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    On slowing down: From speed to success

    Accountability Corporate Governance Decision Making Effectiveness Governance
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    I returned today from two overnight trips (both were to attend board meetings, meet shareholders and discuss various company matters with management). It was great to get out and about again—to sit together around a board table, meet staff and see the businesses operating following the constraints imposed by the Covid-19 lockdown.
    While I was away, a Netherlands-based colleague sent a note saying she'd just started reading through Musings, from the beginning. Why someone would go back and read all of my writings since March 2012 is beyond me, but she has chosen to do so. She said that while many writings resonated, one piece in particular stood out as being as relevant today as when it was first written, in 2012.

    Amongst other things waiting for my attention [having arrived overnight] was an article originally posted by Tony Schwartz on the HBR Blog Network. The article set me thinking. Why are we, in this so-called modern age of productivity, so busy trying to fit so much in to our lives? We use electronic diaries to keep track and save time, but they've come to rule our lives. We seem to be constantly running; going faster, but getting nowhere. If I drive down the road quickly, my attention is devoted to the road. I don't see the wider vista, just the road. I drive to the view immediately in front of me. And guess what? I stand a real chance of missing vital turning points.

    Have you ever wondered why car rally drivers have navigators beside them? Simply, they are driving too fast to also concentrate on bigger things like overall direction and goal.

    According to Schwartz, “Speed is a source of stimulation and fleeting pleasure. Slowing down is a route to depth, more enduring satisfaction, and to excellence.” This is profound stuff. What do you aspire to? Speed and all its short-term trappings? Or significance? Perhaps it is time to slow down and find out.

    Chantal's comment, and my subsequent re-reading of this piece, set me thinking once again about the impact of speed and busyness on decision quality.
    How can any director make effective contributions in the boardroom if they are so busy, or moving so quickly, that they do not have time to consider the wider context? The prospect of an electronically-enabled world sounds enticing to many. But is it built on a solid foundation? Are board decisions any better than before?
    Directors owe a duty of care to ensure the enduring success of the company governed. For that, they need to create space to think deeply and critically about longer-term options. They ignore this maxim at their peril.
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    Towards more effective decision-making

    Accountability Corporate Governance Decision Making Effectiveness Governance
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    Earlier this week, I had the privilege of framing a discussion on board decision-making with a group of board directors and Digoshen Impact Partners. (Digoshen is a global learning platform to empower experienced and aspiring directors.) The following comments summarise the key points mentioned during this week's session.
    At the core, the board of director's main job is to ensure the performance of the enterprise it governs. For that, the board needs to consider information, ask questions and make decisions, strategic decisions. This sounds straightforward. But many boards struggle; and more so in a highly-dynamic environment. For example:
    Given these research findings, it's little wonder effectiveness is low. The seemingly unending trail of missteps and company failures tells a sorry story. But boards have options; they hold the ultimate decision-making power and, therefore, are by no means powerless. Boards intent on achieving high levels of decision effectiveness may wish to embrace the following suggestions (discussed during the session):
    • Preparation and managing expectations: Directors need to prepare well, which includes reading papers carefully, and making other enquiries and asking questions in advance of the meeting. Also, the board chair should ensure adequate time is allocated during the meeting, for healthy debate.
    • Check alignment: Directors need to consider how the proposal to be decided upon fits with the company’s purpose and strategy, and what benefits will ensue. (This assumes the company has an agreed purpose and strategy, and that it is understood and resourced. Many don’t.)
    • Analyse consequences carefully: Directors need to think holistically. Check several perspectives (and the consequences), to ensure the effects and impact of the decision are known before the decision is taken. Also check the costs and impact of not making a decision, and the 'do nothing' option. Some options that look initially, may be detrimental over the longer term.
    • Committees: The assessment of a proposal by a committee of the board is useful to ensure a more robust analysis and recommendation, leaving the full board to concentrate on higher-level risk and alignment questions.
    • Appoint a devil's advocate: Allocating the advocatus dialobi role ahead of a debate can help ensure assumptions, biases and various points of view are challenged. The board chair needs to remain alert during such discussions however, to ensure vigorous debate does not descend into conflict between directors.
    • Be prepared to postpone: Sometimes, it's good (even necessary) to postpone a decision until better information is available or directors have had more time to ponder options and implications.
    • Trust is fundamental: An open, trusting culture amongst directors is crucial, to support the exploration of multiple perspectives and high quality debate in the boardroom. Tension between directors is OK, conflict is not.
    • Decisions are always collective: The board is a collective of directors, and decisions are taken by the board, not individuals. Therefore, all directors need to agree with the decision—or offer their consensus at least. If any lesser threshold is applied, cliques may form and the effectiveness of the board as a tight unit will be compromised. Directors who cannot agree to support a decision after it is made need to consider leaving the board.
    • Monitor and verify: Post-decision reporting requirements need to be clearly defined before the decision, so that the board and management clearly understand how progress will be monitored, and how if the expected benefits (from the decision) are being realised, or not.
    One final point. Boards are social groups that operate within a stratified social setting, the company and more broadly the wider marketplace. Thus, the actions and outcomes that follow are contingent on many external factors. Things can (and do) change quickly. Therefore, boards need to keep their eyes open, to ensure they have contextually relevant information to hand to make an informed decision; and to remain diligent after the decision, to ensure the expected benefits of the decision are in fact realised.
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    Curiosity, COVID19 and the cat

