Welcome to my Web site. Here in these pages you will find a range of news, commentary, views on issues, personal perspectives, and my opinions on topics and issues that may be of interest to you as a leader in the business/corporate, social and public sectors. As a strategist, independent advisor to leaders, writer and editor, researcher, public speaker, management consultant, and business executive I've been involved in many issues and crisis situations and events over my career.
Over the past three decades I have worked in virtually all industry sectors, in many different countries, on many headline-making issues and crisis situations, on issues about to emerge into headlines, and for a wide variety of leaders (recall that financial services ad, "...I've had short bosses and tall bosses...?") I've had many fascinating "bosses," to whom I reported in the corporate world and in government service, and as clients who engaged me to help with their situations and issues...and many times, to deal with the developing storm clouds.
You won't find any "secrets" herein, because I believe that a trusted advisor - what I have strived to be for 30+ years in Corporate America, on Wall Street, and in other lands - should not "tell all" when the assignment is over or to make a buck or to build one's own reputation at the expense of others. So no tattle-tales here, sorry. My work is about helping leaders do the right things...
In all these fascinating activities that I have been lucky to be involved in, I always found that my "writing it out" helped me to sort through facts and arrive at effective solutions/resolutions. So, there's quite a bit of original writing here (many items are published columns in corporate governance and accountability) with many hard-won lessons incorporated in the stories that this writing tells.
Most of the issues / topics / concerns that I write about are business-focused (but not all), and often, have as an underlying theme the relationship of business and society, and the accountability of business, non-profits and other institutions, and public government agencies to their stakeholders (and stockholders).
In these pages I hope you'll find a good deal of useful information on Corporate America, Wall Street, the financial community, activist and advocacy organizations, the not-for-profit or "social" sector (as Peter Drucker called it), and the public sector. These are all fields in which I spend my working days.
My worldview is shaped by three-plus decades of responding to crisis situations, tracking and managing issues, watching trends, monitoring critical and emerging issues, advising and counseling on - and always writing on -- topics that can be categorized in a number of specific themes:
 |
Corporate and Institutional Governance
(private/corporate, public & social sectors)
Institutional Accountability (all sectors)
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
Socially Responsible Investing (SRI)
Shareowner Activism - Shareholder Advocacy
Corporate Citizenship - the Dynamics of Business & Society
The Corporate Culture
Economics in our Times (critical trends in economy and
demographics)
Ethics in Society and Organizations - Ethical Behavior
Disclosure and Transparency, including Financial Disclosure, and
Corporate Reporting
Community Investment - Reinvestment Revitalization
Media Watching (especially changes in news media)
Communications Strategy for Leaders
Issues Management - Researching, Tracking, Monitoring, Advising
on Critical Issues
Crisis Management - Crisis Response and Restoration, Crisis
Preparedness, Emergency Response
Enterprise Risk Management - Business Continuity in the Post
9-11 World
|
And all of these get wrapped up in "Accountability" - collective and
individual accountability for our decisions, behaviors and actions. The
best leaders that I have been privileged to work with all were highly
accountable for their actions and understood that leadership is a trust
given over to them by others. They were stewards of enterprises and assets
temporarily entrusted to them.
My views and perspectives are presented here in various columns,
speeches, monographs, news or feature articles, and other packages of
content - there's a wide range of material going back a number of years
here in my Web site.
My positions represent no specific political, partisan or economic
ideology; I am proud to say I am a Modern Progressive, taking some
of my inspiration from a very smart fellow Long Islander who helped to
create the modern presidency: President Theodore Roosevelt of nearby
Oyster Bay. My early-career journalistic tendencies are still intact: I
strive for objectivity and balance, and fairness in my treatment of
subjects. It's sometimes hard but I try to keep an open mind on most
topics and to see all sides of the issue.
The disciplined approach of my trendwatching and issue analysis also
helps to form the foundation of my counseling career; in addition to my
research and writing I continue to be a strategist, advisor and
consultant to major US corporations, multinationals, financial service
organizations, not-for-profits, public sector agencies, and professional
and trade associations. Some of these are pro bono engagements.
Important note: The views presented in writing and commentary
are mine alone and represent no positions or opinions of any past or
present employer or client organization, or any publication where my
columns or articles appear. (Don't you love it when government officials
say that before speaking to groups as they begin their presentations?)
Feedback is welcomed! I would like to hear from you - do email me your
thoughts, comments, questions, ideas, suggestions for trends or issues I
might "tune in to" that are of interest to you. Or that you are passionate
about and want to share with others. Put me on your distribution list for
newsletters or news releases or any form of email rant that you wish.
You can email me at: hank@hankboerner.com.
Happy Site Surfing!
Oh, and if you quote from content on the site, please note the source,
and especially credit the publications kind enough to provide with me
space to share my thoughts (in columns and bylined pieces) regularly.
Cheers!
Hank Boerner
Strategist
- Consultant - Advisor - Author - Editor - Commentator - Communicator -
Story Teller
And one who always tries to help others to do the right
thing for the right reasons!
