Category Archives: Director effectiveness

A crisis in the boardroom needs a steady hand behind the scenes

Whatever your political viewpoint, the political earthquake which has hit the UK  will potentially destroy value, as well as create opportunities which are not yet immediately obvious. Yet what struck me as I watched the drama unfold – particularly the resignation of David Cameron as Prime Minister (the defining moment) – was that, behind the scenes, someone

Read More

Keeping the boardroom moving with WD40 – what they don’t teach company secretaries at business school

WD40, the trademark name of the penetrating oil, and water-displacing, spray, may seem an odd subject in a discussion about governance inside UK boardrooms.  But it was one of the reflections offered by Amanda Mellor,  Group Secretary and Head of Corporate Governance at M&S, speaking to the recent dinner of the Leadership Development Programme. Amanda outlined what she had learnt from

Read More

Why governance professionals should promote the Galileo Principle

There may seem little in common between Galileo and company secretaries and other governance professionals, but bear with me! Galileo (1564 – 1642) lived towards the end of the Renaissance period, a time of social and cultural change which produced other great cultural polymaths such as Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. Galileo was known as

Read More