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    Invited to submit article to journal!

    Conferences Governance Phd Research
    There was a very pleasant surprise waiting in my email box this morning: an invitation to submit an article for inclusion in a special issue of Leadership and Organization Development Journal. In March, I delivered a paper to the International Conference on Management Leadership and Governance held in Boston, USA. My contribution was noticed by the journal editors, which has led to them issuing the invitation.

    I'm both humbled and thrilled by this invitation: humbled that others see my work as valuable, and thrilled for the opportunity to contribute in this way. Thank you editors. 
  • Published on

    What does "good governance" look like?

    Governance Performance Research
    Generally speaking, boards of directors are comprised of well-meaning, competent people who want the best outcomes for the company they oversee. They go about their work diligently, with the best will in the world. However, many of well-intentioned boards don't achieve the outcomes they plan for. Why is this? Given the thousands of boards that meet every day, and the plethora of research undertaken over the last four decades, you would think that it would be straightforward to define and replicate "good governance". After all, we know what "good" and "governance" mean, don't we? Sadly, the reality is somewhat different: every company, every board and every situation is, to some extent, unique. Therefor, standard "best practice" models and frameworks often don't work. Even after forty years of trying, we still struggle to describe "good governance", let alone know how boards influence performance outcomes.

    With this rather melancholic précis, it would be easy to conclude that boards are in trouble, and that the title question simply cannot be answered. I beg to differ. There are glimmers of light on the horizon, and they are worthy of investigation. This article is one. I commend it, and others like it, to you. While we have much to learn about boards and performance, knowledge of what "good governance" might look like is a good place to work from.
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    Invitation to submit a paper to #corpgov conference in Croatia

    Conferences Governance Performance Research
    A few days ago, I was invited to submit a paper to the 10th European Conference on Management Leadership and Governance (ECMLG). The 2014 edition is being hosted in Zagreb, Croatia. I'm humbled by the opportunity to offer a contribution.

    The deadline for paper submission is mid-June. My topic will 'access'. Simply stated, the paper will suggest that governance research needs to move on from its predilection with typically quantitative secondary data, to study what actually occurs in the boardroom. It is my view that first-hand observations are crucial if we want to truly understand how boards work, and to make credible suggestions about how they contribute to business performance. You can read the preliminary abstract here. 
  • Published on

    Guest contributors on Musings. What do you think?

    Governance Readings Research
    I am thinking about the possibility of opening Musings up to guest contributions. At this stage, it is just an idea, but it is one that I am keen to explore. For the last two years, every post to Musings has been mine. I am happy to continue to be the sole contributor, however when a couple of people recently asked me whether I had ever considered inviting others to provide contributions, it set me thinking. 

    What does Musings offer? It's an outlet to share ideas—about corporate governance, strategy and our place in the world. From small beginnings, the readership has grown, to the point where over 4000 unique visitors drop in each month. Something about the blog must interest people.

    Anyway, to the question. Would you like to read contributions from other folk from time to time, to provide some variety? Would this be appreciated? The general theme of Musings would stay the same.

    Please reply here if you have an opinion, or contact me directly if you'd like to become a guest contributor. 
  • Published on

    Paper accepted onto BAM Conference programme

    Conferences Governance Phd Research
    I received some wonderful news today. My paper, entitled On the use of critical realism to advance governance research beyond correlations, has been accepted onto the main programme of the prestigious British Academy of Management Conference, to be held in Belfast, Northern Ireland in September 2014. You can read the abstract on the Research page if you'd like to know a bit more. (A copy of the full paper will be posted after it is presented at the conference.)

    It's humbling to know that others see my work as worthy to be included at this conference. I'm grateful for the opportunity. The feedback that the three reviewers provided (through the usual double-blind review process) was really helpful—both in terms of tweaking the paper, and as guidance for the doctoral thesis as it comes together through the remainder of 2014. Now, to save my pennies for the flights!
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    Crowdsourcing my doctoral research: can you help?

    Governance Phd Research Strategy
    My doctoral research, to discover how boards can influence company performance outcomes, is continuing a pace. Currently, I have one more board meeting to observe, after which the twelve month cycle of boardroom observations will be complete. This major milestone signals a change in emphasis, towards data analysis, the testing of ideas and the drawing of conclusions—oh, and writing the thesis document! Although it'll be tight, I hope to complete the thesis and submit it for examination by Christmas.

    The purpose of this post is to request some feedback please, to help me make sense of some emerging ideas. I'm mulling over a new conceptualisation of governance, one that challenges the widely-held view that governance and management should be kept separate. As alluded to in the paper I presented at ICMLG recently, the concept has the board fully engaged in the development of strategy.

    The question that I would like some feedback on is: What underlying powers, behaviours and concepts do you think are necessary for such a conceptualisation of governance to work well? Five are mentioned in the paper, but you may have some other suggestions based on your experience. If you would like to share your ideas (supported with examples if you can), please contact me!