IOD SCOTLAND Spring 2024
Institute of Directors Scotland members magazine; director advice, guidance and training
Institute of Directors Scotland members magazine; director advice, guidance and training
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The official membership<br />
magazine for the Institute<br />
of Directors in Scotland<br />
iod.com/scotland<br />
Direction<br />
SPRING <strong>2024</strong><br />
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ISSUE<br />
‘AI is here...<br />
and it’s<br />
time to get<br />
on board’<br />
IoD State of the<br />
Nation survey<br />
Transforming<br />
the Institute
www.iod.com/scotland<br />
FROM THE CHAIR | DIRECTION<br />
AI is the future, and the IoD is here<br />
to help you take advantage of it<br />
Scotland has always embraced<br />
innovation. From penicillin to<br />
telephones, MRI scanners and the<br />
cloning of Dolly the sheep, we’ve<br />
punched above our weight when it<br />
comes to harnessing technology.<br />
We view innovation as a solution;<br />
think of the agility, creativity and<br />
resilience that our organisations<br />
demonstrated in 2020.<br />
Fast forward to <strong>2024</strong> and our<br />
businesses do not have that same<br />
level of support – especially when it<br />
comes to funding – and while the<br />
specific challenge may have changed,<br />
the pressures that come with doing<br />
business haven’t.<br />
If Government financial support<br />
underpinned the agility and creativity<br />
of our organisations in 2020, it’s AI<br />
that’s going to keep us moving<br />
forward. It’s the key to maintaining<br />
innovation momentum when it comes<br />
to creative solutions in the face of<br />
challenging business conditions.<br />
Our State of the Nation survey<br />
showed that nearly half of members<br />
are already using AI to support<br />
business practices, and a huge<br />
majority view it as an opportunity in<br />
the coming year. This absolutely<br />
Scotland has always been a land of<br />
innovation, and so its businesses should<br />
be positive and embrace AI, says<br />
IoD Scotland Chair Julie Ashworth<br />
reflects our attitude to embracing new<br />
technology, however, entering the<br />
realm of artificial intelligence is both<br />
exciting and daunting for most.<br />
Some aspects of AI, like ChatGPT,<br />
are a quick and user-friendly way to<br />
utilise the technology. Whether<br />
summarising complex content,<br />
researching topics or even drafting<br />
basic communications, it can cut<br />
down the time spent on day-to-day<br />
tasks. But the ethical implications of<br />
this software must be considered<br />
carefully. While powerful, AI isn’t<br />
devoid of biases. It learns from<br />
historical data, and can inherit the<br />
prejudices embedded within the<br />
information it provides. Good<br />
governance means we must<br />
interrogate the sources and specifics<br />
of the data presented if we are using it<br />
to help inform decision-making or<br />
research.<br />
As we look at embedding AI into our<br />
long-term business strategies, we will<br />
also need to invest in people with a<br />
specialised skill-set. There is concern<br />
that AI is going to replace humans, but<br />
it’s not the case. Human sentiment is<br />
the one thing AI has not yet mastered,<br />
and we know our people are often the<br />
key to our success. We should view<br />
this as an opportunity to upskill<br />
employees or recruit fresh talent with<br />
expertise in a range of areas, from<br />
data analysis to machine learning<br />
algorithms.<br />
We already know that the skills gap<br />
is a concern for members, so how do<br />
we ensure the talent pipeline includes<br />
those proficient in AI? I hope to see it<br />
embedded into the curriculum. It is<br />
already being used by teachers and<br />
students from primary level to further<br />
and higher education. It’s a business<br />
risk to ignore AI, and so preparing the<br />
leaders of the future from an early age<br />
will help mitigate this.<br />
We’re hearing our members raise<br />
concerns about being left behind if<br />
they don’t use AI, but don’t feel<br />
confident enough to understand the<br />
how and basic mechanics of it all. The<br />
IoD is here to offer support and<br />
advice, thanks to our vast network of<br />
experts. Get in touch if you need help<br />
with where to start, or where to go<br />
next. Remember you can also access<br />
legal expertise and advice through the<br />
Information and Business Advice<br />
Service (IAS), which member have<br />
access to.<br />
Business don’t want to fall behind<br />
