One Minute Governance

A few months ago I promised/threatened to write a book. My thinking has changed a bit, but I still believe there are a lot of issues in corporate governance that we can solve together. More news very soon! Background music is Of the Stars by KC Roberts & the Live Revolution   SCRIPT Back in January I released an episode of OMG – episode 99 – called “I think I might write a book.” All the reasons I...

Ever feel like you're "stuck" with the wrong people on your board? Things are *probably* aren't as bad as they seem.   Background Music is Of the Stars by KC Roberts & the Live Revolution .   SCRIPT OK so the title of this episode might not seem correct to some of you, but it’s *technically* correct, which is the best kind of correct. The truth is, there are no circumstances in which you are uncon...

When it comes to good governance, the conditions for great decision-making will never be perfect. But the journey is what counts. Background music is Of the Stars by KC Roberts & the Live Revolution   SCRIPT One thing I noticed when I first read chapter 1 of the Heath Brothers’ Decisive is that I fall victim to the four villains of decision making basically every time I make any decision. I bet yo...

Overconfidence is my "favourite" of the Heath Brothers' four villains of decision making. It's simultaneously super obnoxious and super universal. And boardrooms provide the perfect environment for overconfidence to thrive and get in the way of your decisions. Background music is Of the Stars by KC Roberts & the Live Revolution ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: Freakonomics Radio Season 9, Episode 46 Gender D...

Boardrooms might seem like emotionless environments, but they *really* aren't. Even though we can't stop ourselves from feeling emotions, we can definitely acknowledge and manage the influence our emotions have on our decisions. In this episode, I refer to a recent episode of the No Stupid Questions podcast. Listen to it here :  Background music is Of the Stars by KC Roberts & the Live Revolution...

Next up on the list of the "villains" of decision-making is narrow framing. It's basically what we do to make decisions look and feel simpler than they are. And it's a major problem! Background music is Of the Stars by KC Roberts & the Live Revolution   SCRIPT: Another one of the Heath Brothers’ villains of decision making is what they call “narrow framing.” Here’s my take. I always felt like the...

By now, we've all heard about confirmation bias, and if you did your homework from the last episode, it'll be really clear to you how it gets in the way of effective decision-making. So, what are we supposed to do about it? Background music is Of the Stars by KC Roberts & the Live Revolution   SCRIPT: Now that you’ve read chapter 1 of Decisive by the Heath Brothers, let’s take some time to talk th...

Since we've established good governance as actively creating conditions to maximize the likelihood that effective decisions will get made, let's start exploring what it means to make good decisions. Over the next five episodes, we'll use the first chapter of Decisive by the Heath Brothers as our textbook. Download a free copy here: https://heathbrothers.com/member-content/decisive-chapter-1/ As al...

Now that we've established some definitions and busted some myths, who's actually responsible for "doing" good governance? Background music is Of the Stars by KC Roberts & the Live Revolution   SCRIPT: At this point, I think we’ve done enough mythbusting and detective work that we’ve got a reasonably good idea of what good corporate governance is and isn’t. And even if you’re not convinced by my p...

This episode was originally called "ED&I is not the same as good governance," but now I'm not so sure... Background music is Of the Stars by KC Roberts & the Live Revolution   SCRIPT: I’ve talked a lot about Equity, Diversity & Inclusion on OMG before – have a listen to episodes 19 through 21 and 59 through 62 if you want a refresher. I believe *super* strongly that diversity of perspectives, live...

Boards are an important part of corporate governance in most organizations, but an effective board is not the same as good governance. Background music is Of the Stars by KC Roberts & the Live Revolution   SCRIPT: I said earlier this season that board effectiveness and good governance aren’t the same. When I say “board effectiveness” what does it mean to you? I even struggle with this one, which i...

