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2023, Coulson-Thomas, Colin (2023), Implementing Board Policies in Diversified Companies and Groups, Director Today, Vol. IX Issue XII, December, pp 95-98
Boards can face multiple challenges when determining and implementing corporate responses to existential threats, whether global warming and climate change, declining biodiversity, or AI and AGI. There may be entrenched vested interests to overcome, differing concerns to address, and a variety of conflicting perspectives and priorities to reconcile or confront, when significant changes of strategic direction are required or being considered. People and different groups, teams and units across an organisation and/or group may have to respond in distinct ways according to how they might be affected and can best adapt and cope and/or contribute to a wider response. Boards may have to implement policies which could be unwelcome and unpopular across diversified companies and/or groups and ensure their adoption takes account of local contexts and potential contributions. Challenges and options are considered relating to differing response requirements, determining the balance between uniformity and/or diversity, revisiting the rationale for diversity, differing perspectives within an organisation and/or group, recognising issues that can arise, dealing with aversion to central initiatives, and embracing more responsible outcomes. Smart boards work with the grain and the likeminded, are open to internal and external ideas, and collaborate where appropriate. Challenge and critical thinking can lead to more acceptable central policies and speed up their adoption, implementation and internalisation. Diversity and flexibility to suit each context and opportunity might better enable effective total organization responses to existential threats.
Coulson-Thomas, Colin (2022), Leadership, Purpose and Priorities for Excellence and Innovation, Effective Executive, Vol. 25 No. 3, September, pp 24-40
Leadership, Purpose and Priorities for Excellence and Innovation2022 •
This article explores the role a board might play in relation to excellence and innovation, and in confronting shared challenges and existential threats. It suggests issues and questions to consider in relation to board leadership, its exercise, focus and performance. Critical thinking, diversity and digital technologies can be enablers of innovation, which may be desirable if it addresses existential threats, supports required transition and transformation journeys, and delivers positive externalities. Boards are encouraged to reflect on the purpose of innovation and the focus of excellence, their application and their limits. Opportunities to create sustainable communities, cities and societies and less stressful and resource intensive and simpler, healthier and more fulfilling lifestyles are legion. Many boardroom teams have an unprecedented opportunity to initiate, collaborate and make a difference. Whether or not an individual board and company is excellent and/or innovative may be less important for future survival than whether a community or society is, and whether individually and collectively boards have the will and drive to question, think and act in pursuit of responsible, inclusive and sustainable activities, lifestyles and outcomes for humanity and the natural world.
Coulson-Thomas, Colin (2024), Board’s Strategy for a Future-Ready Business in an Uncertain World [Theme Paper for 2024 UAE Global Convention and World Congress on Leadership for Innovation and Excellence]
Board’s Strategy for a Future-Ready Business in an Uncertain World [Theme Paper for 2024 UAE Global Convention and 31st World Congress on Leadership for Innovation and Business Excellence]2024 •
Innovation and business excellence are inter-related. Excellence in innovation can increase options and expand choices. As innovation creates new possibilities, boards may need to redefine what is considered excellent. Innovation and excellence are essential for future-proofing a business, and for coping with multiple challenges, related opportunities, global risks and existential threats. They will be required for adaptation, survival, relevance and success in the context of an evolving new world order. Boards need to ensure that the corporate leadership and the strategic direction they provide inspires and enables effective and collective responses. The purpose of this Theme Paper is to explore areas on the agenda for the forthcoming 2024 UAE Global Convention and 31st Annual World Congress on Leadership for Innovation and Business Excellence the theme of which is “Board’s Strategy to Build a Future-Proof Business in an evolving New World”. It suggests issues and questions that directors, speakers and other convention participants might wish to consider. The theme paper also includes selected references to investigations and recent studies related to the convention’s agenda, which covers strategies for future-proofing businesses, open innovation and future-proofing excellence, transformational strategy for excellence and growth, strategic and transformational roles of corporate boards, capabilities for futuristic and sustainable operating models, excellence and innovation in the digital economy, digital technology applications, risks and inclusive growth, corporate boards, net zero and climate governance, board strategies for limiting damage and pursuing opportunities, strategies for enabling excellence through good governance, board composition and culture for good governance, innovation, excellence and superior governance and recognising realities and rebuilding trust. Coming so soon after COP 28, the 2024 UAE Global Convention represents an opportunity for leaders to discuss, share, learn and consider options for immediate action and future possibilities. To ensure responsible leadership for innovation and excellence and strategies for future-proofing businesses and contributing to our collective survival, a diverse and effective board of competent directors remains a key requirement.
