FROM THE EDITOR CHRIS MAXWELL INFINITE WISDOM E
ach year, at the national final of the IoD Director of the Year Awards, Director has the privilege of asking all the category winners to share
October/November 2019 |
director.co.uk inspiring business
SIMON SINEK ASKS...
ARE YOU IN
THE INSPIRATION
Edwin Morgan: ‘UK plc needs long-termism, not political partisanship’
LEADERSHIP
Corporate governance: Practical ways to build a high-impact board
RIGHT GAME?
INTELLIGENCE Business motoring:
10 reasons why hydrogen will fuel the future
COMMUNITY
Professional development: the IoD launches its most accessible off ering yet
ASPIRATION
Event on the horizon? Six steps to planning the perfect get-together
The leadership guru on why business is an ‘infi nite game’ that demands a mindset to match
Simon Sinek –
photographed for this issue’s cover by Robert Ascroft – was cited as an inspiration by several winners of 2018’s IoD Director of the Year Awards. They included Simon Pirotte, CEO of Bridgend College, pictured here accepting his Public/Third Sector category award from host Claudia Winkleman and Simon Stevens, CEO of NHS England
some of their inspirations and insights. (We’ll be doing the same at this year’s final on 18 October and you’ll be able to read their responses in the next issue.) Last year we were struck by the fact that more than a third of our interviewees cited a particular thought leader as an inspiration, either from reading his books or viewing his presentations. That thought leader was Simon Sinek. Clearly, the theories of this Anglo- American leadership guru – including his “start with why” model, expounded in a bestseller and a video viewed more than 46 million times online – resonate strongly with the UK’s most successful directors. We’re therefore delighted to feature an exclusive interview with Sinek in this issue (p18) in which he talks about his latest observation: that too many directors treat business as a “finite game”. That is, they approach it as if they’re trying to win a football match. Instead, it’s an “infinite game” with ever-changing rules, any number of opponents entering the field at any time and, crucially, no final whistle. Developing a mindset primed for the latter, he contends, can deliver sustained prosperity in the most turbulent of times. The clarion call for long-termism is also made by the IoD’s interim director general, Edwin Morgan (p13). He argues that, whatever the outcome of Brexit and its implications in Westminster, future governments must put partisanship aside and become more far-sighted and accountable to help business thrive. It’s a view echoed by chief economist Tej Parikh (p44), who outlines resilient strategies that can shift the UK’s economic centre of gravity away from south-east England. Whether taking the longer view means creating entirely new board roles (p11), exploring trading opportunities in hitherto unconsidered territories such as South Korea (p33) or ensuring your sustainability credentials by switching to a fleet of hydrogen vehicles (p39), we hope that you’ll find infinite food for thought on the pages ahead.
Enjoy the issue and please share your views via
directormagazine@seven.co.uk.
To contact Director, email
directormagazine@seven.co.uk. Follow us on Twitter at @DirectorIoD and on Instagram at @directormagazine
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PHOTO COURTESY OF WOBI, ERROLL JONES
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