Paul Furey Limited

Nasty or clumsy? It is in our nature to look for patterns in things – to look for meaning. It’s why we see faces in clouds and frequently reject abstract art even when it does look a bit like an orange rabbit riding a broken bicycle on a cake made of Swiss cheese. This drive to make meaning from ambiguity coupled with our truly terrible estimation abilities (oh and don’t forget our almost permanent FOMO) often lead us to see negative intention in the actions of others. #boardofdirectors #boardroom #feelings #realconversations

Keep feelings out of the way… We have conversations about all sorts of things and most of the time feelings are a mere backdrop to the exchange. But when we care about something, and therefore about the outcome of the conversation, the emotional backdrop flops down on top of us enveloping the whole conversation – we lose our minds to feelings. Pretending that we’re still being rational is itself an irrational thing to do. What do you do in these situations? #boardofdirectors #boardroom #feelings #realconversations

It was great to see and meet so many new people at the LMF - London Market Forums 10th Anniversary Celebration this week. The striking thing was the age range of the people involved. Congratulations to Roger A. Oldham for your efforts over the last ten years in bringing young professionals together with seasoned players in the industry... I spoke to at least 5 young insurance professionals who owe their first big break to Roger. We need more of this multi-generational networking because it not only benefits the early career element but makes it more likely that the board will hear raw ideas from young talent without delay! #LMForums #insurance #networking

 It’s easy to get carried away with working on how things look rather than focusing on the important things – objectives and outcomes. Boards are full of ‘big personalities’. How can important board conversations be kept ‘on point’ other than through obsessive clock-watching? How do YOU keep your meetings on track without putting noses unnecessarily out of  joint? What have you found works? Do comment…there’s more than one way! #boardofdirectors #boardroom #time

It is already a challenge for a board to win the management's trust but when the chair is also the CEO how can the executive tackle daily issues without permanently involving the board in executive matters? One alternative is to cut out the CEO! #Boards #RealConversations #Chair #CEO

Do you use too many big words? Joe Kimble suggests that many of us do. A lawyer by training, in his latest book: Writing for Dollars, Writing to Please, Joe cites dozens of studies pointing to how our use of obtuse hyperbole and overly complicated sentences repeatedly ruins our chances of success. He writes of one example: ‘After simplifying a billing statement, the Cleveland Clinic recovered an additional $1 million a month… thanks to an 80 percent increase in patient payments.’ How could you use words better? by Using... - Simpler - Fewer - Sooner It would be great to hear what you do – leave a comment 💬 Follow us for more tips 🧲 #BoardDevelopment #Boards #RealConversations

The miner feels OK but the canary knows that there’s something wrong. The Institute of Directors (IoD)’s paper: The Post Office Scandal – A failure of governance makes some good points around how successive boards ignored, overlooked, turned a blind eye to or even avoided the truth about the flaws in the horizon system and, much more importantly, the false convictions that resulted from the mis-diagnosis. But as with many ‘lessons learned’ exercises, the analysis ends up in the wrong place in calling for professionalisation, training, certification, CPD and greater commitment to ethical standards. More paperwork and procedures to ensure that things are going to be better the next time hasn’t worked before and it won’t now. We need to get better at spotting, selecting and valuing canaries. A good human canary has experienced crisis, upheaval and repair. This type of canary has learned to speak up (yes birds do have to learn to sing) at the right moment (early on) and to continue to sing until something is done (persistently in the face of push-back). The good canary doesn’t even need to understand the nature of the problem (most don’t have chemistry degrees) but does need to have the voice to tell the miner to investigate and to ask for clarification. Repeatedly if necessary. The good canary is useful because it is non-executive. It cannot wield tools, it can only stand back and persistently, selectively comment when it senses danger. We need boards of canaries with a good sense of smell and  intelligent, persistent voices. Yes to some focused CPD and work on individual and group effectiveness. No to more certification, systems and lists of motherhood-and-apple-pie ethical standards. What’s wrong with OK? The fact that the management may be too close to the coalface to be free to acknowledge the problem around them. www.paulfurey.com #Risk

What’s wrong with ‘OK’? The miner feels OK but the canary knows that there’s something wrong. The Institute of Directors (IoD)’s paper: The Post Office Scandal – A failure of governance makes some good points around how successive boards ignored, overlooked, turned a blind eye to or even avoided the truth about the flaws in the horizon system and, much more importantly, the false convictions that resulted from the mis-diagnosis. But as with many ‘lessons learned’ exercises, the analysis ends up in the wrong place in calling for professionalisation, training, certification, CPD and greater commitment to ethical standards. More paperwork and procedures to ensure that things are going to be better the next time hasn’t worked before and it won’t now. We need to get better at spotting, selecting and valuing canaries. A good human canary has experienced crisis, upheaval and repair. This type of canary has learned to speak up (yes birds do have to learn to sing) at the right moment (early on) and to continue to sing until something is done (persistently in the face of push-back). The good canary doesn’t even need to understand the nature of the problem (most don’t have chemistry degrees) but does need to have the voice to tell the miner to investigate and to ask for clarification. Repeatedly if necessary. The good canary is useful because it is non-executive. It cannot wield tools, it can only stand back and persistently, selectively comment when it senses danger. We need boards of canaries with a good sense of smell and  intelligent, persistent voices. Yes to some focused CPD and work on individual and group effectiveness. No to more certification, systems and lists of motherhood-and-apple-pie ethical standards. What’s wrong with OK? The fact that the management may be too close to the coalface to be free to acknowledge the problem around them. #BoardDevelopment #LeadershipDevelopment

Good boards aren’t scary A board that can get the management team to open up – especially when difficulties are afoot – is worth more than its weight in even the most expensive Halloween chocolate. But how does a board earn the trust of its management team? By being honest with its questions and by avoiding one scary word in particular… #BoardDevelopment #LeadershipDevelopment #Honesty