Has Air New Zealand’s market strategy changed – or is it simply now more obvious? I’ll start by saying that I have been a relatively frequent, usually satisfied, flyer with Air New Zealand for a long time (my Frequent Flyer number has five digits and I’ve accumulated 14 ‘banked years’ of membership). In the lastContinue reading “The shift we’ve been expecting in Air New Zealand’s strategy?”
Category Archives: Uncategorized
No such thing as ‘Invisible Leadership’
I usually hesitate to comment on current events, because experience shows that matters are seldom as they appear in the fog of a fast-moving situation. This weekend’s catastrophic storm event in Auckland, however, speaks for itself and calls for an immediate reaction. First, I find it ironic that a Mayor, who was elected on aContinue reading “No such thing as ‘Invisible Leadership’”
Four times twice as much: how the Chair’s job has grown.
The latest edition of the Australian Company Director magazine quotes a senior board chair describing how the role has evolved in recent years: For the mathematically challenged, I think she’s saying that a board chair today has about eight times the typical workload an NED had, only a few years ago. People unfamiliar with theContinue reading “Four times twice as much: how the Chair’s job has grown.”
Ten minutes that will transform your (Zoom) board meetings
I’d guess that most of us have held more board meetings virtually than in person over the last 18 months. Remote meetings, still a rarity two years ago, are business as usual and here to stay. We’re learning how to make the most of them: To interpret non-verbal signals (aka body language) from only ourContinue reading “Ten minutes that will transform your (Zoom) board meetings“
The three levels of medalling, in board diversity
Over that inspiring fortnight of distraction, the Tokyo Olympics, two new verbs have joined the mainstream, as in ‘I can’t believe we’ve medalled … we were only aiming to podium at the next Games.’ As those verbs have entrenched themselves in the sports lexicon, so ‘diversity’ has become possibly the most discussed, most abused and most poorly understood term inContinue reading “The three levels of medalling, in board diversity”
When your board member is the subject expert: three hidden traps
How often do we hear boards discussing the type of skills they’d like to attract … ‘Wouldn’t it be great if we had an engineer/micro-biologist/blockchain expert on the board?’ I’m fully in favour of making sure our boards have people with the right skills and experience for the business. We’ve all heard of corporate train-wrecksContinue reading “When your board member is the subject expert: three hidden traps”
When the Chair wants to become the Boss
Last week the New Zealand Herald revealed that, among candidates for the chief executive’s role at Greater Wellington Regional Council, the current Council Chair Daran Ponter had thrown his hat into the ring. It’s far from the first time that this has happened, not only in local government, and it can work perfectly well – as longContinue reading “When the Chair wants to become the Boss”
The (other) Rule of Six – and the mistake we make in using it
Last week, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson introduced the ‘Rule of Six,’ limiting gatherings to six people, in order to slow the spread of Covid-19. This brought to mind the older ‘Six Block Rule’ that directors have used to guide them on their capacity to accept new roles. The ‘Rule’ proposes that, in general, aContinue reading “The (other) Rule of Six – and the mistake we make in using it”
The Four Levels of Board Maturity … and what you need to do about yours
Some people tower over their profession: Albert Einstein – physical sciences, Chuck Yeager – test flying, Florence Nightingale – nursing (and statistics – check her out). In corporate governance, few are as respected as Professor Bob Garratt, author of ‘The Fish Rots from the Head’. It’s an excellent metaphor to illustrate his discussion of board leadership, albeit,Continue reading “The Four Levels of Board Maturity … and what you need to do about yours”
Who saw that coming? The A.R.T. of Risk Governance
I don’t suppose any of us fully anticipated what we, and the rest of the world, have experienced in these last few months. Most of our boards have well considered and often colourful risk registers, which they review regularly. So why was this coronavirus such an ambush? How many registers contained something like: ‘Global pandemic, forcingContinue reading “Who saw that coming? The A.R.T. of Risk Governance”
Chairing the board 