Research by the Institute of Directors (IoD) in Ireland has found that business leaders believe that, post-pandemic, strategy is still the most important skill required by all directors on a board.

IoD research has also found that the other required skills and expertise for company directors have undergone a shift during the pandemic, with ESG, innovation, cyber security, and digital all increasing in importance.

The aforementioned two IoD research surveys were conducted during the pandemic and almost one year apart (2020 and 2021) by IoD Ireland.

Furthermore, in the IoD’s most recent research (Q4 2021), when asked, ‘How often do you update your governance/regulatory knowledge through training, webinars, factsheets, etc, to ensure you are up to date with the latest requirements of being a board director?’, 45% of business leaders selected the option ‘any opportunity when I have the time’.

The IoD’s highlighting of the findings comes as the organisation announces the latest enrolment dates for its flagship Chartered Director Programme, starting in September 2022.

Commenting on the shift in required board skills and expertise, Maura Quinn CDir, Chief Executive, Institute of Directors (IoD) in Ireland, said:

“Our research has found that continuous professional development is even more important post-COVID because the scope of governance is evolving to meet changing times.

“There has been a shift in relation to requisite board members’ expertise and experience and it is important that all directors are cognisant of this and keep abreast of what boards are looking for in order to meet the highest and evolving standards of good governance.”

Maura Quinn’s comments come as the IoD announced a comprehensive and diverse number of professional development courses and workshops aimed specifically at company directors, including the latest details for the September 2022 intake of its flagship Chartered Director Programme, which has been running since 2008.

For more information visit the IoD website.

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Irish Tech News are Ireland’s No. 1 Online Tech Publication and often Ireland’s No.1 Tech Podcast too.

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We look at this thought provoking book by A. C. Grayling. You can see more about For the Good of the World on this website.

For the Good of the World Is Global Agreement on Global Challenges Possible? reviewed

As war in some shape or form looks certain to break out in Ukraine you have to wonder if the question asked by the subtitle of this book is even remotely possible. Having seen the world descend into Trumpian politics of voter disenfranchisement, self uninterested and anti environmental populism, is it really possible to reach any sort of agreement. We seem to be in a period of wide disagreement between different sides of the political fence. Therefore it seems an particularly challenging topic to discuss, desirable though it may be.

In the book’s first four chapters A.C. Grayling identifies and describes the issues faced coherently and in a well written way, if perhaps a little depressing too, but such is the subject matter he has to work with. The final chapter, The Solution is naturally the most important one, and, it would have been more enlightening to have had more depth and explanation of if there are actually any grounds for hope to optimism.

Naturally, while Putin currently takes us to a darker place, this does not mean things may yet turn out in a more positive than hopeful for manner. Similarly with the US, and the manoeuvrings by the Republican Party to continue to enable Trump will surely end at some point, but, with 3 Supreme Court justices already appointment, maybe the damage is going to play out for longer than anyone would have hoped for.

Grayling’s book, or at least the title suggests that there are more reasons to be optimistic, but, having read the final chapter twice, it is hard to point to anything that is specifically giving any grounds for holding this opinion. Perhaps the darkest hour is the one before the dawn, let us hope so?

More about the book

‘A must read’ Gordon Brown

‘A truly excellent book’ Sir David King

The three biggest challenges facing the world today, in A. C. Grayling’s view, are climate change, technology and justice.

In his timely new book, he asks: can human beings agree on a set of values that will allow us to confront the numerous threats facing the planet, or will we simply continue with our disagreements and antipathies as we collectively approach our possible extinction?

As every day brings new stories about extreme weather events, spyware, lethal autonomous weapons systems, and the health imbalance between the northern and southern hemispheres, Grayling’s question – Is Global Agreement on Global Challenges Possible? – becomes ever more urgent.

The solution he proposes is both pragmatic and inspiring.

