On Welcoming 2023

Saving reading time till the end of the year cannot be considered best practice. Nonetheless, it is better than not having any time to read at all. As we bid farewell to 2022, I picked up a few books on the shelf to prepare for the challenges ahead in 2023.

The book 'Thinking in New Boxes: a New Paradigm for Business Creativity' by Luc de Brabandere and Alan Iny, two BCG consultants, was given to me as a gift almost 10 years ago. It encourages prospective thinking - anticipating long term changes, through deduction and induction, and a structured process that leads to hypotheses formulation, scenario planning, and ultimately the development of new strategy and products that are fit for purpose. On anticipating 'The Economist Christmas Issue in 2025', the authors anticipated virtual Christmas dinner, which happens via webcam, with gifts exchanged online, although they are four years out, due to COVID19. On the scenario about 'Divided Nations', protectionism and insecurity spread; nationalism becomes the predominant political approach and local suppliers are sought after. This reminds me of the article Tesla supplier Panasonic seeks to balance US and Chinese markets in tech war in the Financial Times today. There is a selection bias here, as there are many more scenarios in the book, but the various mental models could be quite useful for planning ahead.

'Humanising Human Capital: Invest in Your People for Optimal Business Returns' by Solange Charas and Stela Lupushor was also a gift. Stela and I met when I was writing the paper Future of Work: Investors Expectations on Ethical Artificial Intelligence in Human Capital Management . COVID19 has accelerated the digital transformation of businesses. This paper is the product of following the logic of deduction of the book by Luc and Alan, noting the megatrends (pandemic, technology revolution, affordable access to mobile communications, IoTs), establishing hypotheses (widespread use of virtual interviews and pre-recorded videos due to social distancing and travel interruptions), and from them, identifying the emerging approach of AI use in human capital management as a key issue going forward, such as recruitment and performance management (measuring employee engagement through chats and virtual interactions, surveillance). Solange and Stela shared how data analytics is informing decision making, how interactions amongst the workforce are changing, and what would entail a responsible approach towards managing and respecting the workforce that drives desired business outcomes.

'Boards: a Practical Perspective' by Patrick Dunne, is my board director handbook. Being on the board of a family-owned company, a publicly funded university, a commercial entity and a membership-led organisation could expose one to very different dynamics and dilemmas. Directors should remind themselves that they should act within their delegated powers, promote the success of the company/entity, exercise independent judgement with reasonable care, skill and diligence, as well as avoid conflicts of interests. They are already included in The Companies Act, but it is helpful to constantly remind ourselves how these principles are put into practice in different situations. Patrick's book covers the form and substance of governance - from purpose to people and process; there are examples of how to put forward constructive challenges (probing assumptions, rationale, reasons and evidence), exercising formal power and harnessing informal influence powers. Good board meetings have 'before', 'during' and 'after'. Board directors can successfully exercise influence through a timely mix of logos, ethos and pathos.

'Clever: leading your smartest, most creative people' by Rob Goffee and Gareth Jones, both from the London Business School gives valuable advice on how to work with clever people in an organisation. One anonymous HR director puts it, "I am a master of the dark arts of retention. I know about deferred options, elaborate tax plans, and all the paraphernalia of retention strategies. Let me tell you, none of these will work if the competition really wants your people." They will only stay if a company offers them a great place in which to express themselves and other clever people to work with. Clever people exert pressure on their leaders. This is a book about valuing talent, and how to become an effective leader in supporting such talent, which may include stepping away from one's identity and what they do best and becoming a coach or mentor.

Finally, the examined life of Bertrand Russell, his Autobiography. Bertrand Russell has John Stuart Mill as his godfather and George Bernard Shaw as his friend (Life is obviously not fair). He was too shy to enquire the way to the loo when he was sitting entrance scholarships exams at Cambridge so he walked every morning to the station before the examination began (one does wonder how long these entrance exams were!). Contemplating his wisdom: "To teach how to live without certainty and yet without being paralysed by hesitation is perhaps the chief thing that philosophy, in our age, can do for those who study it." "There is no need to worry about mere size. We do not necessarily respect a fat man more than a thin man. Sir Isaac Newton was very much smaller than a hippopotamus, but we do not on that account value him less." He championed women's rights and diversity in the early 1900s. How's that for thinking ahead?

Have a wonderful start of 2023!