their competitors, and while the<br />
opportunities presented by AI are<br />
exciting and potentially game<br />
changing, it carries undeniable risk if<br />
not utilised in the right way.<br />
But then, we felt that way about the<br />
internet…<br />
IoD Scotland<br />
12 Queen Street, Edinburgh EH2 1JE<br />
T: 0131 557 5488<br />
E: iod.scotland@iod.com<br />
W: www.iod.com<br />
Nations Director - Scotland:<br />
Catherine McWilliam<br />
Catherine.McWilliam@iod.com<br />
Branch Manager:<br />
Patricia Huth<br />
T: 0131 557 5488<br />
Patricia.Huth@iod.com<br />
Commercial Manager, PD:<br />
Natasha Ure<br />
E: natasha.ure@iod.com<br />
T: 0131 460 7681<br />
Direction<br />
Direction is the official membership magazine of IoD Scotland and is published by:<br />
Chamber Media Services, 4 Hilton Road, Bramhall, Stockport, Cheshire SK7 3AG<br />
Advertising sales: Colin Regan<br />
T: 07871 444922 / 01942 537959 E: colinregan001@yahoo.co.uk<br />
Production: Rob Beswick<br />
T: 0161 426 7957 / 07964 375216 E: rob@chambermediaservices.co.uk<br />
Editorial: Heather Schreuder<br />
Please send press releases or editorial for consideration for future issues of<br />
Direction to Heather at E: HeatherS@clarkcommunications.co.uk<br />
Although every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of material contained within this magazine,<br />
neither IoD Scotland, Chamber Media Services nor Clark can accept any responsibility for<br />
omissions or inaccuracies in its editorial or advertising content. The views expressed in this<br />
publication are not necessarily those of the IoD. The carriage of advertisements or editorials in this<br />
publication does not constitute an endorsement of the products or services advertised.<br />
SPRING <strong>2024</strong> 03
DIRECTION | IoD NEWS<br />
www.iod.com/scotland<br />
In an ever-changing world we need<br />
consistent messages from the top<br />
There is a real appetite among our members to<br />
embrace AI... but there’s clearly a lot of<br />
trepidation, too, says Catherine McWilliam,<br />
Nations Director IoD Scotland<br />
Welcome to the <strong>Spring</strong> issue of<br />
Direction magazine, where we are<br />
taking a look at AI, and its role in<br />
business.<br />
There is a real appetite from our<br />
membership to embrace AI, with<br />
80% of respondents in our State of<br />
The Nation survey stating they are<br />
optimistic about the benefits it will<br />
bring to their business, and 46%<br />
noting that AI is already being used<br />
in their organisations.<br />
The potential benefits are huge,<br />
whether it’s streamlining processes,<br />
carrying out time consuming admin<br />
tasks or even creating imagery – but<br />
it definitely isn’t perfect yet. Have<br />
you ever looked at the hands of<br />
humans in an AI-generated photo?<br />
It’s a real giveaway that it has been<br />
manufactured, especially the fingers!<br />
There is an understandable<br />
nervousness that comes with<br />
embedding any new technology into<br />
business practices, and none more<br />
so than with AI. It seems as though<br />
it became readily available almost<br />
overnight, and some of our<br />
contributors in this issue discuss the<br />
delicate balance of benefits and<br />
risks. I hope you enjoy reading their<br />
insight.<br />
State of the Nation<br />
On the topic of State of the<br />
Nation, I’d like to thank you for<br />
contributing. Nearly 20% of our<br />
membership shared their views, and<br />
it gave us well-rounded insight into<br />
how you’re feeling about the key<br />
issues affecting Scottish<br />
organisations.<br />
The consistency between the<br />
responses and our informal<br />
conversations with you underscores<br />
a clear message: business leaders in<br />
Scotland want to be heard.<br />
Our members are far from passive<br />
observers; you’re active participants<br />
whose insights and experiences<br />
shed light on the broader sentiments<br />
within Scotland’s business<br />
community.<br />
This is particularly relevant with<br />
the imminent change of leadership<br />
at Scottish Government. As this<br />
issue was being published, John<br />
Swinney was installed as First<br />
Minister, and we are closing in on an<br />
election period that could redefine<br />
many aspects of Scottish and UK<br />
governance. Responses showed<br />
dissatisfaction with the current level<br />
of political engagement with the<br />
business sector, at a time when<br />
confidence is low. While steps are<br />
being taken to rectify this, the New<br />
Deal for Business Group is a good<br />
example, there is still concern over<br />
the lack of action.<br />
