Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) serves as a way of aligning social and environmental concerns with business strategy. It’s doing the right thing by positively influencing society while also improving brand reputation. These, obviously, help profitability. But CSR also has an aspect of doing the right thing for selfish reasons – to build a good reputation, increase brand value and attract good people. This can be perceived as “greenwashing”, which could hurt the business. I focus on this concern in an early piece I wrote for Geenleaf21. Cynicism about CSR has given rise to “Environmental ..read more

By James de Gaspé Bonar Ph.D., CEC, PCC A client of mine was a very capable executive in a large company.  She was well-liked and appeared to have all the necessary requisites for senior management. However, she told me about her frustration with being passed over for a promotion.  How did it turn out that way?  Why did she not get the position? I have learned that the most successful executives lead with a power of influence.  Best-selling author, John C. Maxwell says: “Leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less.” Influence begins with a clear (and clearly co ..read more

Written by Advisory Board Member Eric Vest Corporate boards thrive on diversity. For years, well-governed organizations have known that their strategies are best formed through differences in thought, experience, and opinion. Traditionally, that diversity has been functional. Having members who were strong in different areas of the business (e.g., finance, marketing, M&A) provided a solid base from which to discuss the most important of matters. In recent years, diversity has branched out to include race, sex, and general background, adding life experiences and sociological perspectives to ..read more

Lalith will present practical, time tested and scientifically researched mindfulness practices to help the modern leader stay grounded and resilient through the storms of our times. The practices help overcome stress by putting things in perspective through improved mental clarity – enabling a purposeful leader to think critically, manage risks, make sound ethical, governance and management decisions. The post Radical Uncertainty and Wicked Problems: How Can Mindfulness Help? appeared first on Bonar Institute for Purposeful Leadership ..read more

The Balancing Act of Leveraging AI is a Job for the Insurance Industry The introduction of AI into everyday business operations has triggered the need to balance the anticipated benefits and rewards – which is serving as the catalyst for most – with the risk of moving too quickly, adopting without having a framework in place to properly oversee and govern the application of AI. A failure to find this balance could negate any incremental value realized, only to replace it with the unnecessary costs, liabilities and longer-term impacts resulting from poorly or inadequately planned implementation ..read more

In this webinar, Blended Capital’s Robert Karpati and Paul Clements-Hunt will join the Bonar Institute to discuss how the formalization of artisanal mining changes the game on the dignity and productivity of work. Equipping, training, and shifting toward good practices delivers a step-change in production, which equates to financial value for miners, neighbouring communities and investors. Along with productivity, the dignity of work is fundamentally redefined, with better practices improving safety, value for miners and operating conditions. More information about Robert is available at https ..read more

Balancing the demands of diverse groups of stakeholders is more complex than ever. AI (Artificial Intelligence) is already shifting the workplace landscape because it enables “the simulation or approximation of human intelligence in machines.”  AI empowers computers to self-learn, reason, and perceive. AI will continue to advance.  Apple and Amazon are integrating generative AI into their respective virtual assistants, Siri and Alexa. Music streaming programs that have used predictive analytics for years to personalize music recommendations for listeners are exploring the creati ..read more

In this webinar, the Bonar Institute’s John Barker will facilitate a discussion about the relationship between purposeful leadership & board & C-Suite fiduciary duties. The discussion will focus on how attributes of purposeful leaders make them more effective in carrying out their fiduciary duties of care, loyalty, and good faith. John will use board oversight over artificial intelligence and cybersecurity as use cases for exploring the relationship between fiduciary duties and purposeful leadership. The post Purposeful Boards, Purposeful Fiduciaries, Purposeful Leaders appeared first ..read more

As AI and Cybersecurity advance, understanding the various contexts of your company is critical even before moving ahead with any plan.  Knowing context, with all its subtleties and nuances, will give you the right perspective to help shape your corporate approach to this quickly emerging technology. The Bonar Institute’s mission rests on the proposition that “purposeful leadership is an ethical choice that principled leaders make to achieve something greater than themselves and the companies they lead.” One of the levers of purposeful leadership is sound corporate governance.  Good ..read more

At the Bonar Institute, we believe that the work of a purposeful leader, in part, is to: create a compelling vision be inclusive be accountable for yourself and for others be a good listener Of course, the underpinning of these must be good intentions, values, skills, and self-management. However, a leader must be believable, or they won’t be seen as authentic, which means their behaviour is aligned with their intentions. This is where “character” comes in. A leader should be a person of good, trustworthy character. What does “good character” actually mean? The Merriam-Webster Dictionary des ..read more