Khwaja's Take: Purpose, Employee Well-being, Strategic Tech Inserts

Want to stay up to date on Board and C-suite effectiveness from me? Subscribe to my?newsletter?for free and get insight on Digitally-savvy Board Effectiveness, Technology, Cybersecurity, and ESG delivered to your inbox every two weeks.

1. Why I am passionate about making Purpose real -Purpose Driven Boards

At a personal level, infusing purpose for a better future has been my mantra for more than a decade. A company's board is responsible for a lot of things, but one of the most important things they should be focused on is the company's purpose. A company's purpose is what drives its culture and guides its decision making. It's what motivates and unifies corporate activity and defines priorities. When a board understands and embraces the company's noble purpose, it can be a powerful force for good.

View corporate purpose as a motivating and unifying force and rethink corporate success through a long-term lens. - NACD (National Association of Corporate Directors)

Corporate purpose—defined by the problems addressed and the needs filled by the corporation’s goods and services— when well articulated provides a powerful force to motivate and unify corporate activity and define priorities. Boards should consider how the corporation’s products and services address social problems and needs, as well as how the business model creates value for customers, employees, shareholders, and society.

And?purpose?and?profit?go together. Things like that allow us to retain our most talented employees. - Arvind Krishna , Chairman and CEO, IBM ?

The Importance of Communicating Purpose

A company's purpose should be more than just making money. It should be about making a difference in the world. When a company's purpose is focused on making a positive impact, it can unlock engagement, better products, higher value to customers, and societal change. That's why it's so important for boards to communicate the company's purpose to all stakeholders.

Board members should drive the purpose conversation to infuse a thriving culture. - Khwaja Shaik , Board Advisor

When boards embrace multi-stakeholder capitalism—the idea that businesses should balance the interests of all stakeholders, not just shareholders—it can have a positive impact on society as a whole. This type of capitalism takes into account the needs of employees, customers, suppliers, communities, and other groups that are impacted by business decisions. It recognizes that businesses have a responsibility to create value for all stakeholders, not just shareholders.?

Anchor the business strategy with a noble purpose by redefining corporate governance. -Khwaja Shaik, Board Advisor

Rethinking Corporate Success

Corporate success should be measured by more than just financial performance. It should be measured by how well the company is meeting its social and environmental goals. When companies focus on creating value for all stakeholders, they are more likely to be successful in the long term.?

Encourage the CEO and senior management to use digital technology to meet the needs of all stakeholders. -Khwaja Shaik, Board Advisor

It?can be?do unto others, but ultimately it’s?not just?do unto others. It’s ultimately to realize that we’re one and we’re connected. When you lose that thought, then you’ve lost the whole thing. Learn more from Marc Benioff here.

? Marc Benioff is right - communicating purpose unlocks engagement, better products, higher value to customers AND society at large! If you're having trouble convincing your board or shareholders of this fact, direct them to this blog post -Bill George sets a course for ‘true north’. You will get pearls of wisdom for the boardroom from my mentor, Bill George , whom I greatly admire.

Purpose decades over time. Stay ahead of the game by pressure testing corporate purpose with organizations like JUST Capital , CECP , Higher Ambition Leadership Alliance , Nasdaq Center for Board Excellence, and Engine No. 1 -Khwaja Shaik, Board Advisor

Lastly, Douglas Conant , Alan Murray , and Hubert Joly are some of the moral leaders I admire in advancing the "purpose" conversation.

2. The Importance of Strategic Inserts on Financial Services Firm Boards

As the world becomes more and more digital, it's important for financial services firms to keep up with the times. One way to do this is by infusing a few strategic inserts around consumer and investor protection, financial stability, financial inclusion, and responsible innovation. This will ensure that the firm is up-to-date with the latest technologies and trends.

What are Strategic Inserts?

Strategic inserts are additions to a company's board that bring with them deep technical and/or digital expertise. These additions can be made in the form of new board member appointments or by adding additional responsibilities to existing board members. The goal of these inserts is to help the company keep up with the ever-changing landscape of the digital world.

