Board Impulse Thoughts (BIT) – A little BIT for everybody

59th Board Impulse Thoughts with Adv. Selebalo Ntepe and his views and assessments of the upcoming and last 12 months

1. Which were your biggest learnings over the past 12 months?

The reality is that we live in a VUCA world that was entrenched by the Covid-19 pandemic and the Ukraine-Russia war. This issue called for aggressive Strategic Pivots by organizations in order to survive, while others held to their traditional ways of doing business much to their detriment. The pre- Covid era consisted of detailed and long-term strategic plans supported by rigid annual budgets, however the last 12 months have taught us that Boards and organisations have to be agile. They should execute decisions anchored by the latest information at the best available opportunity and time.  

The post Covid-19 era has changed patterns of doing business and things. Through the development of virtual platforms, it is now easy and cheaper for Multinational, Medium and Small Companies to have what I call Global Boards. These are Boards that are diverse both in terms of geographical representation e.g having skilled board members from across the different regions where their subsidiaries operate in. The global logistics challenges during and post the pandemic called for an awakening that Boards have to diversify in order to have a range of skills, experiences and characters they need for the next phase of development and expansion.

In this era, the need for organizations to have data Savvy Boards is imminent and cannot be ignored. All Directors are compelled to have a basic understanding of the technological trends irrespective of age. Gone are the days when technology was a subject associated with young directors. The risks associated in overlooking technology as a core subject in Board Rooms cannot be overemphasized.

Leading organisations will be those that will embed and embrace technology in their Strategies in changing their narratives, otherwise for those that will not, they should know that the ship has left the dock.

2. What do you feel is overlooked in Governance by most organizations.

Corporate Culture and Values have been overlooked in organizations, and their interrelation with Strategic execution has been highly ignored. It is commonly said that bad culture eats Strategy for Breakfast. Organizations should start engaging openly and decisively on the culture needed to cultivate strategic execution.

Boards that strongly consider culture when it comes to strategic decisions, organisational design, recruitment and talent development will be better at integrating values and business strategy. Boards that periodically interrogate their organisations’ corporate culture in decision-making are more prone to achieve better results. This is why companies like Costeer in the UK have taken their time to research and design data analytics software that aid in measuring these aspects. 

3. What are your observations on executives over the last 12 months, did they change their habits and attitudes?

Some Executives have held on traditional and rigid approaches that will eventually oust their organisations in business. The VUCA has called for a shift in the new breed of executives, who are willing to change the narrative. The executives of today are those that will resonate with the former Visionary and youngest Prime Minister of Burkina Faso, Thomas Sankara statement when he said, “It took the madmen of yesterday for us to be able to act with extreme clarity today. I want to be one of those madmen. We must dare to invent the future.”

The inability to adapt and change by some Executives has been evident in various sectors and organisations, however some are embarking on necessary pivots.

4. What do you expect from 2023?

It is unfortunate that some Executives still hold dear to their traditional ways of doing business when the World has shifted aggressively, and this will lead to more Nokia Stories. New giants will emerge as others fall, and Organisations that embed ESGs in their Strategies will be leaders in the current era.

There will be more pressure on organisations on environmental issues and Value Creation. With the imminent Economic crash, the notion of communities being licensors of organisations will become more of a reality. There will be pressure exacerbated by poverty on organisations regarding their value creation. This also calls for Corporate Governance Codes to be proactive in embracing that notion. Lesotho’s Mohlomi Corporate Governance Code though developed before Covid-19 was futuristic enough in advocating a philosophy that organisation should be transformational in their approach in order to achieve the outcomes of Intergenerational Value Creation, Peace and Productivity.

COVID-19 has taught how important the relationship between the three outcomes is. Without Productivity, and Intergenerational Value, Peace cannot be guaranteed, and in the same vein, without Peace, Productivity becomes stagnant; hence no value shall be created. Organisations that do not move towards this trajectory will feel the wrath of society from 2023 onwards due to the current global dynamics.

Adv. Selebalo Ntepe (CGRCS™) is a Certified Governance, Risk and Compliance Specialist with over 15 Years of experience in Corporate Law, Corporate Governance, Compliance, Corporate Secretarial practice, Education Policy, and Law. His experience spans from the Trade and Investment, Justice, Education, to Sports sector for more than 15 years. He is a member of various Boards from different sectors. He was part of a team of Corporate Governance practitioners that developed Lesotho’s first governance code, named the Mohlomi Corporate Governance Code.

A Board member of the African Corporate Governance Network, Chairman of the Institute of Directors Lesotho, and a member of the Institute of Directors South Africa. He is currently a Director of Lesotho Flour Mills and Lerotholi Polytechnic where he is Chairman of its Audit and Risk Committee. He is also a member of the Global Academy of Finance and Management GAFM(USA), and a Board Director is various entities. He is the Managing Director of his Corporate Governance consultancy company named Corpowise Pty Ltd, since 2014.