    Accountability Corporate Governance Decision Making Leadership Societal Wellbeing
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    The global crisis brought about by COVID19 has precipitated a range of reactions and emotional responses. These have included fear (of catching the virus, becoming very sick or even losing life); frustration (that civil liberties have been withdrawn); anger (the prospect of high levels of state control after the immediate crisis has passed); praise (the selfless actions of first responders and healthcare professionals); disappointment (of not being able to spend time with loved ones); beatification (of some political leaders); confusion (about the conflicting official guidance); and more besides. Inherent biases are also on display, as people turn to social media to express themselves (or react to what others have written). Some have supported the government's actions and public health responses; others have been highly critical, even vitriolic.
    It's perfectly natural for people to react to what they read and hear about the situation and the uncertainty foisted upon them—and to be curious about the motivations of leaders and what the future might hold. 
    In times of great crisis (when chaos tends to reign), the most important priority for a leader (board of directors, executive team, community leaders or the government) is to re-establish a sense of stability and order, noting the fine line between providing leadership and imposing one's will.
    Effective leaders tend to roll their sleeves up, identify options, openly encourage alternative perspectives, make decisions based on best-available data and assumptions thought valid at the time of the decision, and explain why decisions have been taken. But as the situation develops—and it will, both naturally and in response to various interventions—progress and data need to be reviewed. Effective leaders display an openness to reverse or amend earlier decisions promptly if new data do not conform to a priori assumptions. Transparency and accountability are both crucial to maintain the confidence and support of stakeholders.
    But effective leaders also look beyond the immediate crisis. They ask questions to discover what the future might hold, and whether the crisis presents an opportunity to do things differently. But they don't pursue change for change sake. Over the past two or three weeks, a bevy of visions of what a post-COVID19 world could or should look like have been published by think-tank groups; futurists; independent consultants; journalists; social media commentators; self-styled experts; company leaders and other pundits. Amongst those shared to date, 'digital transformation'; 'locking in new ways of working'; 'a post-office world'; 'the end of globalisation'; 'balanced capitalism'; 'a more inclusive society' and other similar phrases have featured prominently. Some of the proposals I have seen are coherent and merit further investigation; others are little more than bias-laden and thinly-veiled attempts to influence public opinion in favour the author's favoured ideology. Hopefully, political leaders have been considering options to rebuild the economy and social fabric too, but these are yet to be revealed.
    With so many options (and many more to come, no doubt), business, political and community leaders face a daunting challenge: of threshing the wheat from the chaff, and making strategically-important decisions in the best interests of others, not self. To decide where and how to move next, in the midst of great ambiguity and uncertainty, is not for the faint-hearted. Wisdom and maturity are invaluable capabilities in this context.
    Many tools and frameworks are now available to help leaders make sense of a multiplicity of options, and to respond well given the prevailing context. The Cynefin Framework is worthy of consideration. (Hat-tip to a Netherlands-based colleague who reminded me of it recently.)
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    Regardless of which approach or framework you use, high-level sense-making and systems thinking expertise is vital. Heterodox ​perspectives are to be encouraged too. Without these, leaders run the risk of becoming introspective, leaning in on natural biases or, worse, preferred ideologies. Also, great care must be exercised to ensure intended visions are made plain, strategies are coherent and decisions are evidence-based. If such care is not taken, those concerned by what they deem to be inappropriate experimentation or investigation might bite back. ​Curiosity killed the cat, after all.
    The COVID19-induced crisis presents leaders (politicians, boards of directors, community leaders) with a golden opportunity to take stock and, having thought carefully, make decisions in the best interests of the constituency, company, community they serve. Effective decision-making in chaotic situations is far from straightforward, but our future prosperity depends on it.
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    Every stick has two ends