Why Are They Important?

As I mentioned before, the world is becoming more and more digital. This means that companies need to be able to adapt to new technologies and trends in order to stay relevant.

For example, despite the ‘crypto winter,’ two advocates, Sam Bankman-Fried and Ravi Mhatre , say the currencies have plenty of reason for being. Read more from The Wall Street Journal article -The Case for Why Consumers Will Still Want to Use Cryptocurrencies

By having strategic inserts on their boards, financial services firms will be able to do just that. These inserts will help the firm make better decisions when it comes to risk management, product development, and customer experience. In short, they'll help the firm stay ahead of the curve.

What Implications Do They Have?

There are a few implications of having strategic inserts on a financial services firm's board. First, it shows that the firm is committed to keeping up with the latest technologies and trends. This can instill confidence in both customers and investors alike. Additionally, it can help the firm attract top talent, as prospective employees will see that the company is open to new ideas and willing to invest in its workforce. Finally, it can help the firm avoid any potential regulatory issues that may arise from not being up-to-date with the latest changes in the industry.

If you sit on a financial services firm's board, it's time to infuse a few strategic inserts around consumer and investor protection, financial stability, financial inclusion, and responsible innovation. By doing so, you'll ensure that the company is able to keep up with the ever-changing landscape of the digital world. These inserts have a number of implications, all of which are positive for both the firm and its stakeholders. So what are you waiting for? It's time to get started!

3. The Power of Prioritizing Your Workers

In these trying times, it's more important than ever to prioritize the well-being of your workers. Not only is it the right thing to do, but new data from JUST Capital shows that companies who prioritize their workers outperformed their peers in Q3. Here's why this trend is only going to continue in the coming months and years.

The Importance of Worker Well-Being

There are a number of reasons why worker well-being is so important. First and foremost, happy workers are productive workers. When your employees are healthy and supported, they're more likely to be engaged with their work and invested in the success of your company. Additionally, happy employees are less likely to leave for greener pastures, which saves your company time and money in the long run.

If you need to win in the ESG space, you must first win the workplace. -Khwaja Shaik, Board Advisor

In these uncertain times, it's also important to remember that your employees are people with lives outside of work. They may be juggling childcare responsibilities or caring for elderly parents. They may be struggling with anxiety or depression. Whatever the case may be, it's important to show your employees that you understand and support them through whatever challenges they're facing.

Employee burnout and decreased work-life balance satisfaction are a few of the pressing issues that boards must solve as it has implications for winning the war on talent. -Khwaja Shaik, Board Advisor

How to Prioritize Your Workers

So how can you go about making your workers a priority? One way is to start measuring and publicly disclosing metrics on worker well-being according to a recent 德勤 study -Why reporting workplace well-being metrics is a good idea

This may seem like a radical step, but it's actually not without precedent. In recent years, we've seen a similar trend emerge around environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting. As ESG has become more of a priority among customers, investors, and workers, companies have responded by creating and publicly disclosing ESG metrics.

Measuring worker well-being is a complex task, but there are a few key metrics you can focus on to get started. These include measures of physical health (such as absenteeism), mental health (such as employee assistance program utilization), job satisfaction (such as turnover rates), and work-life balance (such as flexible work arrangements). By tracking these metrics over time, you can get a better sense of where your employees are thriving and where they may need more support.

This decade belongs to workforce as tech intensity and associated automation through AI directly impact the upskilling of workforce. -Khwaja Shaik, Board Advisor

Conclusion:?

There's no doubt about it: companies who prioritize their workers outperform their peers. So if you want to stay ahead of the curve, it's time to start measuring and publicly disclosing metrics on worker well-being. Not only is it the right thing to do, but it's also good for business.

4. BOOK RECOMMENDATION?-Deep Purpose

Ranjay Gulati takes readers inside some of the world’s most purposeful companies to understand the secrets to their successes. He explores how leaders can pursue purpose more deeply by:

1. Navigating the inevitable tradeoffs more deliberately and effectively to balance between short- and long-term value.

2. Building purpose more systematically into every key organizational function to mobilize stakeholders and enhance performance.