Coulson-Thomas, Colin (2021), Strategic Thinking and Corporate Governance, Effective Executive, Vol. 24 No. 4, pp 7-29
Strategic Thinking and Corporate Governance2021 •
The contemporary business environment can be particularly challenging for boards and business leaders seeking to think and act strategically, and also embrace social and environmental responsibilities and the concerns of a wider range of stakeholders. There are aspects of corporate governance that might need to be reviewed in the light of a changing context and evolving stakeholder priorities if they are to better support the strategic thinking now required. There are also many questions for directors, boards and those who advise on governance arrangements to consider. Some corporate governance changes, whether applicable to all companies or an allowable practice adopted for a particular entity, are easier to introduce than others. In the meantime, for many companies the requirement for strategic thinking becomes ever more urgent. It needs to address climate change and other related, shared and existential challenges. Ultimately, the quality, relevance and impact of whatever strategic thinking occurs may depend upon the intellect, commitment, conscience and vigilance of directors and whether they take advantage of any changes made to better support them and their thinking.
Coulson-Thomas, Colin (2022), Executive, Board and Corporate Agility, Effective Executive, Vol. 25 No. 1, pp 13-33
Executive, Board and Corporate Agility2022 •
For people, organisations, communities and societies, agility in the sense of being able to rapidly respond and adapt to changing situations and circumstances and new challenges and opportunities can be a requirement for remaining relevant. Different forms of executive, corporate, board and network or supply chain agility can be required for a variety of reasons. Agility may not be easy to achieve and may or may not be desirable, depending upon its purpose and the situation and circumstances. Agility has its technology and human enablers, can have costs and consequences and may also have limits. Crises and existential threats in the contemporary business environment may require new forms of agility and relationships. They present challenges and create opportunities for individuals, organisations, communities and societies and give rise to aligned and shared interests, a requirement for collaboration and collective responses, and a need to consider agility from different perspectives and rethink what is possible. Our understanding and expectations of agility may need to change. Being quick, clever, adroit and dextrous at an individual or organisational level in navigating a succession of incidents and events may no longer be enough to cope with current and inter-related challenges. We may need to take a wider and more balanced, collective and inclusive view of agility and move on from agility to adaptation, and the systemic thinking, shared purpose, collaboration and collective transition and transformation journeys over a longer time horizon that are required to address an existential threat such as climate change.
Coulson-Thomas, Colin (2022), [Theme Paper] 17th International Conference on Corporate Social Responsibility, Board’s Strategy in Making CSR Inclusive, www.iodglobal.com [https://iodglobal.com/front_assets/images/events/2023-iccsr-theme-paper.pdf]
Board’s Strategy in Making CSR Inclusive2022 •
The 17th International Conference on Corporate Social Responsibility (ICCSR 2023) represents an opportunity to consider how board approaches to CSR and CSR strategies might make it more inclusive in terms of whom and what it benefits. This theme paper for the event introduces areas to be discussed and questions for intending participants to consider in planned plenary sessions, including those on board CSR strategy for sustainable and inclusive global economic growth, responsible investment, innovation and collaboration, public-private collaboration for inclusion and sustainability, global responsible business trends and social inclusion, the future of CSR including trends and challenges, corporate governance, CSR and creating shared value, and achieving a beneficial social impact. ICCSR 2023 provides opportunities for directors to discuss policies and priorities that could contribute to necessary societal transformation, and learn from CSR, HR and innovation management case studies. It enables engagement, networking and consideration of how responsible leadership and a shared purpose might turn businesses into causes that engender trust, collaboration and support, address realities, innovate, create alternatives and social value, and power progress towards a sustainable and inclusive future.
Coulson-Thomas, Colin (2023), AI, Executive and Board Leadership, and Our Collective Future, Effective Executive, Vol. 26 No. 3, pp 5-29
AI, Executive and Board Leadership, and our Collective Future2023 •
Applications of AI and AGI have implications for executives, company directors, executive and board leadership, stakeholders, legislators and regulators. Their strategic impacts and associated risks, the nature of the alternatives and possibilities they can and/or might in future enable, the growth of multiple areas of concern among different stakeholder groups, accumulating ethical and legal issues, and their resource requirements at a time when there are existential threats such as climate change to address, suggest they represent a governance challenge for boards as well as a management one for executive leaders. AI cannot and should not just be left to executives and executive leaders. Boards are ultimately responsible for applications of AI and other technologies. There are many questions for directors and boards to consider relating to the adoption, overseeing, regulation and governance of AI and other digital technologies, associated cyber risks and fraud, problematic applications, matching capabilities and opportunities, global warming and AI enabled responses to climate change, converting common challenges into opportunities, board readiness to cope and embracing AI while retaining control. Whether AI and AGI help or harm us will depend upon their regulation and governance and what they are used for, by whom and for what purpose.
Coulson-Thomas, Colin (2023), Responsible Leadership and Good Governance in Saks, Mike (editor) (2023) Responsible Leadership: Essential to the Achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, pp 85-101, Abingdon: Routledge
Responsible Leadership and Good Governance2023 •
This chapter on responsible leadership and good governance appears in an edited book on responsible leadership. It pays particular attention to the role of directors and boards and the achievement of responsible outcomes in relation to existential threats and, like other chapters, the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Its different sections cover contemporary challenges and future requirements, addressing arenas of growing importance, reviewing purpose, priorities and practices, balancing contending and shared interests, compliance and risk, accepting wider responsibilities, and achieving required transitions to more sustainable and inclusive operations, activities and lifestyles. It concludes that more collaborative and responsible leadership and adaptable, agile, diverse and innovative forms of governance are required.
