242. Is the way we do things likely to make the world a better place?

This season, every episode of OMG focuses on a question that directors really need to answer. OMG is written, produced, narrated and scored by Matt Fullbrook.   TRANSCRIPT: Question #40: Is the way we do things likely to make the world a better place? It’s a coincidence – an actual for real coincidence – that the chunk of my calendar that I had blocked off to write the last batch of scripts for this season of OMG landed on November 6th, 2024. I’m a Canadian living in Canada, but the weight of last night’s US Presidential election is real and inescapable. And this episode is the first on my list of scripts to write today, which is coincidentally and deeply appropriate. There’s a weird – is it a paradox? – inherent in the job of a corporate director. In any kind of incorporated entity. That paradox is that you are required to bring to the table your own experiences, perspectives and opinions, but that you’re somehow required to do so dispassionately and independently. In fact, the very definition of your job is to serve others, although exactly which others depends in part on the jurisdiction where you serve. Here, in Canada, you’re required to take into consideration the interests of every group and individual that stands to be affected by the actions of the corporation. That, of course, is impossible in a literal sense, but it’s still a useful reminder to all directors in this country that it ain’t about you. If you want to be confident that the way your corporation does things will make the world a better place, you can’t rely on your gut, or on any other single set of opinions or perspectives or interests. Some of the stakeholders to whom you owe your duty will have values that clash directly with your own. To do your job well, you may be forced to confront truths that make you extremely uncomfortable. You will certainly need to admit it’s possible you’ve been wrong all along. But that’s the job. It’s not about you. It’s not even about the people who got you into this precious and high-status position. It’s about ALL of the people you serve.