Communication<br />
The ask is clear – business leaders<br />
need better, more collaborative<br />
communication. In the past year,<br />
we’ve seen several changes at<br />
ministerial and civil servant level,<br />
against a backdrop of wider political<br />
discord. There is concern that this<br />
has hindered progress and stalled<br />
productive conversations.<br />
We’ve told Government that<br />
business leaders appreciate<br />
consistency and follow-through from<br />
decision-makers, which in turn<br />
would result in a much-needed<br />
increase in business confidence.<br />
Having more leaders around the<br />
decision-making table would allow<br />
for a genuine partnership in policy<br />
design. This means not only<br />
involving them in the early stages of<br />
policymaking, but also maintaining a<br />
consistent dialogue that allows for<br />
co-designing solutions to challenges<br />
such as achieving Net Zero,<br />
improving skills, and managing the<br />
just transition in our economy.<br />
The issues of today are daunting—<br />
ranging from sustainability to<br />
technological integration and<br />
workforce development. However,<br />
they also present unparalleled<br />
opportunities for innovation and<br />
growth. Business leaders are poised<br />
to take bold steps towards<br />
embracing AI, promoting fair work,<br />
and enhancing inclusivity and<br />
diversity within their operations. Yet,<br />
all these potential achievements<br />
hang on the foundational ability to<br />
collaborate effectively with the<br />
government. If we can streamline<br />
and strengthen this collaboration,<br />
we can transform these ambitious<br />
goals into tangible realities that<br />
benefit not just individual businesses<br />
but the entire Scottish economy.<br />
We saw great coverage of the<br />
State of the Nation survey results in<br />
the media, and as a result, we’ve<br />
had requests from ministers to meet<br />
and discuss how they can further<br />
support our members.<br />
To maintain this momentum, I’d<br />
like to encourage you all to<br />
participate in the monthly policy<br />
voice survey that you’re sent. Your<br />
voice really does matter.<br />
Get in touch<br />
I hope you all enjoy this issue of<br />
Direction, and we’re already<br />
planning the Summer issue, which<br />
will have a focus on wellbeing.<br />
If you have anything you’d like to<br />
share on this topic, email me at<br />
catherine.mcwilliam@iod.com<br />
04 SPRING <strong>2024</strong>
www.iod.com/scotland<br />
IoD NEWS | DIRECTION<br />
Business pessimism remains,<br />
but IoD survey finds it is falling<br />
The IoD Directors’ Economic<br />
Confidence Index, which measures<br />
business leader optimism in<br />
prospects for the UK economy, rose<br />
to -10 in April <strong>2024</strong> from -12 in<br />
March.<br />
This increase sustains the leap<br />
upwards that the Index experienced<br />
in March, and continues its steady<br />
recovery from its recent low point of<br />
-31 in June 2023.<br />
Firms’ net investment intentions<br />
for the year ahead were also up on<br />
the month, rising from +18 in March<br />
to +21 in April.<br />
However, the index of business<br />
leader optimism for the future of<br />
their own organisation declined to<br />
+38 in April, down from +42 in<br />
March, and net revenue expectations<br />
declined from +44 to +40.<br />
Other indicators from April’s<br />
survey – cost, headcount, wages and<br />
export outlook for the coming year<br />
– remained broadly similar to the<br />
previous month.<br />
Dr. Roger Barker, Director of Policy<br />
at the IoD, said: “It remains the case<br />
that business leaders are, on<br />
balance, pessimistic about UK<br />
economic prospects.<br />
“However, since March, the<br />
pessimists have been in retreat.<br />
Confidence has been edging<br />
upwards and is now within striking<br />
distance of a more neutral<br />
perspective.<br />
“According to IoD members, the<br />
fundamentals are in place for some<br />
kind of UK economic recovery. Most<br />
are expecting revenues, investment<br />
spending and exports to move<br />
upwards over the next 12 months.<br />
And business leaders continue to<br />
express a much higher level of<br />
optimism in prospects for their own<br />
organisations compared to the<br />
economy as a whole – which is an<br />
encouraging sign.<br />
“However, a significant obstacle to<br />
improved business confidence is the<br />
current high level of UK interest<br />
rates.<br />
“Business leaders will be looking<br />
for a significant shift in the monetary<br />
stance of the Bank of England<br />
