Champion of better capitalism
As I arrived at last Wednesday’s gathering, the (UK) government was collapsing. Over 50 ministers had resigned. Political journalists were having the time of their lives. This at a time of war and spiralling prices — consumers are bracing for an annual energy bill of … Continue readingChaos, crisis, and hope
Don’t invest in something you don’t understand. That’s one of the most enduring – and soundest – investment principles. Incomprehension has kept me sceptical of crypto currencies. So has a concern for energy conservation: The Economist tells us Bitcoin uses more energy than Chile. DAOs … Continue readingWhat DAOs Teach Us
June 2022 Not a good month for those who worry about climate. We learned that the warming of the Northern Barents Sea corresponds to 2 to 2.5 times the Arctic warming averages and 5 to 7 times the global warming averages. The bodies of Bruno … Continue readingClimate gloom – from chair action to share action
Talking recently to a small group of senior leaders, I realised that most of them were still at school when we launched the 1995 Tomorrow’s Company report. So I asked them what they thought had changed since 1995. Fear of Causing Offence In our … Continue readingLazy labels about business purpose fuel the indignation industry
‘Who cares if Miami is going to be 6 foot under water. Amsterdam has been for centuries and it is a very nice place.’ Perhaps you missed the continuing controversy that raged following the speech by Stuart Kirk, HSBC’s Head of Responsible Investing. Perhaps you were … Continue readingStuart Kirk – an investment intermediary handicapped by his education
Sad as it may sound, some of the funniest conversations I’ve had recently have been about car parking at our local station in Suffolk ‘Have you found a way of paying yet ?’ we ask each other. One man has sent a ‘see-you-in court’ letter … Continue readingThe Bewilderment Brew – how technology, privatisation and outsourcing combined can make life hard for customers
Travelers arriving at Liverpool St station in London see a memorial to the Kindertransport. In 1938 and 1939, ten thousand unaccompanied Jewish children were transported to Britain to escape persecution in Germany and Austria. They were taken in by British families. Only a few were … Continue readingWhat Would Make Us Proud of Our Country?
I’ve just read Catherine Belton’s excellent book ‘Putin’s People – how the KGB took back Russia and then took on the West’. I then saw the FT’s film ‘The London Laundromat’. London, and especially the City of London, played a prominent part in Putin’s ascent. … Continue readingTrust and Russian Money – Time for the City to Look in the Mirror?
‘The Battle of the Deplorable Owners’ took place on 13 March 2022 – a Premier League match between Chelsea, owned by oligarch Roman Abramovich and Newcastle United, owned by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia. (The fund’s chair, Mohammed Bin Salman has been unable … Continue readingDeplorable Owners – how to deal with football’s tainted inheritance
It was a pleasant evening with friends. Next to me was the long-retired founder of a business that I admire. Suddenly changing the subject, he asked ‘Mark tell me what you think about B Corp’? The B Corp movement is born out of the belief … Continue readingCulture – the gaping hole that undermines B Corp’s credibility