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This section includes articles published in Company Director magazine. 

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1-20 of 28 results

  • Greens Piece Double standards

    Content Type: CDM Article

    01 Aug 2010

    John M Green suggests business should demand as much from politicians as politicians do from business. Double standards Recently, two newspaper articles stared up from the same front page. In one, the corporate regulator rightly warned companies not to issue misleading profit fig...

  • Greens Piece Foresight saga

    Content Type: CDM Article

    01 Jul 2010

    John M Green believes business people should start thinking more like novelists. Foresight saga “In hindsight...” Painful, often embarrassing confessions sometimes begin with those words. It is only in the future that you know how smart you are in the present. It’s why hubris is such a ...

  • Greens Piece Killer Tshirts

    Content Type: CDM Article

    01 Jun 2010

    John M Green believes the regulators should lighten up on continuous disclosure. Killer T-shirts What’s my daughter’s black T-shirt got to do with public companies continuously disclosing material information to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX)? Oddly, it has quite a bit to do wi...

  • Greens Piece Proxy by proxy

    Content Type: CDM Article

    01 May 2010

    John M Green suggests it may not be the proxy advisory firms that are the problem, but some of the institutions that hire them. Proxy by proxy During each year’s annual general meeting season, directors come out blasting at corporate governance proxy advisory firms. It’s mostly d...

  • Greens Piece Cap in hand

    Content Type: CDM Article

    01 Apr 2010

    John M Green suggests a simple way to boost the numbers of directors contributing to the charity sector. Cap in hand According to the Australian Institute of Company Directors’ landmark study on the not-for-profit (NFP) sector, 60 per cent of directors sit on NFP boards. But 40 per c...

  • Greens Piece Sunset of Gwalia

    Content Type: CDM Article

    01 Mar 2010

    John M Green explains why reversing the High Court decision on Sons of Gwalia benefits shareholders and is a good move. Sunset of Gwalia The Federal Government’s decision to reverse the High Court’s Sons of Gwalia judgement was a “slap in the face for shareholder rights”, accordin...

  • Greens Piece Oil and water mergers

    Content Type: CDM Article

    01 Feb 2010

    John M Green explores “oil and water mergers” and acquisitions, which can appear attractive yet be disastrous. Oil and water mergers The world needs both oil and water. Water is vital for survival. Some even splash it into whisky. Oil creates power, transport... and Lycra. But if ...

  • Greens Piece November 09

    Content Type: CDM Article

    01 Nov 2009

    John M Green reviews the Productivity Commission’s report on executive pay and says more work is needed. Productivity omission Overall, the Productivity Commission’s (PC’s) executive pay report is sensible, especially since much reflects market practice. But it’s not all prudent a...

  • Greens Piece October 09

    Content Type: CDM Article

    01 Oct 2009

    John M Green suggests boards ditch the old short-termist penny-farthing corporate model. Penny-farthing companies Just as cyclist Lance Armstrong owes the industrial revolution for the penny-farthing, investors should thank it for the freely registrable limited liability corporation. Sin...

  • Greens Piece James Hardie shipwreck or lifeline

    Content Type: CDM Article

    01 Sep 2009

    John M Green argues that the decision in the James Hardie case should force ASIC to change its course on immediate disclosure. James Hardie: shipwreck or lifeline? The James Hardie Supreme Court decision on disclosure has generated loud protests that it is yet another reef poised to s...

  • Greens Piece National vs shareholder interest

    Content Type: CDM Article

    01 Aug 2009

    John M Green questions what directors can do if a government heavies them. National vs shareholder interest Berating business is a bipartisan government sport. Think banks or Pacific Brands. But what if, in the “national interest”, a government bullied your company into a course potentia...

  • Greens Piece Contestable collegiality

    Content Type: CDM Article

    01 Jul 2009

    John M Green argues that boardroom collegiality isn’t the prize some treasure. Contestable collegiality A maxim many Australian board chairmen ascribe to is: “A good board doesn’t vote. It strives for consensus.” This approach is not merely bluster, but so prevalent in practice that some...

  • Greens Piece Lets export regulation not import it

    Content Type: CDM Article

    01 Jun 2009

    John M Green argues government rhetoric on the financial crisis is off the mark. Let’s export regulation, not import it Prime Minister Kevin Rudd claims the solution to the financial crisis is international. This hints at a desire to import regulation when the exact opposite may be prefe...

  • Greens Piece Unexpertease and why you need it

    Content Type: CDM Article

    01 May 2009

    John M Green argues boards should maintain a healthy scepticism when dealing with experts. Un-expert-ease, and why you need it When we receive expert advice many of us embrace it as the gospel it is not. Turn your mind and your depleted life savings towards the global flock of mar...

  • Greens Piece Small but not beautiful

    Content Type: CDM Article

    01 Apr 2009

    John M Green warns directors to watch out when a small division or subsidiary is making far more than they expect. Small but not beautiful How the mighty can topple over small, seemingly successful things. There’s a lesson in that from the downfall of American International Group (AIG), the...

  • Greens Piece Inside outside CEOs

    Content Type: CDM Article

    01 Mar 2009

    John M Green discusses how boards can improve on their CEO succession plans. Inside outside CEOs The three non-executive directors from different boards slipped into their regular chairs at the café. “The Arbitz* board,” notes Peter, spooning sugar into his coffee. “Their CEO’s been doin...

  • Greens Piece Take the social out of CSR

    Content Type: CDM Article

    01 Feb 2009

    John M Green argues that viewing corporate responsibility through a shareholder lens is not the least bit anti-social. Take the ‘social’ out of CSR In these dour days of slumping profits, volatile share prices and shrunken personal fortunes, the last thing many of us will worry about is ...

  • Greens Piece Dont short change the exchange

    Content Type: CDM Article

    01 Dec 2008

    John M Green argues that the Federal Government should let ASX keep its supervisory role for now. Don’t short change the exchange After some serious let downs by the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), several media commentators and business leaders called for ASX’s market super...

  • Greens Piece The long and the short

    Content Type: CDM Article

    01 Nov 2008

    John M Green provides a view on what needs to be done before short-selling is permitted again. The long and the short One feverish September weekend, Australia’s market regulators slapped a temporary ban on short-selling. Pressure for this had been mounting for months, yet our reg...

  • Green s Piece The first meeting rule Oct 08

    Content Type: CDM Article

    01 Oct 2008

    John M Green pinpoints when new directors should feel free to say what’s worrying them, and what chairmen can do to help. The first meeting rule The chairman sidled up to the new director during the board’s morning break. “Tony, I see you’re asking questions at your first board meeti...