before they are able to buy into a<br />
rosier economic outlook.<br />
“As a result, they will be closely<br />
watching the outcome of the next<br />
monetary policy committee meeting<br />
on 9 May.<br />
The IoD Directors’ Economic<br />
Confidence Index measures the net<br />
positive answers from members of<br />
the IoD to the question ‘How<br />
optimistic are you about the wider<br />
UK economy over the next 12<br />
months?’ on a five-point scale from<br />
‘very optimistic’ to ‘very pessimistic’.<br />
Full survey results<br />
712 responses from across the UK,<br />
conducted between 12-29 April<br />
<strong>2024</strong>. 16% ran large businesses<br />
(250+ people), 21% medium (50-<br />
249), 22% small (10-49 people), 30%<br />
micro (2-9 people) and 12% sole<br />
trader and self-employed business<br />
entities (0-1 people).<br />
How optimistic are you about both the wider UK economy and also your organisation over the next 12 months?<br />
Very Quite Neither optimistic Quite Very Don’t know<br />
optimistic optimistic nor pessimistic pessimistic pessimistic<br />
Wider UK<br />
economy 2.81% 27.25% 30.06% 33.15% 6.46% 0.28%<br />
Your (primary)<br />
organisation 7.87% 46.49% 28.23% 13.76% 2.53% 1.12%<br />
Comparing the next 12 months with the last 12 months, what do you believe the for your organisation will be in<br />
terms of:<br />
Much higher Somewhat No change Somewhat Much lower Don’t know N/A<br />
higher<br />
lower<br />
Business<br />
investment 4.5% 35.0% 39.9% 13.9% 4.1% 0.6% 2.1%<br />
Costs 11.4% 68.5% 14.6% 3.4% 0.7% 0.1% 1.3%<br />
Exports 3.2% 16.9% 31.0% 4.4% 1.8% 1.0% 41.7%<br />
Headcount 1.8% 31.3% 51.1% 11.8% 1.8% 0.3% 1.8%<br />
Revenue 7.7% 49.3% 23.3% 15.0% 2.4% 0.7% 1.5%<br />
Wages 3.9% 56.6% 33.8% 2.9% 0.6%<br />
SPRING <strong>2024</strong> 05
DIRECTION | IoD NEWS<br />
www.iod.com/scotland<br />
IoD Scotland State of the Nation survey:<br />
Concerns on Government policy<br />
and tax, but backing for AI<br />
At the start of the year IoD Scotland<br />
gathered evidence for its annual State<br />
of the Nation Survey.<br />
Responses were received from a fifth<br />
of our membership, and their answers<br />
gave us insights into the key<br />
challenges and opportunities facing<br />
Scottish businesses in <strong>2024</strong>. They will<br />
allow us to plan our policy strategy<br />
and allow us to better represent and<br />
reflect the views of our members in<br />
our engagement with both the<br />
Scottish and UK Governments. The<br />
survey closed on March 4.<br />
This year’s survey had similar themes<br />
to 2023’s, with the economy and<br />
taxation high on our list of priorities,<br />
but we added new questions to reflect<br />
changes in both business and society,<br />
to ensure a more rounded picture.<br />
Other priority areas included ESG, the<br />
Scottish Government’s New Deal for<br />
Business and, appropriately for the<br />
theme of this issue of Direction, AI<br />
(artificial intelligence).<br />
The <strong>2024</strong> survey highlighted new<br />
concerns for leaders over the<br />
additional tax band announced at the<br />
Scottish budget in December 2023.<br />
The introduction of a sixth tax bracket,<br />
compared to the rest of the UK’s three,<br />
means those earning over £75k<br />
annually are being taxed at a rate of<br />
45% as of 6 April <strong>2024</strong>.<br />
Of the 82% who expressed concern<br />
over this further divergence with the<br />
UK, nearly 40% (39%) noted that staff<br />
recruitment was likely to be impacted<br />
the most; 34% said employee’s choice<br />
of location would be a concern, and<br />
27% are worried about the impact on<br />
inward investment.<br />
While 61% of members said they<br />
have the right number of skilled people<br />
for current jobs (2023:54% ), only half<br />
(54%) reported that they were<br />
confident of being able to recruit<br />
sufficient skilled staff in the next 12<br />
months (2023: 57%)<br />
Catherine McWilliam, Nations<br />
Director – Scotland at the IoD<br />
commented: “The skills gap continues<br />
to be a key concern for our members.<br />
Future recruitment and staff retention<br />
are key when business planning, and<br />
our data shows business leaders think<br />
that the introduction of the new tax<br />
band in Scotland will make things even<br />
more difficult for them. Responses<br />
show that leaders clearly see<br />
Scotland’s tax regime as yet another<br />
barrier to attracting and retaining<br />
talent – and encouraging investment.”<br />
Results were more positive across<br />
other key areas, with 69% of<br />
respondents stating their intention to<br />
