Much of board education likes to zero in on technical knowledge—keeping up with regulatory updates, sharpening financial skills, risk management, and staying on top of industry trends.

These are crucial, no doubt. But they're only one part of the picture.

The often overlooked part is the necessary human skills...and for me, the real heart of what makes a board effective.

So, here's another little short podcast which describes the harmonic balance that any good boardroom needs...

Have a listen and see what you think.

Podcast links

• Join Future Directors for FREE
• Follow and Connect with Paul (LinkedIn)

Commentary on corporate governance commonly focuses on what is wrong or missing. The mistakes, the downfalls, the ‘bad stuff’. Admittedly, I'm not immune to this.

With the world seemingly in increasing turmoil - divisive politics, endless wars, clashing ideologies… and just trying to keep up with the cost of living - it would be easy to keep focusing on the negative.

So, here's a little short podcast from me which brings a bit of love and positivity into the world of the boardroom.

Have a listen and see what you think.

Podcast links

• Join Future Directors for FREE
• Follow and Connect with Paul (LinkedIn)

Diving into the heart of what makes or breaks the boardroom is not just a pastime for me—it's a mission. Some time ago, a few of my fellow future-focused enthusiasts and I went down a rabbit hole to talk about the most unpopular governance opinions.

I thought I would reflect on and summarise the themes in the podcast. Please note. Not all of these are mine, but I fully support how unpopular they might be :)

Have a listen and see what you think.

Podcast links

• Join Future Directors for FREE
• Follow and Connect with Paul (LinkedIn)

A poorly executed board recruitment strategy can be the silent saboteur of a board’s success.

Quality board recruitment processes are the cornerstone that ensures the right mix of expertise, experience and vision exists to govern with confidence. Unlike executive recruitment, it’s also a process that most boards only engage in occasionally, so boards need a robust and repeatable process embedded in their culture.

This episode features a recent conversation between Paul and Tom Mutch, Partner, Board & Public Sector Practice at leading international recruitment firm Odgers Berndtson.

Their chat deep dives into board recruitment, succession planning, candidate assessments, and the pivotal role of nomination committees....and might also feature some references to British humour. Sorry!

Some links:

• Tom's written interview with Future Directors
• Join Future Directors for FREE
• Follow and Connect with Paul (LinkedIn)
• Check out Tom and Odgers Berndtson

What type or style of board member are you? Are you the Stakeholder Champion, Data Chaser, Status Hound, Unprepared, or even the Narcissist?

These are the types identified in a recent article from Harvard Business Review, and in another bite-sized episode from Paul, he gives you a few more to play with. Then, Paul asks how can we harmonise so many different people into an effective team or board?

Have a listen and see what you think.

Podcast links

• Join Future Directors for FREE
• Follow and Connect with Paul (LinkedIn)

Yes, 100 episodes!
Wow.

Almost 70 hours worth of conversation about boards, directors, technology, diversity, education, careers, challenges and more.

It's been a blast.

To welcome us into the next century, you have a new host, Matt Fullbrook. Amongst his claims to fame he's the single most repeated guest on Paul's podcast and one of the few others governance podcasts to hit 100 episodes.

In this episode, the tables are turned and Matt interviews Paul about his journey.

And, it gets super embarrassing for Paul...

Some links:

• Join Future Directors for FREE
• Follow and Connect with Paul (LinkedIn)
• Matt Fullbrook's podcast
• Matt Fullbrook's website

As we near our ONE-HUNDREDTH episode, Paul shares his favourite episode of all time. It also happens to be one of the most downloaded episodes in the podcast's history.

Featuring repeat offender Matt Fullbrook, alongside younger directors Nurain Janah and Hannah Stenning, this replay of Ep57 dives into why we need intergenerational diversity in the boardroom.

This is the first part of an eventual two-parter, so feel free to drop back to Ep58 straight afterwards.

See you next time for EPISODE 100!

Some links:

• Join Future Directors for FREE
• Follow and Connect with Paul (LinkedIn)
• Nurain Janah's website
• Hannah Stenning on LinkedIn
• Matt Fullbrook's podcast
• Matt Fullbrook's website

Hello, fellow governance geeks, director dorks and boardroom boffins! This special technological episode features your host Paul Smith - founder of Future Directors - chatting with the hugely popular Generative AI tool, ChatGPT 4.0.

Having crowdsourced some questions from his network, Paul ask Chat questions, follow-up questions, agrees to disagree and more with a voice-enabled version of the revolutionary tech.

• Learn what ChatGPT says about governance, diversity, decision-making and more
• Learn how boards can use tools like this to support critical thinking and decisions
• Hear how it copes with some real-world boardroom scenarios

(Please do note that this episode was recorded in February 2024. Technology moves fast, so who knows what it will be capable of when you listen).

Some links:

• Join Future Directors for FREE
• Follow and Connect with Paul (LinkedIn)
• Image generated by DALL-E (actually by Matt Fullbrook - yes, him again!)