Cutting Through The Grey

'To be fair..'

'To be fair....'

Is this a human response to the increasingly strident proclamation of definitive statements bombarding us from all media?

Is it prompted by the increasing volume of regulation and legislation advocating transparency and balance?

or

Is it our attempt to recognise that life is not black and white, that we need to 'Cut Through The Grey' and become adept at using our 'Situational Intelligence'?

 

We know that language develops continuously and that viral phrases highlight common preoccupations, so what will the next phrase be?

 

Setting the tone from the top

Is it about what you know or what you say and do?

PWC published their CEO Board Radar in January and focused attention on the shift in thinking and behaviour required at the top of organisations in order to embed governance principles. Knowledge of what good looks like is not enough. According to the 2014 UK Corporate Governance Code, '..the key role of the board is to set the culture, values and ethics of the company.'

Ensuring that the tone from the top informs all organisational behaviour,  takes considerable time and effort. In January, the Institutes of Business Ethics and Securities and Investments launched Invest in Integrity. A Charter Mark for effective governance results from proving that ethics have been embedded in your organisation.

Strategic decision making

In an uncertain world, we seek comfort  in the board intelligence on which we base our strategic decisions. Analytics are becoming more intelligent as they are informed by feedback loops.

While Google and Amazon develop expertise in predictive analytics, others say they recognise the potential but have yet to harness it.

IMD Professor Rosenzweig  indicates that while analytics can be applied effectively to uncertainty when your ability to influence a situation is low, they are less applicable to certain  situations where the need is to make action happen.