Thoughts and Ideas

28 February 2012
Boards of directors: less oversight, more foresight?

With the revelation of each new failure caused by  "strategic short-sightedness," as illustrated by the recent Kodak, HP, RIM and Blockbuster failures, companies must rethink their governance systems and in particular the role of the board of directors.

20 January 2012
Davos: If you come in with your pre-conceptions, the only thing you'll fall in love with are your own assumptions and biases

A recent article by Anya Schiffrin "Confessions of a Davos Wife" (see here)  on Reuter's website sparked my interest. Since the site seem to have censured my comment on the blog ( here goes freedom of expression... Note from author: I stand corrected: after this article was published on Competia's site, and picked up in a number of pinboards, Reuters finally allowed my comments on the blog. Thanks Reuters ! ), I thought I'd publish it here. I can use also the excuse to introduce what will go on in Davos at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2012 for me this year.

5 December 2011
Decision making: It's all about taking off - and landing safely…

Klaus Schwab from the World Economic Forum, opened one of the WEF's meeting last month by saying *" Complexity, velocity of global issues means decision makers are always behind"*. From heads of state to corporate decision makers, everyone is struggling with the same challenge: too much - too fast. There is one profession however who has studied carefully decision making, and systematically trained thousands of decision makers to allow them to make decisions in minutes, often in very uncertain conditions : *the airline and airplane industry*. Managers and executives could learn from them.

18 October 2011
"Because I Dare" - Women on Boards

As women flooded the "Women on Boards Bootcamp" sessions at the Women's Forum which took place in Deauville this week, I could not help but reflect that the pool of women candidates willing to sit on boards was indeed rich, diverse, and experienced."Because I dare" could best summarize the discussions - and the general mood: women need to take a much more aggressive approach if they want to set foot in the boardroom. They need to gain self confidence to seek out those board positions, leverage their relevant experiences in governance, and stop to be simply waiting for the opportunities to be presented to them.

3 October 2011
Boards and CEOs: Introducing the "Strategic Blindspots Index"©

As industries become increasingly complex, it is more difficult than ever to govern companies. As an executive or a board member, you are often responsible for identifying where the company might have underestimated a strategic risk, or where you are failing to see a strategic opportunity. Competia has developed over the past few years a systematic approach to enable management teams to examine your company's strategy and lead discussions around potential "blindspots" - *untapped opportunities and overlooked risks*. We are now introducing the* "Strategic Blindspots Index"©*, a systematic method to assess the risk of a strategic blindspot developing, and a way to compare a company's risk profile with industry peers.