More about the author

A. C. Grayling is the Founder and Principal of the New College of the Humanities at Northeastern University, London, and its Professor of Philosophy. Among his many books are The God Argument, Democracy and Its Crisis, The History of Philosophy, The Good State and The Frontiers of Knowledge. He has been a regular contributor to The Times, Guardian, Financial Times, Independent on Sunday, Economist, New Statesman, Prospect and New European. He appears frequently on radio and TV, including Newsnight and CNN News. He lives in London.

See more book reviews here.

Guest post by Mary Maher who is a research assistant at the Citizen Development Lab, National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG).

As organisations consider digital transformation as a priority to stay competitive and keep up with the pace of change, the supply and demand issue of skilled technical staff has become more apparent.

To meet this growing demand, organisations are adopting Citizen Development and the use of Low-code No-code (LCNC) platforms to achieve Digital Transformation through a hyper-agile way of working.

What is Digital Transformation?

Digital Transformation refers to the deep structural business changes organisations make to core processes and business models by exploiting the use of digital tools to compete and meet customers’ demands.

The ever-increasing availability of digital tools and technologies has changed how business is conducted and alters peoples expectations of how business should deliver services.

Therefore, to keep up with competitors, businesses need to (i) streamline their processes using technology; (ii) enable better collaboration between the business users; and (iii) provide better customer value.

Organisations that were slow to change or just starting out on their digital transformation journey were propelled into the digitalised world by the recent global COVID-19 pandemic.

However, with the shortage of skilled software developers brought to light, organisations are beginning to adopt Citizen Development.

Citizen Development is an approach that empowers non-technical individuals that use low-code no-code (LCNC) platforms to design, develop and deploy applications to meet demand and facilitate an organisation’s digital transformation.

As derived from a McKinsey Quarterly survey, empowering employees to play a role improves the odds of Digital Transformation success, and hence the adoption of Citizen Development has become a growing priority for organisations in 2022.

What is Citizen Development?

Citizen developers are subject matter experts, generally inexperienced in coding, that can create and develop applications on LCNC platforms using minimal code or no code at all, without having to rely on IT or skilled developers and are consequently democratising technology.

In many businesses, there is still a reliance on inefficient and outdated processes such as manual data entry into spreadsheets or paper forms.

The frontline users of these outdated, and often problematic processes can clearly see areas for improvement and when given the power, can automate processes for efficiency or create solutions for problems that teams at higher levels or the IT department may not have been aware of, and so reduce the burden on IT.

Citizen Development creates a culture of innovation by allowing employees from different departments to develop applications that have a positive impact on the overall organisation.

Examples of such positive impacts include work efficiency and optimisation; improved data analysis, and reporting; and improved team collaboration and communication.

Fully customisable applications can be developed through Citizen Development faster than traditional methods of development.

As explained by John Rymer (Forrester), the use of LCNC can “make software development as much as 10 times faster than traditional methods”.

The use of LCNC reduces the need to outsource developers, makes more efficient and productive use of time and resources, and therefore reduces overall costs to organisations

By empowering employees to become citizen developers, organisations will reap the rewards of having people who can identify process inefficiencies and determine how they can be solved with LCNC solutions.

Employees will also have an in-depth understanding of the businesses’ processes and are typically eager to make and be part of the change with a problem-solving mindset backed by the technical skills gained from practising LCNC development in a citizen development culture.

What is Low-code and No-...

The Learnovate Centre is delighted to announce Akari Software as a new Patron Member of the global research and innovation centre in learning technologies.

Learnovate, an industry-led technology centre funded by Enterprise Ireland, provides thought leadership to the world’s learning and development community on the innovative use of learning technology. Based at Trinity College Dublin, it empowers organisations through the exploration and application of transformative technology solutions.

Akari Software is the latest company to join Learnovate’s list of Patrons. This is the highest form of Learnovate membership and Patron members sit on the organisation’s Thought Leaders’ Circle and participate in its Research Working Groups.

Akari is an Irish-owned company which produces a number of digital tools to help higher education institutions manage their curriculum. The largest provider of curriculum management systems outside the United States, Akari employs over 40 people, the majority of whom are based at the firm’s headquarters in Cork.

