New mental health challenges are impacting our organizations now daily - And it is not easing up any time soon. Mental health since COVID has been deteriorating by 25% from Pre-COVID statistics. I was on a call yesterday with a former CEO of a major securities firm, and he simply said, everyone I know is depressed or have children feeling sad...
It’s fair to say that during times of economic turmoil, so many of us, whether individuals or businesses, go into survival mode by focusing only on the immediate challenges at hand. Yet, leaders must not lose sight of longer-term business goals and commitments. Don't let a state of crisis become a distraction from ongoing efforts to do business in a more ethical and sustainable way...
If there is a company that awakens people’s imaginations in every corner of the globe then that company is Disney. No other company on the planet has contributed more to nurturing the fantasy and imagination of both young and old...
Of the many dimensions of the FTX fiasco, the most shocking is the comprehensive failure of corporate governance, now becoming clear as the bankruptcy process unfolds. Sloppy and likely illegal management practices at FTX have raised doubts that extend beyond the company to call into question the whole crypto premise. They also cast doubt on the integrity of the ESG rating business, and on several other components of the larger financial system...
ESG, or Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) matters, have quickly evolved from lofty corporate objectives to integral elements of corporate strategy. Recently I described the pitfalls of measurement with ESG software. Given the interest in this topic, I offer a deep dive on the topic with my colleague Adam Stahl, an energy security executive and former policy officer for the US Department of Homeland Security. See our earlier discussion on how cybersecurity impacts climate policy...
The surge of investment assets into environmental, social and governance (ESG) funds is empowering investors and activists to demand action from companies around the world. Increasingly, those demands are materializing as shareholder proposals designed to push companies to change business and disclosure practices related to a range of issues, from emissions and climate change to workforce diversity and inclusion...
Over the past several years, the values and cultures of business organizations have become increasingly important to employees and customers . A renewed sense of values that respect individuals and create a unique work atmosphere, has led to employees weighing factors that are far more qualitative than salaries and benefits...
Billionaire investor Carl Icahn said at Thursday’s Forbes Iconoclast Summit that he would have started a proxy fight against Twitter (TWTR +0.7%) management if Elon Musk hadn’t closed his $44 billion deal to buy the company...
The New York Times recently published an essay by Hans Taparia titled, ‘One of the Hottest Trends in the World of Investing Is a Sham.’ While Mr. Taparia paints a broad picture of widespread greenwashing (and I guess social washing and governance washing), he fails to look beyond the marketing engines of the big Wall Street firms to see the smaller ones that actually are working for positive change...
Don’t expect the board to lead you. Take the lead. As CEO, tell them what is happening at the organization, what your plans are and ask for their thoughts and guidance...
Many CEO pay packages include fixed dollar values of total stock and option grants. Freezing the dollar value of these stock packages perversely ensures a greater number of shares to the CEO when stock prices fall – and vice versa. How exactly is this pay for performance...
CEOs are often called on to provide leadership in a crisis. But what does an organization do when, for whatever reason, there’s no one in the corner office to respond to a disaster, scandal, or other business emergencies...
Too often, I read articles that tell me, “The future of work demands you show genuine care for your employees!” Let me assure you: This is not happening in the future. It is happening now...
That climate change (E) and income inequality (S) are the two biggest existential threats of the 21st century is well understood. The call for urgent action is growing. However, some of today’s most popular solutions like regulation, measurement, reporting, incentives, and cheaper capital are not enough to save Planet Earth and Humanity. Specifically, it might be time to upgrade the ESG framework to ESL...
A new Forbes analysis of data from Equilar shows that the number of big U.S. public companies that have all-female leadership is most likely a lot lower than you think...
As a company grows and progresses through the different stages of its life cycle, eventually, it will reach a point where stakeholders need to decide whether to stay private or go public. While the reasons underpinning the decision to become a publicly traded company will vary from business to business, the time, cost and reporting requirements once public is typically much more consistent across companies...
It’s a draconian measure, but there is some precedence for achieving the advocacy ends without alluding to ambiguous marketing terms...
Changes to the traditional board/management dynamic may be necessary if corporations are to successfully confront increasing uncertainty and manage greater societal expectations.That’s the core message offered by the National Association of Corporate Directors, in its newly released principles, “A Framework for Governing into the Future.” The estimable thought leadership organization promotes a more substantial platform for corporate governance to address a global environment that more and more appears to un-governable...
The long drama between Twitter management and Elon Musk appears to be coming to an end, with Elon Musk reportedly deciding to close on the acquisition of Twitter at the original offer price...
When companies don’t have coherence between what they say and what they do, or when they define themselves through marketing hype that does not reflect their true intentions or thoughts, the truth comes to light sooner rather than later...
Decades of fossil-fueled economic development have cost the environment. Of the 1.2 million people spread across 50 countries, who were surveyed by the United Nations Development Programme (download required), 64% recognize climate change as an emergency, and more than half of this group agreed that measures to try and halt climate change should be urgently prioritized. This is a sentiment that I've observed has begun to permeate the global business community as well...
Management did not expect this move, it quickly adopted a shareholder rights plan (also known as a poison pill).
As if guiding a company through the maelstrom of inflation, recession, workforce participation and quiet quitting wasn’t enough of a challenge. Corporate executives now find themselves — and their compensation arrangements — at the center of aggressive enforcement initiatives from key government regulators. And their boards of directors are being dragged into the mix, with little hope of avoiding collateral damage to relationships with their CEO, and to the company’s business planning...
Yvon Chouinard, founder and majority owner of Patagonia, dominated the headlines last week for doing something that no other billionaire has: donating almost all his wealth at once. His move is bold, but not entirely new...