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Decision making

Today

How this CEO gets the most out of his workday

Discover why Tim Helyar, the country head for State Street in Australia, holds key meetings in the mornings, and makes decisions on Mondays rather than Fridays.

October

Quentin Digby led the panel that recommended the overhaul of the ASX governance body.

ASX dumps its corporate governance council

A new structure will oversee governance of listed companies after a failed bid to overhaul reporting rules included contentious diversity disclosure proposals.

September

Here’s how to really handle a toxic boss

There are many strategies you could deploy when faced with a difficult leadership situation. Which one is right for you?

Nuno Matos has struck a pragmatic deal with ASIC that he hopes will close the door on a period of shoddy non-financial risk management.

ANZ can’t spin away its blackest day

The saga is a stain on the nine and a half year reign of former chief executive Shayne Elliott and the half-decade tenure of chairman Paul O’Sullivan.

August

ResMed CEO Mick Farrell.

How ResMed’s Mick Farrell turned a $7b company into a $62b giant

Family business successions are often a disaster. At ResMed, the global sleep device manufacturer, it has proven to be a winning formula.

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June

Outside financial accounts, net promoter score is the most commonly tracked corporate metric, according to the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Net promoter scores are controversial. Why do firms use them?

From “strategic” to “service” and “journey” NPS, companies are finding new and inventive ways of giving them the numbers they – and their executives – want.

May

Read books. People who want to simplify the world will prefer online conspiracy theories.

7 ways to be a great thinker

Here are the daily habits of highly intelligent people.

February

Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg is one of several US business leaders to have retreated from DEI initiatives since Trump’s re-election.

The business case for diversity is not always clear-cut

HR bosses say DEI is good for the bottom line. Critics emboldened by Donald Trump say that’s not backed by evidence. Who’s right?

January

Markets are loving Trump 2.0 – for now. Australian business should sense opportunity.

Bumpy Trump era can be boom years for Australia, investors

Australian boardrooms can’t know what his second presidency holds, but they need to be ready to seize opportunities. Change is coming.

September 2024

Didier Elzinga and Ben Crowe urge leaders to focus on promoting innovation and creativity, rather than bonuses.

Why doubling down on KPIs could hurt your bottom line

Many employers are trying to drive performance to boost the bottom line by doubling down on KPIs and bonuses. There is a better way.

August 2024

Gayle Dickerson says her intuition has helped her assess the capabilities of management teams.

Five times you shouldn’t trust your gut as a leader

Gayle Dickerson says relying on intuition can be useful when you’re dealing with imperfect information.

July 2024

Anna Wiley, BHP’s asset president of copper South Australia; Siobhan Toohill, Westpac’s chief sustainability officer; Tammy Medard, managing director of ANZ’s Institutional in Australia and PNG.

‘I shot Bambi’: Women leaders on their toughest decisions

Often the toughest decisions are those that affect other people. Here winners of the Women in Leadership awards share their hardest calls.

June 2024

For as long as I can recall, I’ve squirmed when I’ve heard the comparison of work being someone’s “baby”.

I had a difficult childhood. It made me an amazing employee

To the outside world, my success was unimpeachable – built around work – but inside I was a mess.

Paul O’Sullivan says it is appropriate for directors to disclose personal information about themselves if they wish.

ANZ’s openly gay chairman warns on ASX’s sexuality disclosure

Asking boards to disclose the sexuality, age and ethnicity of directors risks encroaching on their privacy and could make them a target for activists, leading directors warn.

Janet Menzies eats breakfast at Industry Beans in the Sydney CBD.

Inside Amazon’s art of decision-making

Janet Menzies, Australian country manager for the online retail giant, discusses business dinners and the surprising way decisions are made at the company.

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CBA director Anne Templeman-Jones says small- and medium-sized businesses could win by getting ahead of sustainability reporting requirements.

In the ESG debate, this is what’s really torching shareholder value

For all the talk about the “E” in “ESG”, what gets CEOs sacked and costs investors money are old-fashioned social licence and governance issues.

The dining room at Parlar in Sydney’s Potts Point.

At Star, only the executives got a Christmas party

At an end-of-year dinner with chief executive Robbie Cooke, the casino group’s top managers learnt they were in a war with their regulator.

May 2024

Robbie Cooke at his home in Brisbane this week.

At Star, one man held all the cards

Chief executive Robbie Cooke was determined to lead every important project at the troubled casino group, former executives say.

Xavier Huillard, CEO of Vinci: “I am not a businessman. I am a philosopher. I am a chemist of human beings.”

Business school blather can’t beat real-world CEO know-how

What’s needed is a new management theory that avoids the deceptive certainties of neoliberalism and the equally deceptive vagaries of stakeholder capitalism.

Shifting attitudes to work have led to an increase in perks and benefits since the pandemic.

No amount of leave offerings will compensate for poor leadership

Companies can have all the flexible and hybrid work arrangements and offer all the leave entitlements under the sun, but if their leaders are poor at leading, they will count for naught.

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/decision-making-hzw