559: Professor of Finance at London Business School, Alex Edmans, on Why ESG and DEI Data May Contain Lies

559: Professor of Finance at London Business School, Alex Edmans, on Why ESG and DEI Data May Contain Lies

In this episode, finance professor and author, Alex Edmans, offers a rigorous examination of the narratives surrounding diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in corporate strategy. Drawing on his critique of widely cited studies, including those from McKinsey and BlackRock, Edmans illustrates how flawed data interpretations and confirmation bias contribute to the persistence of questionable claims. He warns against relying on correlation-based research that lacks causal rigor, especially when such findings are used to justify high-stakes decisions in boardrooms and policy circles.

Edmans identifies three recurring issues in the current DEI discourse: cherry-picked performance metrics that ignore long-term shareholder value; reverse causality, where strong performance leads to more diversity, not the other way around; and omitted variable bias, such as industry effects that confound diversity claims. He also critiques the narrow definition of diversity, which often reduces individuals to surface-level demographic traits while ignoring cognitive and experiential variation that may be more relevant to performance.

The conversation extends beyond DEI to explore the structural incentives within academia, consulting, and media that reward oversimplified narratives. Edmans notes that when ideas become dominant, dissenters face not only reputational risk but also institutional hurdles that discourage honest debate. The result is a professional ecosystem in which flawed research is amplified and poorly contextualized advice is recycled across geographies and sectors without regard for applicability.

Other key themes include:

  • The difference between demographic and cognitive diversity in strategic decision-making

  • The dangers of universalizing business practices without accounting for local context

  • Why flawed performance metrics (e.g., EBITDA) misrepresent firm success

  • How misaligned incentives distort executive behavior and perpetuate ineffective initiatives

  • The role of institutional culture in suppressing dissent and reinforcing groupthink

For senior leaders navigating complex decisions, Edmans' commentary offers a timely reminder: even widely accepted practices warrant scrutiny. In environments where performance is difficult to measure and cause-effect relationships are opaque, intellectual discipline, not ideological alignment, is essential.

Learn more about Alex Edmans here: https://alexedmans.com/

Get Alex's book here:

May Contain Lies: How Stories, Statistics, and Studies Exploit Our Biases—And What We Can Do about It. https://maycontainlies.com/

Here are some free gifts for you:

Overall Approach Used in Well-Managed Strategy Studies free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/OverallApproach

McKinsey & BCG winning resume free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/resumepdf

Enjoying this episode? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

Jaksot(499)

165: Rob Lachenauer, How family businesses span generations

165: Rob Lachenauer, How family businesses span generations

Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 165, an episode with Rob Lachenauer. Get Rob's new book here: https://amzn.to/3iRZ531 Rob Lachenauer is a Managing Partner and the founding CEO of BanyanGlobal. He has been both a consultant and entrepreneur throughout his career. He was a Vice President and Director of BCG for 9 years where he helped multi-national companies plan and implement strategies. He has also worked with family businesses throughout the world by helping them with decision-making while strengthening family relationships. Rob has frequently contributed to the Harvard Business Review, which includes "Making Better Decisions in Your Family Business," "What Happens When You Lose Your Mentor," and "Why I Hired an Executive with a Mental Illness." He also co-authored Hardball: Are You Playing to Play or Playing to Win? with George Stalk. HBR FAMILY BUSINESS HANDBOOK: How to Build and Sustain a Successful, Enduring Enterprise. Rob Lachenauer: https://amzn.to/3iRZ531 Enjoying our podcast? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo We use affiliate links whenever possible (if you purchase items listed above using our affiliate links, we will get a bonus).

1 Elo 202156min

164: Josh Baron, Family business during the pandemic

164: Josh Baron, Family business during the pandemic

Welcome to. Strategy Skills episode 164, an episode with Josh Baron. Get Josh's new book here: " data-userid="751940007443001344" data-orgid= "751940008097312768">https://amzn.to/3iRZ531 Josh Baron is a partner and co-founder of BanyanGlobal, a professor at Columbia Business School, a thought leader and author of Harvard Business Review Family Business Handbook: How to Build and Sustain a Successful, Enduring Enterprise (HBR Handbooks). He has worked closely with family-owned companies, foundations and offices for over a decade now. He has been helping these families define their purpose as owners and establish strategies to accomplish their goals. He is also teaching MBA courses on Family Business Management and Managing Conflict in Family Business. He has also written articles for The Huffington Post, Trust & Estates Magazine, and Family Business Magazine, among others. HBR FAMILY BUSINESS HANDBOOK: How to Build and Sustain a Successful, Enduring Enterprise. Josh Baron: https://amzn.to/3iRZ531 Enjoying our podcast? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo We use affiliate links whenever possible (if you purchase items listed above using our affiliate links, we will get a bonus).

31 Heinä 20211h 3min

163: Is it a good time now or should I wait until I become more senior? Author Program Q&A 2.

163: Is it a good time now or should I wait until I become more senior? Author Program Q&A 2.

Learn more and see the application guidelines: https://www.firmsconsulting.com/experts-published-author-program/ Apply: email team@firmsconsulting.com This is the 1st of a 10 episode program to help our clients and customers measurably, radically transform their careers through The Author Program. How would your career, reputation, and earnings change as a published author? Imagine your client interactions when potential and current clients saw your thinking in a published book before they met you? Imagine the time you would save not having to explain your ideas and the value you could add to them? Imagine the fee premium you could earn? Imagine avoiding awkward meetings trying to establish your credibility? Imagine how many potential clients would find you and reach out to you? Enjoying our podcast? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

24 Heinä 20217min

162: Is this good for my career at this point in time? Author Program Q&A 1.