    Accountability Corporate Governance Decision Making Effectiveness Performance Tough Questions
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    To suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic is the news story of the year is, as they say, a bit of an understatement. And it is easy to understand why. The personal, community and economic impact has been dramatic. Many thousands of people have died; untold millions have lost their jobs or soon will; community life has been put on hold; and economic activity has, largely, ground to a halt.
    As of today (14 April), nearly 2,000,000 people are known to have been infected by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The actual number is unknown, but it will be far greater, without doubt. About 120,000 deaths have been linked to the virus as well—although most were due to co-morbidities. Only a small portion of the reported fatalities were directly due to COVID-19 (data from Italy suggests 12 per cent).
    Understandably, most of the reportage has concentrated on the headline numbers, decisions by politicians, and the public health response. But personal stories have featured too. As you would expect, partisan biases are also on display: Trump has been slammed and Ardern lauded. 
    Despite the seemingly strong alignment apparent across the reportage, the picture being painted is far from complete (the situation is still developing, after all), and it may not be accurate either. ​Underlying data may be misunderstood, misinterpreted or missing. Yet decisions need to be made, and decisions have consequences, just as sticks have two ends.
    The challenge for politicians is no different from that boards of directors face all the time. The best and most effective boards are those who seek counsel from a diverse range of perspectives (including competing options) before they make a decision.
    This article, positioned prominently on the front page of the Dominion Post today, highlights the emerging situation in New Zealand and the challenge for political decision-makers. It is well worth reading, as much for the language used as the story itself. The first sentence in the print edition read, "A group of public health experts has broken ranks on the Government's lockdown strategy ...". (The online edition was subsequently edited, at 8.28am, to read, "A group of public health experts has challenged the Government's public health strategy ..."​.) The cited experts argue that, with the border secure, various restrictions in place can (should) be relaxed, to enable people to return to a level of normalcy. This view is at odds with the advice the government seems to be relying on, but it remains valid as an option nonetheless and, therefore, merits consideration. 
    Whether the government decides to balance the best interests of the economy and society, or to hold tightly to the current course, should become clear soon. Regardless, its decisions will have consequences, just as every stick has two ends. Politicians, as boards of directors, ignore this truism at their peril.
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    Governing at distance: one director's experiences

