Today I’m speaking to Investor and academic Professor Adrian Saville. He’s from the Gordon Institute of Business Science, and in the past 15 years, has been given the school’s Excellence in Teaching Award thirteen times. He likes to give his students “impossible questions” and make sure they find an answer.
We start by talking about the investment club he started in 1994, which formed the basis for his whole career. We then ask what pushes against progress, and what role for-profit organisations have to make good, purposeful change. A topic we talk about in depth is inclusivity, and exactly how much a boardroom can have at any one time. We end by talking about coaching and the importance of belonging. Without any further discussion, let’s hear from Adrian.
Adrian talked about economics should start with defining wellbeing. I wonder whether or not that works in practice the same way it does in the classroom. Who gets to define my wellbeing, and do they have my individual interests at heart? How often can a nation state get to work with specifics, rather than broad generalisations considering the vast differences across demographics? How aligned are they with mine, considering the goals of running a country, that being prosperity in order to pay for things, can play against what helps me stay happy day-to-day. He also said that very obvious problems make obvious market gaps for benevolent businesses. Comedian Henning Wehn said that charity is a failure of government’s responsibilities. But maybe there are some charities and benevolent companies that are just forced into existence based around this very dilemma. Perhaps the two will just always have to work together.