Coulson-Thomas, Colin (2022), [Theme Paper] 31st World Congress on Leadership for Excellence and Innovation, Boards to Lead Business Excellence: Staying ahead of the Curve, www.iodglobal.com [https://newsite.iodglobal.com/front_assets/images/events/cct-theme-paper-2022.pdf, 17th June]
Boards to Lead Business Excellence: Staying ahead of the Curve2022 •
As awareness grows of the likely consequences of current activities and lifestyles, aspirations, expectations and priorities are changing. The 31st World Congress on Leadership for Excellence and Innovation provides a platform for the review and rethink of board leadership and the relevance and role of excellence and innovation in relation to contemporary challenges and related opportunities. This Theme Paper raises questions for participants and directors and boards more generally to consider in relation to the event’s agenda and areas that could be covered, including corporate board leadership in challenging times; board diversity, independent directors and business excellence; legislative and compliance driven principled corporate governance; business excellence and creating a world class organisation; innovation purpose and priorities; fostering disruptive innovation in a digital economy; recognising limits to excellence and innovation; and excellence and innovation in a family owned business. Whether or not an individual company is excellent and/or innovative may be less important than whether a community or society is, and whether we have the individual and collective will and drive to question, think and act in pursuit of responsible, inclusive and sustainable activities, lifestyles and outcomes for us and the natural world. The World Congress on Leadership for Excellence and Innovation is organised by India’s Institute of Directors.
Coulson-Thomas, Colin (2023), Building Future Boards: Women and Diversity in Leadership Roles, Effective Executive, Vol. 26 No. 4, pp 25-45
Building Future Boards: Women and Diversity in Leadership Roles2023 •
While the dangers of excessively homogenous boards and the advantages of diversity have long been recognised, in recent years the priority of legislators, other interests, and various campaigns has been to increase the number and proportion of women directors and women in other senior and leadership roles. As a result of the focus upon greater gender diversity, have other forms of diversity been overlooked? Is insufficient attention given to age, cultural, disability, educational, ethnic, nationality, perspective, political, religious, social, thinking and other diversity considerations, criteria and factors? The challenges, opportunities and existential and other risks in the contexts in which many companies operate are evolving, and in some cases unfamiliar and becoming more pressing. Past experiences and practices may or may not relate to future developments, crises and geo-political events and/or equip directors to handle or respond to them. Is a different perspective on diversity required when building future boards? Might they need to be more inclusive on a wider range of characteristics, more resilient and better able to cope? This article considers some questions that directors and boards and those who advise them might wish to consider when building boards that are future-ready in relation to greater fluidity, uncertainty, instability and volatility, and the need for more dramatic and radical corporate and collective action in response to common challenges and shared and inter-related existential threats such as global warming and climate change. Rather than address discrete problems, future leaders will be required to handle a succession of evolving and inter-related issues and maintain commitment and collaborative relationships during transition and transformation journeys.
Coulson-Thomas, Colin (2023), [Theme Paper] 2023 London Global Convention on Corporate Governance and Sustainability: Boards, ESG and Corporate Governance for the New World Economy, www.iodglobal.com [,https://iodglobal.com/front_assets/images/events/theme-paper-lgc-2023.pdf 17th August]
2023 London Global Convention on Corporate Governance and Sustainability: Boards: ESG and Corporate Governance for the New World Economy, www.iodglobal.com [https://iodglobal.com/front_assets/images/events/theme-paper-lgc-2023.pdf, 17th August]2023 •
Various changes affecting a company may occur more frequently than laws, regulations, listing, reporting and other requirements and license conditions can be updated. The purpose of this Theme Paper is to explore areas on the agenda for the forthcoming 2023 London Global Convention on Corporate Governance and Sustainability. Participants will gather at a challenging time for communities, societies, Governments, and the international system, as well as for corporate boards as interested parties reflect on how greater stakeholder concern with environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors, the emergence of a ‘new world economy’, and common challenges might shape the future of corporate governance. The Theme Paper suggests issues and questions that directors, speakers and other participants might wish to consider ahead of the event and discuss with their peers when they meet, and it includes references to investigations and studies related to the convention’s agenda. Areas covered and to be discussed at the convention include board leadership and strategy for corporate governance advantage, transformational strategy towards excellence and future growth, ESG strategy and the board’s role in sustainability, enhancing board and committee performance, converting risks into opportunities, digitisation, cyber risk and resilience, and the future of corporate governance. Against a background of fundamental differences of values, perspectives and priorities, and of what is considered to be acceptable, legal and moral, that exist in today’s fractured world, addressing multiple and inter-related strategic risks and existential threats, achieving sustainable and inclusive outcomes, and our survival will require effective and responsible governance, innovation and leadership.
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