162: Is this good for my career at this point in time? Author Program Q&A 1.

Learn more and see the application guidelines: https://www.firmsconsulting.com/experts-published-author-program/ Apply: email team@firmsconsulting.com This is the 1st of a 10 episode program to help our clients and customers measurably, radically transform their careers through The Author Program. How would your career, reputation, and earnings change as a published author? Imagine your client interactions when potential and current clients saw your thinking in a published book before they met you? Imagine the time you would save not having to explain your ideas and the value you could add to them? Imagine the fee premium you could earn? Imagine avoiding awkward meetings trying to establish your credibility? Imagine how many potential clients would find you and reach out to you? Enjoying our podcast? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

22 Heinä 20217min

161: How publishing a book fast-tracked me to partnership

161: How publishing a book fast-tracked me to partnership

Learn more and see the application guidelines: https://www.firmsconsulting.com/experts-published-author-program/ Apply: email team@firmsconsulting.com This is the 1st of a 10 episode program to help our clients and customers measurably, radically transform their careers through The Author Program. How would your career, reputation, and earnings change as a published author? Imagine your client interactions when potential and current clients saw your thinking in a published book before they met you? Imagine the time you would save not having to explain your ideas and the value you could add to them? Imagine the fee premium you could earn? Imagine avoiding awkward meetings trying to establish your credibility? Imagine how many potential clients would find you and reach out to you? Enjoying our podcast? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

22 Heinä 202127min

160: Rob Barnett, Increase your hire-ability

160: Rob Barnett, Increase your hire-ability

Welcome to. Strategy Skills episode 160, an episode with Rob Barnett. Get Rob's new book here: https://amzn.to/3i9rMbo Rob Barnett is a headhunter, management executive, podcaster, entrepreneur and author of NEXT JOB, BEST JOB: A Headhunter's 11 Strategies to Getting Hired Now (Citadel, June 29, 2021. He founded Rob Barnett Media in 2018, an inclusive platform for thousands of job-seeking professionals and industry leaders, placing the right people in the best jobs. Rob has discovered, hired, and led hundreds of talented creators and executives in senior management roles at MTV, VH1, and Audible/Amazon. He was President of Programming at CBS Radio. A digital pioneer, he founded My Damn Channel, one of the first original online studios and networks. Representing diverse careers, companies, and opportunities, Rob's multi-platform content and no-nonsense approach inspires people to define and sell their best professional brand. Visit RobBarnettMedia.com.  NEXT JOB, BEST JOB. Rob Barnett: https://amzn.to/3i9rMbo Enjoying our podcast? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo We use affiliate links whenever possible (if you purchase items listed above using our affiliate links, we will get a bonus).

14 Heinä 202154min

159: Ash Fontana, The AI-first company

159: Ash Fontana, The AI-first company

Welcome to. Strategy Skills episode 159, an episode with Ash Fontana on the future of AI. Ash just published a great book on AI, THE AI-FIRST COMPANY, please see a link below. THE AI-FIRST COMPANY: https://amzn.to/3zRYW7o Among other insights, Fontana shows readers how to: Make AI your company's first priority. Identify the most valuable data. Build AI teams. Create AI budgets. Integrate AI with existing processes. Measure its effectiveness. Reinvest the profits from automation to build a competitive advantage. About the Author Ash Fontana became one of the most recognized startup investors in the world after launching online investing at AngelList. He then became a Managing Director of Zetta Venture Partners, the first investment fund that focused on AI. The firm was the lead investor in category-defining AI companies such as Kaggle, Domino, Tractable, Lilt and Invenia. Enjoying our podcast? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo We use affiliate links whenever possible (if you purchase items listed above using our affiliate links, we will get a bonus).

23 Kesä 20211h 3min

158: Location is leverage or proximity is leverage (Monday Morning 8 a.m. #29, part 3)

158: Location is leverage or proximity is leverage (Monday Morning 8 a.m. #29, part 3)

Hello everyone! This is Monday Morning 8 a.m., a weekly newsletter where we distill the insights from all of the distractions, articles, and emails that you receive in your inbox every day. In this newsletter, we're going to focus on four major themes from last week's news. To listen to the audio version of this newsletter, search for "Strategy Skills" in any podcast app. To get a written copy with links to mentioned articles sign up here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo To get a copy of some of the previous issues you might have missed, get the Strategy Insights book. If you love Strategy Insights and support it with reviews on Goodreads and Google Play (and support on Amazon is very much appreciated) by May 30th 2021, please email support@firmsconsulting.com as we will be sending 1-month access to the accompanying course as a gift to members who loved and supported the book with reviews. P.S. If you want to support the Monday Morning 8 a.m. and our other work, there are many ways you can do that, including reviews on iTunes / Amazon / Goodreads / app, purchasing our memberships / books, applying to join our prelaunch team, or just spreading the word. Some links above are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

26 Touko 202115min

Suosittua kategoriassa Liike-elämä ja talous

sijotuskasti
mimmit-sijoittaa
psykopodiaa-podcast
rss-rahapodi
ostan-asuntoja-podcast
rss-lahtijat
oppimisen-psykologia
pomojen-suusta
taloudellinen-mielenrauha
rahapuhetta
kasvun-kipuja
sijoituspodi
rss-seuraava-potilas
rss-viisas-raha-podi
rss-neuvottelija-sami-miettinen
rss-rahamania
rss-h-asselmoilanen
rss-laakispodi
rss-farmapodi
rss-rikasta-elamaa