Akari was founded in 2011 by Chief Technical Officer Paraic Hegarty and Executive Chairman Eoghan O’Leary. Its products are designed to streamline processes for universities and other higher education intitutions through easy-to-use online tools, resulting in lower costs and greater efficiencies for institutions, their staff and students. In the 10 years since its formation, the company has grown its operations beyond Ireland to Malaysia and other countries in the ASEAN region.

Learnovate Centre Director Nessa McEniff said:

“We are delighted to have Akari Software join Learnovate as a Patron Member. Having an organisation with significant experience in the higher education space is invaluable to Learnovate. We are already engaged with Paraic and the team at Akari at many levels and are looking forward to collaborating on a number of our research projects.”

Akari Software CTO and co-founder Paraic Hegarty said:

“It’s comforting to think Learnovate is an Irish-based research centre. That makes it easier to participate. The community aspect really attracted us. We’re a small enterprise and it’s difficult for an SME because we don’t have the scale of a multinational. We have to network in order to get access to those resources. Learnovate was a really good way of connecting with people in the research community and in particular in Higher Education, which is our customer base and who we’re selling to all the time. The level of engagement from the other members has been fantastic. What is striking is that people who have been involved a long time remain as enthused and engaged as they were in the beginning – which is a really good sign.”

See more stories here.

More about Irish Tech News

Irish Tech News are Ireland’s No. 1 Online Tech Publication and often Ireland’s No.1 Tech Podcast too.

You can find hundreds of fantastic previous episodes and subscribe using whatever platform you like via our Anchor.fm page here:

If you’d like to be featured in an upcoming Podcast email us at [email protected] now to discuss.

Irish Tech News have a range of services available to help promote your business. Why not drop us a line at [email protected] now to find out more about how we can help you reach our audience.

You can also find and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat.

Dell Technologies have introduced new telecom solutions and services to bolster the open telecom ecosystem and help communications service providers (CSPs) affordably ramp their transformation to open, cloud-native networks.

Dell aims to remove complexity and speed modern network deployments with its Dell Telecom Cloud Foundation, Dell Open RAN Accelerator and new telecom solutions and lab capabilities.

“Communications service providers are changing how they build and deploy open networks, establishing the foundation on which they can develop and deliver innovative services to capture the edge opportunity,” said Dennis Hoffman, senior vice president and general manager, Dell Technologies Telecom Systems Business.

“Our expanded telecom solutions portfolio brings the open ecosystem together for network operators, giving them the simplicity and reliability they need to modernise their networks and monetise new services.”

Dell Telecom Multi-Cloud Foundation speeds network modernisation, business growth

The Dell Telecom Multi-Cloud Foundation is a turnkey, end-to-end, modern network infrastructure solution that helps CSPs build and deploy open, cloud-native networks faster with lower cost and complexity.

The Telecom Multi-Cloud Foundation includes Dell hardware, Dell Bare Metal Orchestrator management software and the CSPs’ choice of integrated telecom cloud software platforms, including Red Hat, VMware and Wind River.

Dell is adding new Dell Bare Metal Orchestrator Modules to its software, giving CSPs the ability to deploy and lifecycle manage the entire cloud foundation stack.

Once implemented, CSPs will have a scalable cloud foundation spanning core, edge and RAN for their open hardware and software environment with the flexibility to design and deploy open network functions and differentiated edge services.

Dell and Marvell collaborate on new hardware to accelerate Open RAN

With the introduction of virtualised and Open RAN architectures, 5G networks are undergoing a transformation that brings cloud scalability to the RAN.

Existing virtualised and Open RAN alternatives have previously lacked the performance of established networks, hindering the ability for CSPs to implement cloud-native 5G.

Developed in collaboration with Marvell, the Dell Open RAN Accelerator Card is a new inline 5G Layer 1 processing card for vRAN and Open RAN solutions.

Designed for Dell PowerEdge and other x86-based servers, the PCIe accelerator card brings the same Marvell OCTEON Fusion technology and performance of today’s leading 5G radio networks to the Open RAN ecosystem.

