April 30, 2024

67. Alex Edmans - Lies in the boardroom: the stories, studies and statistics that mislead boards

45 minutes

Alex Edmans is Professor of Finance at London Business School, Member of the Sustainability Council of Novo Nordsik, and author of Many Contain Lies. In this conversation with Nurole CEO Oliver Cummings, Alex covers: Do diverse boards lead to better corporate culture and performance? (1:44) Where have diversity-performance studies gone wrong? (3:37) Does inclusion have an impact on performance? (6:05) Why don’t you think anyone has managed to prove the positive impact of diversity on company performance? (7:01) Does good corporate governance improve performance? (10:11) Do boards work? (12:01) Do financial incentives work? (13:36) Which truths do boards need to be more aware of? (15:43) What is the relevance of confirmation bias and binary thinking to decision-making? (17:37) Why did you focus on these two biases, over any others? (20:00) Can you talk through the “ladder of misinference”? (23:39) Have you ever been challenged that experience trumps evidence? (28:29) What role do you see for experience and intuition on boards? (29:55) What are the most important insights board members can take from May Contain Lies? (31:01) What have you learned about challenging in the boardroom? (34:22) What’s been your emotional experience of challenge? (37:22) And⚡The Lightning Round (39:02) ⚡