Champion of better capitalism
A costed proposal to fit Grenfell Tower with fire resistant cladding was dropped after a cost cutting programme labelled ‘value engineering’ according to an article in yesterdays’ Guardian. Yet the non-combustible cladding would not only have saved 72 lives. The ‘cheaper’ proposal using plastic-filled … Continue readingWhat value for money really means and how to achieve it
I’ve been on holiday with my wife and our friends and took two books. One was Tess of the Durbervilles by Thomas Hardy – a gloomy story if superbly written. The other, which I am halfway through is Tragedy & Challenge by another Thomas, Tom … Continue readingTwo books – two authors called Thomas
Trust in Facebook has evaporated, according to a recent survey in Wednesday’s Financial Times. (17 April 2017). A year earlier nearly 80% of users said that they trusted the way Facebook handled data and protected their privacy. 12 month’s later the figure was barely 25%. … Continue readingLessons from Facebook
I have rarely felt as ashamed of my country as now reading about people like Valerie Baker, who has lived here since arriving on her aunts passport in 1955. Suddenly last year she got a letter from the Home Office saying she had no right … Continue readingThree lessons to be learned from the UK’ s Windrush fiasco
As a football fan, as well as someone who believes in the human purposes of business, I groaned when I read about FIFA plans for a $25bn dollar investment in a new global club competition. Faced with a choice between planning a high quality … Continue readingMore dollars with which to drown football
In The Case For Reimagining the UK’s Pensions Model, an article in last Friday’s Financial Times, Martin Wolf describes how the pendulum has swung from paternalistic and unaffordable defined pension provision to defined contribution schemes which expose the individual saver to carry the risk. … Continue readingSquaring the pensions circle
An eight trillion dollar investment for stewardship and impact funds could be coming our way – has your financial adviser noticed? According to Gillian Tett in the Financial Times three-quarters of millennials in the USA put a high priority on social goals when they invest compared … Continue readingCould millennials make a multi trillion dollar investment in stewardship and impact funds?
Yesterday’s discussion about the role of the chairman led me back to work Tomorrow’s Company did five years ago. It took the form of letters from different people to a new chairman. So the finance director, the General Counsel, the CEO, the Senior Independent Director, … Continue readingWhy the mandate matters
This morning I am joining a panel at KPMG to discuss: what makes a good Chairman of a company? and what are the biggest challenges? On my way to the event my main thoughts are: Ensuring that the right CEO is selected … Continue readingWhat Makes a Good Chairman?
Three separate items of ft.com news today illustrate the gaping hole that exists where the UK’s political parties should be offering their vision and agenda for stewardship to encourage long term wealth creation. First there is all party concern about the Melrose takeover bid … Continue readingPay, Nationalisation and Takeovers: How Our Politics is Failing Wealth Creation