DISCUSSION In the news this week April 30th 2018

Dear Partners, Patrons and Passers-by,

Here’s a selection of news articles, features and blogs that have caught our eye this week – all relevant to the themes of business purpose, leadership, governance and sustainability.

Enjoy,

The TC Team

P.S. …and if there’s anything useful, relevant or fun (hopefully all three) that you’ve spotted then please let us know via the Comment box below!

• A letter from Google co-founder Sergey Brin revealing a concern that rapid A.I. development must be tempered by ethical use. “We must tread with deep responsibility, care, and humility,” he writes. 
• An interesting long read on the tension between employee empowerment and operational discipline. ‘The freedom of the outside world is banging at the corporate door, demanding to come inside. Yet most leaders are still afraid to open it.’ 
• Are recent setbacks for Facebook, Amazon, YouTube and Uber down to a desire to maximise profits at the expense of ethics – manifested by an over-reliance on cost-efficient, yet immature A.I. technology? Article here.
• Australia’s ‘closed and cossetted “4 pillars” banking industry has ‘bred a culture of rule breaking, neglect of customers, corporate greed and pursuit of profit at all costs’.
• How an increasing use of Artificial Intelligence in certain tasks might free up employees ‘to pursue human interactions with clients, leading to higher job satisfaction and, ultimately, deeper relationships’.
• Three years on from the VW emissions scandal and governance questions continue to surround the board.
• Here’s some solid advice: ‘What Makes A Great Startup And How To Put Your Team Together’.
• …and in the week a conference call involving the billionaire tech entrepreneur made headlines: ‘Three traits that make Elon Musk an exceptional leader — and one major flaw’