The openness and plurality in a company’s leadership has a direct impact on its actual performance At the recent TEDIndia conference in Mysore, the Minister of State for External Affairs and MP Shashi Tharoor argued that India’s vast, open, pluralistic society is creating a stronger, more respected Indian identity that will translate into greater power...

Peter Wong (not his real name) was a rising star in of one of the largest global banks in the world.  Starting out in Asia as an entry level hire, he steadily made his way up after completing several expatriate assignments across the globe.  At the rate he was progressing, it would only be a...

MALAYSIA is making significant strides towards its developmental goals of becoming a high-income, developed nation by 2020, but there remain challenges along the way that might prevent her from reaching her full potential. Though recent economic data shows that we have remained resilient compared to our regional peers, we cannot yet afford to take our...

The concept of the independent director in Anglo-Saxon corporate governance is based on the talented amateur who has:   Assurances that there is a clear separation of the roles of the board and management – “Boards govern and direct, management manages”; An adequate understanding of the technical aspects of decisions, relying on access to third...

IN 2012, three things made the role of independent directors much more challenging. They were a blurring of boundaries between the role of boards and management; a greater need to understand the technicalities of business decisions; and a challenge to the guarantee that relying on third party expert opinion will protect directors from litigation when...

Generations of human experience have taught us that the five principles discussed in this post are proven keys to success, happiness, and leadership effectiveness. Yet, most of us not only forget, but also flagrantly violate them in our daily interactions with people. We are quick to criticize others when they fail to follow the principles. ...

According to BusinessDictionary.com, corporate governance is “The Framework of rules and practices by which a board of directors ensures accountability, fairness, and transparency in a company’s relationship with its all stakeholders.”  OECD.org defines it as the “Procedures and processes according to which an organisation is directed and controlled. The corporate governance structure specifies the distribution of rights...

When thinking about the advantages and drawbacks of diversity in senior management and board positions, we can learn a great deal from Mother Nature. We can increase yields dramatically by cloning oil palms.  Yet the more we reduce the plant gene pool in our attempts to raise yields, the more plantations become vulnerable to pests...

I CAN still remember as a child, the English bank manager was the pillar of the community. He was a most respected and trusted person because he took a deep personal interest in the people to whom he lent money; always making sure that the borrowers could repay; refusing to lend to people who could...

As America scaled greater and greater heights of economic prosperity through most of the 20th century, the rest of the world (in particular Asia) complained bitterly about American arrogance. The common perception about the US in Asia was that Americans do not try to understand others’ perspectives and want to rule the world with their...