    Decision Making Effectiveness Governance Performance
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    The rapid spread of the COVID-19 virus has shaken communities and commercial activity around the world, to the very core. Since late February, strict restrictions on human movement both between countries and, now, within communities have been imposed, in the hope of containing the virus and, in one case, of eradicating it. The scale of the impact on lives, social structures and economic activity has yet to be measured, but it will be large, I suspect. The scars will remain tender for some time in many cases. 
    Unsurprisingly, many people have been inventive in response to the situation they now find themselves in. Neighbours are meeting at a distance, and internet traffic has grown exponentially as people have taken up online entertainment options and relied heavily on social media to keep in touch with each other. All of this is to be expected; humans are social beings, after all.
    The vacuum left from the pausing of economic activity has been filled by creative thinkers and opportunists offering all manner of webinars, 'best practice' check lists and other forms of guidance to help individuals, groups and businesses reconfigure their lives and businesses. The Internet is now awash with them. Some are well-informed and helpful, but most of the ones I've seen are little more than attention-seeking noise.
    My own work patterns have changed too, mainly as a result of the restrictions on movement now in place. These include using electronic communications tools such as video conferencing in place of in-person board, coaching and other client meetings; and the telephone and email to keep in touch with colleagues and clients. The following points summarise my experiences as I have sought to govern at distance this past month:
    • Online board meetings are hard work. Zoom has become, overnight, 'the' tool of choice for teams and workgroups who need to meet together. I have used zoom many times since the lockdown, including numerous one-on-one interactions, two board meetings, a panel interview and discussions associated with a CEO recruitment. The one-on-one interactions and the panel interview were very productive. But the board meetings were more demanding: one was reasonably productive, the other was hard going. Let me explain:
      • In one board meeting, the chief executive, board secretary and directors all connected in from different locations—no two people we seated together. This meant that everyone was interacting with the computer screen. Also, the participants all know each other well; they are a tight unit, underpinned by high levels of trust and confidence in each other. The meeting was three hours long (a little shorter than the normal in-person meeting). The shorter-than-usual agenda was dominated by matters associated with the crisis, and the chair stopped the meeting every hour so participants could stretch, grab a drink and use the bathroom. These things (everyone connecting remotely, a tight agenda, comfort breaks, trust and confidence) laid a foundation for a focussed discussion and some good decisions. However, looking at a computer screen for three hours was both physically and mentally demanding, especially when using headphones or earbuds. My concentration reserves were exhausted by the end of the meeting. Also, interaction between the chair and board secretary, who normally sit beside each other, required a few conscious interruptions, whereas normally such exchanges did not interrupt discussion at all.
      • In the other meeting, the chair and one of the directors were located remotely from the remainder of the directors and the business manager. Some of the directors had not previously used video-conferencing in a group situation. The directors seated together looked at the computer screen when the chair was speaking, but otherwise they tended to look and interact with each other. Also, the computer screen the group was using was located in an open office space. While no one else was in the room for much of the meeting, three or four people did pop their heads in and, once, a person used the room as a thoroughfare. The two main observations from this experience were that the two directors located away from the others did not engage as fully as they normally do, and that interaction quality was compromised due to both the unfamiliar surroundings and the interruptions. 
    • Technical challenges can get in the way. Brief sound delays or video outages break meeting flow, and people, naturally, loose concentration quickly. If distortion and background noise are to be minimised, good equipment and connections are a 'must'. I've also found that if people place their laptop or tablet (or, worse, their phone) on a table-top, the result can be disconcerting—the view up people's noses makes concentration difficult! It is far better to place the device on top of a box or pile of books to lift the camera to eye level. 
    • ​Most things take (me) longer. I have led three video conference meetings in the last week or so, two of which were scheduled board meetings. Though unintended, my behaviours were a little bit different from that in in-person meetings. Differences included summarising the discussion more often; calling on people by name to draw them out (normally, a visual cue was sufficient); and adopting a more formal approach to meeting protocols, especially moving and putting resolutions. Consequently, meeting flow was impaired somewhat, relative to in-person experiences at least.
    • Business productivity is down, not up. Managers have told me that everyday interactions are proving more difficult as a result of people being in different locations, and that supply chains are not running smoothly because movement is restricted (despite logistics being named as an essential service). Also, operational staff are taking more care as they go about their work; observing distancing (curiously the 2m distance requirement is often closer to 3–4m in practice!) and personal hygiene protocols. Consequently, goods are not arriving when expected and business processes are taking longer than normal, with the follow-on impact on productivity.
    • Most boards will (probably) revert to type. ​The human condition is driven by social interaction—we are not created solitary creatures. Yet the COVID-19 outbreak has forced us apart—social distancing (actually, physical distancing as I noted several days ago). Various correspondents have predicted that working from home will become normal, permanently; and that videoconferencing will supplant in-person exchanges. I am not convinced of either. The human need to be together is too powerful. Also, communication effectiveness is constrained when you can't see another person's eyes or gestures, or have a brief side discussion with a colleague. Almost all of the directors and executives I have spoken with over the past ten days have said they are looking forward to returning to a level of normalcy, which, for them, specifically means in-person interactions.
    One final point. These are my experiences. Some may be familiar, others less so. Regardless, if you have any questions or comments, please get in touch. If you are prepared to add your experiences, as similar or different as they may be, I'd be delighted to hear them and am sure others would be too. Please leave a reply below.
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    (Mis)counting the cost?