CSPs can have better performing systems that lower cost and power consumption, allowing them to affordably scale high performing, modern radio access networks with an open architecture approach.

“Marvell is delighted to partner with Dell Technologies to enable an open, virtualised 5G RAN architecture that delivers advanced features and performance built on our proven OCTEON Fusion platform,” said Raj Singh, executive vice president, Processors Business Unit at Marvell.

“The new Dell Open RAN Accelerator Card is an innovative no-compromise, cloud-native, in-line, Open RAN Layer 1 acceleration solution that addresses the shortcomings of existing vRAN alternatives.”

“We’re pleased to see Dell Technologies and Marvell come together to innovate and create technologies that will enhance Open RAN platform capability and vendor diversity for operators,” said Andy Dunkin, Open RAN RF and digital platform development manager at Vodafone.

“The promise of virtualised Open RAN platforms will be enhanced with the Dell Open Ran Accelerator Card that should offer network operators like Vodafone a less costly and more efficient path to Open RAN.”

Dell expands telecom services and lab capabilities to drive faster ecosystem innovation

Dell continues to grow its telecom services capabilities to lead partner integration and accelerate CSPs’ deployment and adoption of telecom solutions.

CSPs can quickly...

We look at this book by Andrew Binns, Charles A. O’Reilly, and Michael Tushman. Published by Wiley, see more about Corporate Explorer: How Corporations Beat Startups at the Innovation Game here.

Corporate Explorer: How Corporations Beat Startups at the Innovation Game

This book starts by discussing Clayton Christensen’s concept that innovation from within large organisations is very difficult to achieve. Christensen, in several books, outlined why many companies had tried, and failed, to do so. The authors aim to take the opposite approach and argue that it is both possible and doable. This is already an interesting perspective, and makes you wonder to yourself, is it? Is it really. At the same time many an interesting thesis is argued by finding the examples that prove your narrative.

As we read this book we wondered how often these examples were possible and achievable. Corporate set ups do have some advantages, in terms of resources, deeper pockets and the ability to take a longer term view on projects. At the same time in-house projects are often managed by middle managers with short term time frames and perspectives. Also, from personal experience of working for a multinational software development team, several of the most innovative projects were created by ex-staff who had quit, and then had their new company bought by the multinational. Which seemed to proof that it made more sense to go it alone and then sell your IP back to those with big pockets.

This book is interesting, though provoking , and you pay your money and take your choice.

More about the book

Corporate Explorers Transform Disruption Into Opportunity With This Proven Framework

Innovation used to be seen as a game best left to entrepreneurs, but now a new breed of corporate managers is flipping this logic on its head. These Corporate Explorers have the insight, resilience, and discipline to overcome the obstacles and build new ventures from inside even the largest organizations.

Corporate Explorers are part entrepreneurs, using innovation disciplines to jump start cutting-edge ideas, and part change leaders, capable of creating support for investment. They see that corporations already own the ideas, resources, and—critically—the talent to build new ventures. Companies like Amazon, Microsoft, Bosch, LexisNexis, and Analog Devices enable managers to put these assets to use and gain an upper hand over startups that threaten to disrupt them.

Corporate Explorer is a guidebook to the practices that enable these managers to go from idea into action. It demonstrates how success is not only possible but may offer entrenched companies better odds than venture-capital backed startups.

This actionable and proven framework explains how managers can become successful corporate innovators; it includes tools to:

Learn how to apply innovation practices with greater discipline

Turn great ideas into a full-time job as an innovation leader

Experiment with and scale original business models

Transform innovation programs into a thriving source of new business

Attract, retain, and motivate entrepreneurial talent

Energize employees by creating a realistic way to innovate

These lessons come from the trailblazers of corporate innovation—Andrew Binns (Change Logic), Charles O’Reilly (Stanford Graduate School of Business), and Michael Tushman (Harvard Business School)—who have decades of experience helping entrepreneurial-minded executives activate employees to become Corporate Explorers.

Entrepreneurs take notice—it’s time for Corporate Explorers to set the pace and chart the course for disruption.

