Henley Blogs

Trump’s pardons and medieval grants of mercy

In his final hours as American President, Donald Trump has made headlines by issuing pardons – but did you know the power has its roots in English history? Professor Adrian R Bell from Henley Business School and colleagues Helen Lacey (University of Oxford) and Andrew Prescott (University of Glasgow) explain. US President Donald Trump’s final…

Back to normal like before Covid-19? No way!

For managers, politicians, employees, friends “Back to normal” seems to be the new outlook after a first vaccine is out and more to come. Understandably many seem to be obsessed with normal in current times. Well, it is either normal or unprecedented. Did we really think this was normal and do we want to go…

Biden his time

My dear friend John Rishton has an aphorism: commentary is easy, leadership is hard. John has been there. He was CEO of two major international organisations and FD of another. He knows the truth of what he has said. The USA presidential election is demonstrating the validity of the principle. The airwaves are now buzzing…

#Coronavirus and the numbers that clarify or obfuscate

Dr David Pendleton, Professor in Leadership, Henley Business School, University of Reading In the pandemic, our lives are ruled and dominated by numbers, especially when they change unexpectedly. The number of cases, deaths, infection rates (R), and hospitalisations are meant to inform us about the impact of the virus on the nation’s health. The employment…

Algorithms

Dr David Pendleton, Professor in Leadership Algorithms are in the news. An algorithm is a set of rules or a procedure for solving a problem. Who would have thought that such an esoteric thing as an algorithm would be getting so many people so hot under the collar? We all use algorithms all the time,…

Has stock market disconnect from world economy left investors guessing?

The impact of COVID-19 has left the stock market out of alignment with the world’s real economy. In fact it’s broken, says Nada Kakabadse, Professor of Policy, Governance and Ethics at Henley Business School, and Dr Kirill Perchanok, investor and author. The relationship between stock and bond returns is one of the fundamental building blocks…

Light at the end of the tunnel: Leading with hope through Covid-19

By Dr Amal Ahmadi A frog started to climb a tree with the goal to reach the top. Other frogs repeatedly jumped and shouted, “it’s impossible, it’s impossible, you will fall”. Yet the frog successfully reached the top of the tree despite the negative noise. How? It was deaf, and instead, thought that the other…

The Transition to Virtual Learning

Undeniably, we are living in a different world than we were a couple of months ago. The Covid-19 has affected our lives in ways that we can’t imagine, physically and mentally. Schools are closed, businesses are shut down, sports are suspended and families are separated. With all the uncertainties around us, it is normal for us to…

When Organisational Values Challenge Your Own

By Professor Ben Laker Leading culture is one of the most difficult of executive challenges because it comprises interlocking sets of values and assumptions that sometimes differ from our own. This is incredibly difficult when external pressures such as the coronavirus crisis are affecting our emotional resilience and outlook. Teams need a fusion and myriad…

Adding purpose to our internal dialogues

By Dr Tatiana Rowson How our internal conversation drives our behaviour, especially during periods of transitions, has always fascinated me. Understanding this internal process was the main reason I went on to study psychology and trained as a psychotherapist. This is still a featured topic in my teaching and research today, from various perspectives such…