    Accountability Complexity Decision Making Effectiveness Integrity Tough Questions
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    Like many people, I've been reading reports of the spread of COVID-19, and the impact it is clearly having on both the health and well-being of communities, and the economy. The number of confirmed cases is growing. Daily reports in New Zealand show confirmed and probable cases (April 3: 772 cases, 96 probable). Globally, the number of deaths attributed to COVID-19 also continues to climb, even though the vast majority of the deceased had comorbidities.
    Stepping beyond the human elements for a moment (anxiety, cabin-fever, ambivalence, physical distancing), aspects of the reportage have confused me (and others as well, I know), to the point I wonder about the underlying motivations of some of the reporters.
    ​Consider the case count: How many people have or have had COVID-19 in New Zealand? The following data lifted from the Ministry of Health website:
     
    Cases
    Probables
    Total
    April 2
    723
    74
    797
    April 3
    772
    96
    868
    The New Zealand media is reporting the total (797, 868) as the number of cases of COVID-19 in New Zealand. But, when the Ministry of Health's criteria is applied (definition of a probable case, here), the actual number of cases is the lower number (723, 772). The WHO, too, is reporting these same official numbers.
    The question that emerges from this analysis is straightforward: Why does the media persist in overstating the case count? Is it ineptitude, bias, or something more sinister?
    Fatalities: Official reports from around the world have been clear: many (most, but perhaps not all) of the patients who have died had comorbidities at the time of death. Was COVID-19 actually the cause of all the reported deaths (as the media has implied), or was it a contributory factor alongside other factors?
    In and of themselves, these misrepresentations by the media are probably of little consequence—until you consider that they may be indicative of a bigger problem that does merit attention.
    If New Zealand is to climb out of the hole it is now in, some bold decisions are needed. Decision-makers need to think strategically, not tactically. There is widespread agreement that the social and economic costs of the measures currently being taken in New Zealand in response to the COVID-19 outbreak are going to be very high. The effects of the community lockdown, widespread economic destabilisation and imposition of high levels of sovereign debt will probably linger for a long time. They may be generational.
    ​The decision to stop was easy; it has been made (although questions remain over whether the border is actually closed). The looming decisions concern when and how to restart. Ultimately, the quality of these decisions will be, to a large extent, dependent on the quality of evidence presented. If the government is to expedite the economic recovery, it needs to set ideology and worst-case models aside, and enlist seasoned, non-partisan critical thinkers to analyse the raw data, draw rational conclusions and present pragmatic recommendations. Without this, the real cost will continue to climb; a winter of discontent indeed.