More about the authors ->

ANDREW BINNS is Co-Founder of Change Logic, a Boston-based strategic advisory firm. He works with CEOs, boards, and senior teams leading transformational business changes. He is a sought-after speaker and lecturer at companies and business schools.

CHARLES O’REILLY is the Frank E. Buck Professor of Management at Stanford Graduate School of Business and a Co-...

New research at Maynooth University’s ICARUS Climate Research Centre has found that the jet stream is moving northwards and increasing in speed, influencing storm activity and temperature patterns across the Northern Hemisphere.

The average winter northern hemisphere jet stream position over the North Atlantic and Eurasia has moved northwards by up to 330km, and the mean winter jet speed has increased by 8% to 132mph, during the 141-year period from 1871-2011.

North Atlantic Jet Stream

Just this week, the jet stream brought storms Dudley, Eunice and Franklin to Ireland and the UK.

Jet streams are fast bands of air that flow around the globe at around ten thousand metres above the Earth’s surface, and have a significant influence on storm activity and temperature patterns across the northern hemisphere which can impact the weather through strong winds and flooding events.

This is the longest regional study of the northern hemisphere jet stream and research finds that the trends observed are potential indicators of climate change.

According to the study published this week in the peer-reviewed scientific journal, Climate Dynamics provides a regional comparison of the Northern Hemisphere jet stream and finds that jet stream trends vary on a regional and seasonal basis.

Between 1871 and 2011 the average winter jet stream latitude over the North Atlantic moved from 44° to 47° north with a 10 mph increase in speed to 132mph, but no increases were observed over the North Pacific.

The lead author of the paper, Dr Samantha Hallam, of the ICARUS Climate Research Centre at Maynooth University in Ireland, and the National Oceanography Centre in the UK, said:

“Significant increases in winter jet latitude and speed are observed over the North Atlantic and Eurasia which is consistent with the decreasing temperature and increasing pressure gradients observed between the equator and the Arctic over the period.

“Over the North Pacific, no increase in jet latitude or speed are observed, however, changes in the North Pacific sea surface temperatures explains over 50% of the variability in jet latitude.

“The results highlight that Northern Hemisphere jet variability and trends differ on a regional basis. This is important for making climate predictions and in developing plans to combat climate change,” she added.

More about Irish Tech News

Irish Tech News are Ireland’s No. 1 Online Tech Publication and often Ireland’s No.1 Tech Podcast too.

You can find hundreds of fantastic previous episodes and subscribe using whatever platform you like via our Anchor.fm page here:

If you’d like to be featured in an upcoming Podcast email us at [email protected] now to discuss.

Irish Tech News have a range of services available to help promote your business. Why not drop us a line at [email protected] now to find out more about how we can help you reach our audience.

You can also find and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat.

More than 4 in 10 businesses have seen evidence of greenwashing by companies operating in Ireland, and a further 2 in 10 are uncertain in their ability to discern authentic green initiatives from mere greenwashing practices, according to a new survey released by the Compliance Institute.

Corporate Greenwashing

The nationwide survey of 166 organisations, comprised chiefly of compliance leaders in large financial organisations around the country, sought to gain an insight into awareness of greenwashing practices in the corporate sector and the inherent risks and challenges it poses to progress on tackling some of our most pressing environmental issues.

Speaking of the findings, Michael Kavanagh, CEO of the Compliance Institute,

“Our survey attests to a high level of greenwashing activity of varying degrees witnessed in the Irish marketplace, with 43% of respondents saying they have seen evidence of the practice by firms operating in Ireland – a strong observation gave that a further 23% weren’t clear on the difference between genuine green practices and greenwashing. Just 34% of those surveyed were confident that they hadn’t seen this in practice.”

Greenwashing can be summarised as the attempt by companies to present their products and activities as environmentally friendly, when in fact there is no real quantifiable basis for this claim.

