Champion of better capitalism
‘I get the impression that there is an upper echelon of people who think that the rules that the rest of us have to follow don’t apply to them.’ These are the words of a woman in Cardiff who was stopped in the street by … Continue readingPrivate Sector Smugness and An Entitlement Mentality.
“The reason we have the vaccine success is because of capitalism, because of greed my friends.” Thus spoke the UK’s Prime Minister according to the reports by Conservative members of parliament to whom he was speaking on a conference call. It’s a surprising … Continue readingBoris dropped the ball – but does he even know what shape it is?
Meet Rafaela. Rafaela is from Chile. She is an experienced care professional recruited to a new management role in the UK. That’s how she comes to be sitting in enforced hotel quarantine in Hounslow. Determined to improve her understanding of her new country, she turns … Continue readingIf we really want to ‘protect the NHS’ we must invest in prevention
As the people of Myanmar came to terms with yet another military coup, Facebook had attracted 200,000 followers to a civil disobedience page. This was too much for the generals. Years ago, the decisive symbol of a military coup would be seizing the TV station. … Continue readingGlobal companies, governments and the pandemic
So… on the day their partners BioNTec announced the success of their vaccine trial, Albert Bourla, the CEO of Pfizer sold $5.6m of shares. How easily does this sit with our sense of business as a force for good? If I were an investor meeting … Continue readingVaccines and profit – a test case for stewardship
The ESG label is now used so frequently that it is in danger of becoming a substitute for thought. What does it really mean? Is it another way of describing a good company? Do the environmental, social and environmental categories logically fit together? How is … Continue readingWhy ESG isn’t enough
The recent death of Bob Gore received too little attention. WL Gore and Associates is over 60 years old. The company was founded by Bob Gore’s father and mother, but it was Bob who make the great breakthrough by discovering a versatile new polymer … Continue readingRemembering Bob Gore
It was a pleasure to talk to Chris Gentle of The Conference Board on his Off the Shelf podcast recently. We discussed Entrusted and tried to offer some fascinating and practical insights on shifting away from extractive capitalism towards a new era of responsible wealth … Continue readingOff the Shelf podcast
The Indian state of Kerala has an impressive record for running a good education and health system. It was no surprise to learn that its system of health was on top of Covid 19 from the start. When a man arrived back from Dubai showing … Continue readingLearn from Kerala: Decentralisation is the key to delivery
This week, thanks to an excellent article by Judy Samuelson of the Aspen Institute, I learned that American Airlines was seeking a US government bailout, having just spent 96% of its positive cashflow on stock buybacks. Before the virus crisis broke, the papers were full … Continue readingDrugs, planes and houses – how public companies short-change the public