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  • Published on

    So...why Musings?

    Productivity Research

    During the last nine months I've been privileged to have the space and time to ponder many things. Strategy. Governance. Why companies fail. Our purpose on Earth. Life.

    Some of these thought pathways have emerged as a direct result of enrolling as a post-graduate student, and the work I needed to do to prepare to become a doctoral student. Others have emerged because I have time and space to think, and because the academic pathways have taught me to think more critically about things.

    "Musings" is my response to all this. Rather than hold things close, I've decided to share with anyone who's prepared to listen or to follow. My ideas. My observations. My thoughts. Indeed, my musings. 

    How often will I publish an entry? I'm not sure but I'd imagine once or maybe twice most weeks. Sometimes, I'll publish more publicly via LinkedIn or Twitter. The RSS tag means the system will alert you to new entries if you subscribe.

  • Published on

    Gender diversity disclosures...on what basis?

    Complexity Diversity Effectiveness Governance Performance

    The discussion about gender diversity disclosures this week piqued my interest.

    Are these calls for gender and age disclosures simply representative of societal pressures towards inclusiveness, or are they because increased gender and age diversity is linked to increased company performance?

    Researchers have been studying the supposed link between board composition factors and company performance for many years. To date, their findings are inconclusive. Gender diversity does, however, seem to lead to more civilised debate in the boardroom, higher accountabilities and better attendance. So, there appears to be goodness in diversity. However, we must to be careful not to confuse these inputs and activity with the desired output of increased company performance.

    New Zealand was first to give women the vote, and that was good for society. Moving towards diversity in the boardroom may also be good for society. However, we don't know that yet. 

    I applaud any move towards increased transparency and disclosure, particularly for listed companies. However, if the motivation is to move down a diversity pathway for which no solid evidence linking increased diversity to company performance is available, are we not on dangerous ground?

  • Published on

    Australian CEOs don't measure up

    CEO Productivity Strategy

    The Australian Business Spectator published an interesting article today. Interesting, but perhaps not surprising. How might productivity be different if boards worked actively with their CEO to agree corporate goals and form strategy? Surely, clear and aligned thinking at the top is a prerequisite to productivity through the organisation?