3. Updating organizations to foster more autonomy and collaboration, which in turn allow individual employees to work more purposefully.

4. Using powerful storytelling to communicate a clear and inspiring sense of purpose throughout the organization.

Gulati’s insights offer a road map for companies that want to move beyond the traditional focus on shareholder value and build a more sustainable, Purpose-driven business.

If you enjoyed my book recommendation, here are my book recommendations?LinkedIn?article -Top Must-Read Books for Boards and C-suite -2022

ABOUT KHWAJA SHAIK

KHWAJA SHAIK?is the award-winning C-level Global IT Executive with 25+ years of technology, industry, and board leadership with?GE, IBM, 美国银行 & PwC. He was recognized globally for turning visionary thinking into breakthrough growth.?As one of?IBM’s CTOs, Khwaja counsels CEOs, Boards, and Startups on corporate strategy, digital transformation, AI, Cybersecurity, ESG, and culture shifts to unlock performance.

Using his innovative mindset, he saved $1.1 billion per year for Bank of America by transforming the Global IT Operating model and future-proofed business by mitigating risk and infusing new?fintech. Khwaja has 20 years of experience in the highly?regulated banking and financial services?industry.?

In addition, as a Big5 thought leader at? 普华永道 , he incubated new businesses, reshaped business and?platform operating models— digitized end-to-end business processes to capture value, and protected firms from?cyberattacks?through AI & the cloud.

Khwaja has a history of leading over $10B digital business transformations by scaling Agile practices for cost optimization, revenue-generation, and societal transformation imperatives. It includes digital business optimization and using digital business models to capture profitable growth, customer lifetime value & competitive advantage to Fortune 500 firms.

Khwaja transformed the Omnichannel customer experience by delivering world's largest next-gen Contact Center platform as part of BAC's M&A (CFC, MBNA, Fleet etc.) by replacing aging telephony system with VoIP. Contact Center platform serves 1 billion calls, 500K interactions annually and 300 million outbound calls annually to support multichannel strategy

In 2016, Khwaja was among the most exceptional IBMers appointed with the rare distinction of IBM Academy of Technology member. In 2020, Khwaja was recognized as IBM’s senior inventor and top 100 technical leaders driving technology ethics and data stewardship, providing the direction of IBM on societal transformation with responsible innovation that matters.

Service to others has been a part of Khwaja’s purpose. Khwaja promotes economic equity, social responsibility, diversity, and inclusion for the prosperity of all -the reinvention of education through innovative programs such as Open P-TECH. Due to his holistic stakeholder engagement in the industry, partner ecosystem, and?community, Khwaja received several service awards from IBM, Bank of America, University of North Florida, Indo US Chamber of Commerce of Northeast Florida, and 2022 ORBIE Awards FloridaCIO Finalist.

Khwaja serves on the boards of directors of the?Museum of Science & History, UNF School of?Computing Advisory Board,?TECt,?MIT?CIO Forum,?Interfaith Center of Northeast Florida,?and McKinsey Executive Panel.

Khwaja regularly writes on?LinkedIn,?Twitter?and regularly?interviewed?for?industry insights?or cited in the?news,?Thought Leadership POVs. He is a frequent international speaker at elite universities, including IIT Hyderabad, CIO IT & Security Forum, MHI Supply Chain Conference, and JAX Chamber IT Council.

Khwaja is a Fellow of Herndon Directors Institute , sponsored by Nasdaq and Atlanta Life Insurance Company . Khwaja holds an MBA and a bachelor’s degree in Engineering. Khwaja lived on three continents, experienced three different cultures, reads too much, doesn’t do enough gardening, married for over 22 years, and has two boys.

?More details on Khwaja’s career and thought leadership activities could be found via?Linkedin,?Khwajashaik.com?or follow him on Twitter @Khwaja_Shaik

"The postings on this site are my own and don't necessarily represent IBM's positions, strategies, or opinions."