Mr Kavanagh commented,

“Unfortunately, we are seeing that, in companies of all sizes, many ‘green’ references are simply marketing aids rather than measurable, environmental initiatives. In many cases, this is not an attempt by the company to mislead but rather an inaccurate understanding of what standards must be met to authentically describe something as a green practice.

Almost one-quarter of respondents weren’t certain that they understood what greenwashing actually means in practice, which I think might be indicative of a wider issue in the general public – lots of people simply don’t understand this new term and what it might mean for them either in a business capacity or as a consumer when purchasing goods and services. Greater education on this relatively new phenomenon is probably needed.

Clearer, more streamlined definitions would be helpful along with the introduction of enforceable standards so that organisations that truly are green are easily recognised. There are of course cases, however, where the motivations could well be more deceptive.”

Mr Kavanagh warned,

“Greenwashing is harmful on a variety of levels – it misleads the consumer, the investor and other stakeholders, and it also overshadows the genuine efforts made by other organisations who may not receive the same level of acknowledgement for their efforts in implementing sustainability initiatives.

Of course, not all organisations will be able to reach the same level of “green” – but we need to be able to identify those that are making a real effort within their own organisational constraints and those that are not. To aid this, clearer, more streamlined definitions would be helpful along with the introduction of enforceable standards so that organisations that truly are green are easily recognised.”

The compliance Institute have pointed to two key elements of the “greenwashing challenge” that need to be addressed.

Mr Kavanagh explained,

“Firstly, we must ask why the practice exists within an organisation? Is it because of a genuine lack of understanding, or is it more ominous in that it’s a deliberate attempt to mislead people? Some businesses might believe that having a relatively good CSR strategy amounts to being able to class themselves as a green organisation. But unless this strategy is specifically focused on climate change measures and being eco-friendly, then their assumption is incorrect.”

Mr Kavanagh concluded,

“If nothing else, organisations need to realise that the reputational damage that could be caused by being found to be greenwashing goes way beyond any financial penalty that could be imposed.

Ultimat...

The government has launched a €180m plan to boost regional development and its committed to nine enterprise plans, covering every region in the country.

Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Leo Varadkar TD, with Minister of State for Business, Employment and Retail Damien English TD and Minister of State for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation Robert Troy TD, launched the first of those plans, for the Mid-West in Nenagh, Co. Tipperary.

€180m Plans to Boost Regional Development

The €180m in funding is designed to generate new projects which create new jobs and help companies to grow in the region.

The Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Leo Varadkar TD said:

“As a Government, we are committed to bringing jobs and investment to every part of the country. One of my priorities as Minister for Enterprise is to have 2.5 million people employed in the country by 2024. We want these to be good, long-term jobs in every county. We’ve developed nine, region-specific plans to do this and are investing up to €180m to aid their implementation.

“We want this to be a bottom-up approach, led by the local community, as they know what’s best for their area. We’ve chosen the Mid-West for the first one, and the remainder will be launched over the coming weeks.”

The Plans, which set out actions to 2024 will each contain agreed ‘Strategic Objectives’ for enterprise development, accompanied by time-bound actions that deliver the objectives. Up to €180m has been secured to drive implementation of the Plans.

Each of the nine plans has been developed throughout 2021 by Regional Steering Committees. Each Regional Committee is chaired by a senior figure from the private sector and includes the Enterprise Agencies, Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland, Local Enterprise Offices, Local Authorities, Regional Assemblies, higher and further education bodies and others. The plans also complement Our Rural Future, the whole-of-government framework to develop rural Ireland in the coming years.

Minister for Business, Employment and Retail, Damien English TD said:

“Reflected in the Mid-West plan is a huge appetite to grow job opportunities and facilitate enterprise development right across counties Tipperary, Limerick and Clare.

“Congratulations to Professor Eamonn Murphy, Chair of the Mid-West Steering Committee, Paraic Rattigan, Mid-West Programme Manager and all the Committee members for their work in delivering this ambitious, achievable Plan.

“The Mid-West plan concentrates on measures to encourage innovation, focus on sustainability, enable enterprise growth in the region’s city, towns and rural communities, and on increasing economic activity for local Start-ups, Microbusinesses and SMEs.

