We live in complex times that – although comprised of some controllable and predictable elements – is largely uncontrollable, unpredictable and evolving (emergent).[1] Like many other professions, the legal profession is facing increasingly urgent and intensifying trends and challenges that it has not encountered before. Professions have long been seen as a path for success:…
How is it that at a time of unprecedented focus on leadership and corporate culture — by regulatory authorities, Boards, stakeholders, leadership and management consultants, and a virtual flood of books, articles, degree programs, and big-budget training efforts — stunning organizational and leadership failures continue to take place at the highest levels in both the…
Global warming and climate change is already here, striking countries across the world with increasing severity. It impacts every part of the globe, every community, every business, and every person. With decades of climate change denial, suppression, and – ultimately – climate policy failure both domestically and abroad, can we break the cycle?[1] The answer…
The world appears to be fraying at the edges, with fundamental social, economic and political divides peppered with overheated and demeaning rhetoric, refusal to compromise, loss of trust, and partisanship all the time.[1]And such a disaffected and divided world is a significant threat to our society.[2] Addressing these issues is “an economic necessity”, as they…
We today “reap the benefits of public services built by previous generations” and corporate leaders “more willing to pay taxes”. But what will we be passing on to future generations?[1] Across Western society, “in the name of austerity, we put off investments critical to our future. We also put off the maintenance of our existing…
Leadership is vital to making sense of the rapidly changing business environment that organizations find themselves in today. Business sectors across the world – including the legal industry – are experiencing accelerated disruptions and unprecedented strategic challenges as a result of new technologies, digitalization,[1] new entrants and business models, globalization, intensifying competition and an unpredictable…
Societies are undone in many ways, not all of them obvious. We tend to think of decline along economic lines, but it is a nation’s culture – particularly in terms of civility, public discourse, and the robust open exchange of diverse ideas and perspectives[1] – that determines its societal credentials. Among any nation’s most precious…
From Volkswagen’s DieselGate to Wells Fargo’s banking scandal,[1] the breadth and nature of high-profile corporate[2] and government[3] scandals and well-publicized corruption is staggering. Headlines aside, ethical misconduct is hardly uncommon today – nearly half of all fraud cases are not publicly reported[4] and over 40% of executives surveyed in a recent study said “they could…
Despite recent developments and initiatives striving to protect and promote long-term corporate strategy and sustainable value creation,[1] short-term perspectives still predominate throughout the investment value chain and dominate decisions in boardrooms.[2] It is troubling how deeply the short-term mindset has permeated corporate culture across the globe. The markets relentless demand for profit growth on a quarterly…
The separation of politics from the judiciary is a cornerstone of the rule of law and Canada’s democratic system of government.[1] On November 9, 2016, the day after the United States presidential election, Justice Bernd Zabel entered a Canadian courtroom wearing a red “Make America Great Again” baseball hat, the campaign signature of the successful…
