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Serving in the Boardroom
July 17, 2026
I play social tennis, mostly old-man doubles. It is friendly rather than fiercely competitive, though everyone still wants to win. As I’ve studied human factors,
Author: Simon Laffin
Not so pretty Polly
July 17, 2026
In the late 1980s, Polly Peck International was the City’s “wonder stock”. Analysts reportedly adorned the covers of their research reports with full-page portraits of
Boardroom Confidential podcast: Interview
May 30, 2026
Risk and strategy go hand-in hand, but too often companies don’t think enough about risk. In this episode of Boardroom Confidential by Sherpany I discuss
Is childcare a fair sacrifice?
March 17, 2025
Why do women earn less than men? The answers offered to this question have changed over time. The issues however have remained largely the same.
Corporate Governance must be about people
April 3, 2024
32 years after the Cadbury Report defined modern corporate governance rules, corporate scandals continue to happen. Another version of the Corporate Governance Code came out
Life is a risk
November 24, 2023
Risk simply means that we are not sure about what will happen in the future. If you know everything about the future, you haven’t got
Non-executive directors beware! They may be coming for you.
October 27, 2023
At the very last minute the Insolvency Service, acting for the UK Government, has just abandoned disqualification proceedings against five former non-executive directors of Carillion,
Do men take revenge for diversity quotas?
July 30, 2023
A new academic study (1) is challenging one of the central policies of gender diversity -boardroom quotas for women. They have been the central plank
Politician, heal thyself
June 19, 2023
A company with just £24m annual revenue goes bankrupt with £1.9 bn of debts and a further £0.6m financing commitments. It made two appallingly large
Does good corporate governance lead to financial success?
March 14, 2023
Business is plagued these days with academic studies that come up with sensational conclusions, usually based on statistical regression. Many seek – and often get