“The funding of up to €180m announced today will allow all regions in Ireland to pursue their plans and I look forward to working with everyone involved to deliver on their ambition.”

Minister of State for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation Robert Troy TD said:

“The Regional Enterprise Plans to 2024 represent the ambition and drive within each region to capitalise on their unique strengths and seize the opportunities for their region. The Regional Plans that we are launching today and over the next few weeks set out a number of key strategic areas where regional stakeholders will work together to build a balanced regional recovery, one that is focused on future enterprise development and sustainable job creation for the longer term.

“I have been keen to ensure that funding will be made available to drive the Regional Enterprise Plans and I am very pleased that we have secured up to €180m in funding over the coming years. This funding is necessary for the development of collaborative regional projects that will drive delivery of the objectives developed in the Regional Enterprise Plans and I look forward to launching the Plans across the country in the coming weeks.”

Professor Eamonn Murphy, Chair of the...

We look at this buddhist inspired book by Joan van den Brink. You can see more about The Three Companions: Compassion, Courage and Wisdom: The powerful keys to happier work and a fulfilled life here.

The Three Companions: Compassion, Courage and Wisdom: The powerful keys to happier work and a fulfilled life, reviewed

This book aims to tackle the big issues, life, death, compassion and how to both treat other people well, and also deal with those who are not treating you in the best manner. While some new leadership books may feel to be borrowing heavily on news age ideas, the author of this book is, if you hadn’t guessed from the use of the word compassion, a buddhist. In many ways Buddhists do have a good take on life, aiming to bring a greater awareness of the intransigence of life, and therefore the need to have a deeper and more open perspective on things.

We would not want to over simplify or misrepresent any key buddhist teachings but this book is certainly an interesting read, and aims to tackle some hard questions. The author has tried to bring a wide range of experiences and different people’s perspectives, making deep dives into the issues and challenges they have faced in their lives. This makes for some thorny problems to be grappled with. In the current times that we live however this is probably no bad thing. Many people have had to deal with difficult and challenging questions in their lives over the last two years. In this way Brink’s book is a helpful, thought provoking and interesting read.

More about the book

Is there someone in your life who always seems to know the right thing to say, do and feel? Do you wish you could be more like that too?

The truth is that you can, and this motivating and inspiring guide will show you how.

Courage, compassion and wisdom are three companions that accompany us through our entire lives. Learning to unlock and harness their power, uniting them to act together in synergy, is the key to a happier life – not just for you, but for those around you too.

Combining illuminating real-life stories from real-world people with expert, practical guidance consultant and executive coach, Dr Joan van den Brink takes you on a fascinating journey of reflection and realisation. Discover how courage, compassion and wisdom has a profound impact on everyday situations and recognise how your own three companions can help you:

Behave in line with your ideals as you increase your self-insight

Feel resilient and robust in difficult and challenging times

Be more tolerant, patient and understanding of others’ needs and behaviours

Build your self-esteem, confidence and feelings of positivity

Grow in humility and generosity towards others

Develop stronger, more rewarding relationships at home and at work.

As you learn to define, develop and display the virtues of the three companions, you’ll feel empowered to live your whole life, and enable others to live theirs, with courage, compassion and wisdom.

More about the author

Joan van den Brink

I have built a 20-year career as a consultant whose sole purpose is to help others reach their full potential. As a leading and respected voice on inclusion and diversity I am highly sought after for my honesty, warmth, empathy and ability to help others express their vulnerabilities and find their strengths.

Prior to this I obtained a PhD In Organic Chemistry before studying for a Marketing diploma and moving into the world of work, first in B2B Marketing and later in Operations. I gained a reputation for developing strong relationships with customers and colleagues alike that enable the organisation to drive continuous improvement in it’s delivery of outcomes. Intelligent, confident and supportive, I enjoy making friends with the people I work with, from executives to individual contributors, and gently encourage and challenge them to see new perspectives and create more inclusive environments.

I create intimate, supportive and safe environments where people ca...