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The new boardroom agenda

Why directors are more important than ever

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The key to success in any organisation is long term, sustainable growth but managing that is harder than ever. Faster moving, more complex risks – and opportunities – require more assiduous monitoring, more informed decision-making, and much greater coordination among all employees to ensure corporate success.

This content series explores the central role board members play in this endeavour and how crucial they are to any organisation’s long term health.

Guy Singh-Watson, Riverford
Singh-Watson talks about how he built a £100m business from scratch and why he felt far more at home farming than being a management consultant. He explains the role of a board in a growing company.
Graeme Pitkethly, Unilever
Pitkethly, CFO of one of the world’s biggest companies explains the vital role the board plays in its biggest decisions and why a board’s backing is so helpful to the executive team.

Building a stronger, more effective board

The responsibility for an effective board falls on both board members – to provide the traditional guidance to executives while taking on new non-traditional responsibilities, like corporate ethics and compliance – and the company to engage their board in the right way.

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Article

The critical role of boards in developing strong ethics and compliance

Increasing regulation and public scrutiny of corporate behaviour means ethics and compliance is now a vital part of the boardroom agenda.
Podcast

How a board should maintain the right culture during periods of fast growth

  • 21 Nov 2022
In the first of two Insights In Focus special episodes an experienced panel discuss a dilemma facing a fictional software company.
Listen to podcast
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Podcast

How a board should balance major strategic issues with staff retention and wellbeing

  • 25 Nov 2022
In the second of two Insights In Focus special episodes an experienced panel discuss a dilemma facing a fictional UK-based food manufacturer.
Listen to podcast
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Article

Helping the board make better decisions

Putting in place the infrastructure, processes and materials to ensure a high-performing board.
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Article

What sport can teach business about using strategy playbooks

Many coaches and players develop ‘playbooks’ for their teams to pivot and adapt to changing conditions to keep moving towards an ultimate aim, such as winning a race or scoring a goal. Similarly, business executives can develop strategy playbooks to help their firms be prepared to pivot and adapt to changing conditions as they pursue their strategic objectives.

Building a sustainable business

There is no more important role for boards than to build an organisation that thrives over the long-term and evolves to make the most of the world around it.

Article

Making great investment decisions: Karen Hester, Adnams

The first of four films showcasing board members’ stories and how they ensure a long-term focus for their companies.
ARTICLE

In it for the long haul

Businesses of any size require a set of long-term goals and a detailed plan for how to achieve them. Three very different companies share how they go about this.
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GRAPHIC

Navigating change to stay ahead

While all businesses may follow a set long-term strategy, they must be ready to navigate major change when the need arises, and then prepare again for further change in the future.
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Jeremy Bentham
ARTICLE

How scenarios help navigate an uncertain world

Running the Shell Scenarios team from 2006 to 2022, Jeremy Bentham played a key role in identifying the risks and opportunities facing the energy giant. He explains how organisations can make sense of an uncertain world.
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ARTICLE

A scenario planning guide for boards

To make long-term decisions, board members need a structured way to discuss the future. Dr Trudi Lang, a senior fellow in management practice at the University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School, explains how any business can make use of scenario planning to do so.

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