Organizations that survive for a long time - generations, even - are really impressive, but it doesn't mean they have good governance. Background music is Of the Stars by KC Roberts & the Live Revolution   SCRIPT: I contributed to a paper a few years back that found over a 50 year period that family-controlled listed companies were significantly more likely to survive for the entire stretch than n...

I don't care how good your return to shareholders is...it doesn't mean you have good governance. Background music is Of the Stars by KC Roberts & the Live Revolution   SCRIPT: I’ve already talked about stakeholder capitalism vs shareholder capitalism a bunch of times on OMG – have a listen to episodes 5, 31, 48, 52, 56, etc. So I’ve already established pretty clearly that I believe organizations c...

I don't care how good your financial performance is...it doesn't mean you have good governance. Background music is Of the Stars by KC Roberts & the Live Revolution   SCRIPT: Corporate governance evolves *slowly*. Even in a single boardroom, real governance change tends to happen at a glacial pace, but on a system level…man. Seriously, every single little change to regulation – however, toothless...

I often hear people say that hiring the CEO is the most important thing that a board can do. Still, even doing a great job at hiring a CEO isn't the same thing as good governance. Background music is Of the Stars by KC Roberts & the Live Revolution   SCRIPT: I had originally planned to do an episode later this season called “Is hiring and/or firing the CEO really the most important thing a board d...

Increasing emphasis on corporate purpose is a *really* good thing, but it's not the same as good governance. Background music is Of the Stars by KC Roberts & the Live Revolution   SCRIPT: This is probably the most obvious of all the titles in this sequence. Of course purpose is not the same as good governance. Take any incorporated entity, from a one-man-shop like my company, Fullbrook Board Effec...

LOTS of experts will tell you that corporate governance is all about strategic oversight. I'm here to argue that there's a lot more to good governance than that. Background music is Of the Stars by KC Roberts & the Live Revolution   SCRIPT: Let’s get something important out of the way right off the bat: good corporate governance and board effectiveness aren’t the same thing. In fact, there are ple...

Sure, the "G" in ESG stands for "governance," but ESG and good governance aren't the same. Background music is Of the Stars by KC Roberts & the Live Revolution   SCRIPT: ESG is an initialism referring to Environmental, Social & Governance. I remember when I first heard the term ten, eleven, twelve years ago, I assumed that what it was trying to get at was an organization’s governance when it comes...

Thinking of compliance as good governance is probably the most common, and distracting, false equivalency in corporate governance. Background music is Of the Stars by KC Roberts & the Live Revolution   SCRIPT I spent nearly 20 years running a project at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management that resulted in a couple of different sets of what we called “board ratings.” Fundamental...

If I'm going to give you a definition of GOOD governance, I guess we'll need one for BAD governance, too. Background music is Of the Stars by KC Roberts & the Live Revolution   SCRIPT In the previous episode, I suggested that we define good corporate governance as creating conditions that maximize the likelihood that effective decisions will get made. I’ve had months to sit with it, and you’ve onl...

I'm putting a definition of "good corporate governance" out there just so that you know exactly what I mean when I refer to good governance. Feel free to let me know what you think. Background music is Of the Stars by KC Roberts & the Live Revolution   SCRIPT Welcome to season three of One Minute Governance. It’s been a long break, and it’s good to be back. I signed off the last season with a bunc...

Season 3 of OMG is finally almost here! I can't wait to dive back in. Oh, and if you like the background music, the song is Of the Stars by my band KC Roberts & the Live Revolution. Check out the whole new album, Grit, here: https://ffm.to/kclr-grit   SCRIPT: Season three of One Minute Governance launches on Monday June 27th, just a few days away. I’ve always thought of OMG as a platform for takin...

Thanks for sticking with me through two seasons and 101 episodes!  

Episode 100 was supposed to be the season 2 finale, until something annoying came across my desk...

We already established that learning about corporate governance can be embarrassing.  I think I might be able to help.  One way is by writing a book.  I'll tell you more soon, but in the meantime, send me positive vibes and any questions you think I could help to address.