today, the sun shone again, and it was good.

Tomorrow will be my second day off in 2015. After a steady diet of 14 hour days, my wife is not sure what I'll do with myself. I've got a fair idea: it'll probably involve a Colnago, and I doubt there will be a word processor in sight! Thank you to everyone who has provided support to this point. The journey is not over yet, but I'm hopeful that the end is not too far away now.

I've spent the last six weeks working hard (seven days a week), towards my goal of completing the doctoral research thesis, in readiness for a final check by my supervisors before it is submitted for examination. That process has involved long hours of focussed concentration and a fair dose of pedantry. Those of you who have completed doctoral research will know exactly what I mean, no doubt.

Progress has been steady, but the pointy end of the process is taking longer than expected; more so following the arrival yesterday of some feedback from one of my supervisors. The feedback received over the past few weeks has been positive and encouraging. However, the latest feedback has introduced some unexpected obstacles to be dealt with. It's frustrating to say the least.

A question posed at a faculty seminar held at Massey University recently has set me thinking. My supervisor was the primary presenter, and I was there as one of his protégés that had been asked to make a contribution. My task was explore the importance of access (to make first-hand observations of what actually happens in boardrooms) and, given access, to discuss the implications for both research and knowledge. The seminar was a low-key affair. However, one of the questions gripped me. In asking, the person demonstrated that their understanding of business was quite different from mine. The question was valid and needed to be answered (and it was), despite my judgement that is was rather inconsequential given my worldview.

This brief exchange highlighted one of the main challenges of doctoral research: communication. How does one summarise their ideas and findings into a cohesive story that will be read and accepted by three learned people (examiners!) with a critical mindset? I have a fair idea of what I want to say, but what is the best way to get the message across?

The answer seems to lie in one word: pedantry. And therein lies the challenge, for me anyway. While I know my  topic pretty well—having lived and breathed it for nearly three years now—an examiner will arrive at the cover page of the thesis document 'cold'. Researchers need to take readers on a journey, starting with a descriptive title and ending with a solid conclusion. The question taught me that the journey is probably as important as the destination. The introduction should simply state the problem and position the research. The historical view of the research literature, the approach taken by me and the findings all need to be revealed in the pages that follow. The summary of findings should be reserved for the final chapter. Positioning the research is also important. The question reminded me that every term that is subject to multiple interpretations needs to be defined, to avoid misinterpretation. I've had to go back to the literature many times in recent weeks, to check things and to make adjustments. Finally, the spelling, grammar and referencing needs to be 'perfect'.

While the going has been tough of late, the good news is that I am stepping closer to the goal with every passing day, even though my arrival is now more likely to be in January. But I'm relaxed about that.