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Can ESG be saved? Only if it radically changes its definition of governance
On holiday in Italy recently, I got talking to Mario, a wine enthusiast. We discussed an outstanding white wine which came from a small...
Sep 27, 20224 min read
A little less wishful thinking, a little more listening please
‘In Stoke-on-Trent last month, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak traded blows over everything from credit card economics to Channel migrants…The...
Sep 5, 20224 min read
A new prime minister and wealth creation
The UK is to have a new Prime Minister. Tax has dominated the debate between the leading candidates. True Conservatives, it appears, are...
Jul 18, 20224 min read
Chaos, crisis, and hope
As I arrived at last Wednesday’s gathering, the (UK) government was collapsing. Over 50 ministers had resigned. Political journalists...
Jul 12, 20223 min read
What DAOs teach us
Don’t invest in something you don’t understand. That’s one of the most enduring – and soundest – investment principles. ...
Jul 2, 20224 min read
Deplorable Owners – how to deal with football’s tainted inheritance
‘The Battle of the Deplorable Owners’ took place on 13 March 2022 - a Premier League match between Chelsea,  owned by oligarch Roman...
Jun 28, 20224 min read
Culture – the gaping hole that undermines B Corp’s credibility
It was a pleasant evening with friends. Next to me was the long-retired founder of a business that I admire. Â Suddenly changing the...
Jun 28, 20224 min read
Master or servant? A new agenda for teaching business
I once heard about a Syrian refugee, a biochemist, who reflected on the horrors and humiliations involved in fleeing his country. ‘I’m a...
Jun 28, 20224 min read
Climate gloom – from chair action to share action
June 2022 Not a good month for those who worry about climate. We learned that the warming of the Northern Barents Sea corresponds to 2...
Jun 27, 20224 min read
Lazy labels about business purpose fuel the indignation industry
Talking recently to a small group of senior leaders, I realised that most of them were still at school when we launched the 1995...
Jun 20, 20224 min read
Stuart Kirk – an investment intermediary handicapped by his education
‘Who cares if Miami is going to be 6 foot under water. Amsterdam has been for centuries and it is a very nice place.’ Perhaps you missed...
Jun 14, 20224 min read
The Bewilderment Brew – how technology, privatisation and outsourcing combined can make life hard for customers
Sad as it may sound, some of the funniest conversations I’ve had recently have been about car parking at our local station in Suffolk ...
May 30, 20224 min read
What would make us proud of our country?
Travelers arriving at Liverpool St station in London see a memorial to the Kindertransport. In 1938 and 1939, ten thousand unaccompanied...
May 23, 20224 min read
Trust and Russian money – Time for the city to Look in the mirror?
I’ve just read Catherine Belton’s excellent book ‘Putin’s People – how the KGB took back Russia and then took on the West’. I then saw...
May 9, 20224 min read
Lithuanian chocolates and global shocks
In 2019 I was invited to Lithuania to speak at the Annual Conference of the Baltic Institute of Corporate Governance (BICG) My hosts...
Feb 28, 20224 min read
The high road to improved productivity
The government sees improved productivity as the cornerstone of its Levelling Up policy. That means supporting the private sector – the...
Feb 15, 20224 min read
The high road to improved productivity
The government sees improved productivity as the cornerstone of its Levelling Up policy. That means supporting the private sector – the...
Feb 14, 20221 min read
Yes to levelling up. No to divisiveness and ignoring nature.
Life expectancy for a man living in Blackpool is 74 years. In the London Borough of Westminster it is over 84. In Barnsley 15% of...
Feb 8, 20221 min read
Stewardship – a joint responsibility that we have yet to crack
Paul Myners – who died two weeks ago – had a flair for creative disruption. He was an ally in early attempts to interest the investment...
Feb 2, 20221 min read
Fink again
Here is a question to ask your colleagues or, if you are a teacher of business, your students. Try dating these two statements: Putting...
Jan 24, 20221 min read
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