Author: Mark Goyder

An open letter to Keir Starmer Dear Keir Happy New Year. So Elon Musk wants you removed as UK Prime Minister before the General Election. What presumption! I have no right to offer advice. You are a winner and, in party-political terms I am a … Continue readingTrust the people – the only way to put the populists back in their box

Charles Handy, the man who inspired the foundation of Tomorrow’s Company has died. Many members of the Tomorrow’s Company community will have heard him speak. I recommend  the tribute to him in the Financial Times by Andrew Hill, and the comments that follow. Many people … Continue readingRemembering Charles Handy

Four more years of Trump? Around me  people are depressed. I too am discouraged and anxious. So why do I feel a tiny bit less pessimistic than them? I am a slow reader of fiction. It’s ten pages a night at best. On the day of … Continue readingFour more years of Trump? Don’t get mad – get imaginative

Introduction: In November 2022 I heard Rachel Reeves, Shadow Chancellor, speak at the Anthropy Conference. Her speech – and the discussion at that conference – stimulated me to suggest a new kind of Autumn Statement. It was published under the title ‘What if the Chancellor … Continue readingWhat the UK’s chancellor of the exchequer might have said… and should say next year

“The burden of regulation is too high” said Kemi Badenoch MP as she set out her case in front of Conservative Party members at their party conference last month. How short memories can be. Only a month ago, we heard from the final report of … Continue readingMessage to boards – get off the fence and start arguing for the regulation that the wellbeing of future generations demands

The slippery slope to Grenfell to which all boards should be alert I haven’t read the whole Grenfell Inquiry Report. But I have listened to the authoritative BBC Radio 4 podcast series Grenfell – Building a Disaster presented by Kate Lamble. It describes three issues … Continue readingDishonourable compliance, suppressed conscience, and lethal compartmentalisation

Almost 40% of students in the UK failed to pass English and Maths GCSE this year. The pass rates were even worse for those over 17.There was strong regional variation. Why? Opinions vary. The fall-out from the Covid pandemic? The failure of the previous government’s … Continue readingAbysmal Exam Results – the Deeper Causes

How we got into this mess and how we start to get out of it Imagine the scene. Civil war has broken out. Soldiers arrived in your village. You feared for the safety of your children. You left in a convoy, hoping against hope that … Continue readingRiots, refugees and reconciliation

In the 18th century the city of Edo (now Tokyo) adopted a policy of no waste. Almost everything was recycled, and the city was home to more than a thousand businesses that specialised in transforming waste into useful products. What started as a response to … Continue readingWhat nature teaches us about economics: everything is connected