grow in the next 12 months.<br />
Employment and cybersecurity were<br />
identified as key priorities for the next<br />
five years, and there is real appetite for<br />
embedding AI tools into businesses,<br />
with 80% of respondents feeling<br />
optimistic about opportunities, and<br />
46% noting that AI is already being<br />
used within their organisation.<br />
When it comes to Scottish<br />
Government economic policy, 76% of<br />
respondents felt there has been<br />
insufficient attention to growing the<br />
economy in the long term, while 50%<br />
of members need more support to<br />
meet the country’s Net Zero ambitions.<br />
Catherine McWilliam continued:<br />
“This survey highlights that there is<br />
an abundance of opportunities out<br />
there, but if we don’t get the<br />
fundamentals like access to skilled<br />
workers and policy implementation<br />
right, businesses will struggle to take<br />
advantage of them.<br />
“Collaboration is key: by creating<br />
clear channels of communication<br />
and engaging with decision makers<br />
about the challenges facing<br />
businesses, we can create a thriving<br />
economy that will attract talent and<br />
investment from the rest of the UK<br />
– and further afield.”<br />
What does the feedback tell us?<br />
IoD Scotland membership continues to be predominantly from the private<br />
sector (79%) and over half of this year’s respondents (68%) are from firms<br />
with 100 or fewer employees — a small increase from last year’s figure (66%).<br />
06 SPRING <strong>2024</strong>
www.iod.com/scotland<br />
IoD NEWS | DIRECTION<br />
What are your priorities for your organisation over<br />
the next five years? Rank then in order<br />
Skills, employment<br />
and growth<br />
A majority of the IoD Scotland<br />
membership are positive that their<br />
organisation has the right number of<br />
skilled people for current jobs (61%),<br />
an increase in confidence from the<br />
feedback provided last year (54%).<br />
In terms of the ability recruit<br />
sufficient skilled staff in the next 12<br />
months, this year’s proportion (54%)<br />
is comparable with that from 2023<br />
(57%).<br />
Taxation<br />
How much of a concern is income<br />
tax divergence in Scotland?<br />
If concern is serious, would this have an<br />
impact on any of these areas?<br />
Views on taxation policy within Scotland were largely critical and<br />
respondents. 71% of respondents felt business taxes were too high<br />
and 74% felt the same for personal taxes. 82% expressed some form<br />
of concern with the way in which income tax policy diverged in<br />
Scotland as opposed to the UK as a whole and within that group the<br />
largest area of concern was related to staff recruitment (39%).<br />
SPRING <strong>2024</strong> 07
DIRECTION | IoD NEWS<br />
www.iod.com/scotland<br />
IoD Scotland State of the Nation survey:<br />
Scottish Government Policy<br />
Attitudes towards the Scottish<br />
Government economic policy have been<br />
mixed. In the long-term, 76% of<br />
respondents feel that it has paid<br />
insufficient attention to growing the<br />
economy, while 50% have said that more<br />
recently they don’t feel sufficiently<br />
supported to meet the Scottish<br />
Government’s Net Zero target and only<br />
7% have feel the ‘New Deal for Business’<br />
has had a positive impact.<br />
Other takeaways<br />
Working with education: 65% of<br />
respondents work within an organisation<br />
that has partnered with a higher<br />
education body.<br />
Fair Work: Only 23% of respondents said<br />
in 2023 that their organisation had<br />
adopted the Scottish Government’s ‘Fair<br />
Work Nation Principles’; this year the<br />
figure is 41%.<br />
<strong>2024</strong> marks the 25th anniversary since<br />
the Scottish Parliament was reconvened.<br />
Do you think the Parliament has taken<br />
sufficient interest in growing the<br />
economy during this time<br />
As a leader, do you feel supported to<br />
be able to lead your organisation to<br />
achieve the Scottish Government’s<br />
Net Zero target?<br />
Environmental, social and governance<br />
Awareness of environmental, social and governance<br />
considerations (“ESG”) is broadly the same as last year,<br />
with a small drop from 86% to 81% of respondents working<br />
at organisations that have implemented measures or are in<br />
the process of doing so.<br />
To what extent has your organisation<br />
embedded environmental, social and<br />
governance (ESG) considerations into<br />
its business strategy, operations and<br />
product and/or service offerings?<br />
Has your business adopted<br />
the Scottish Government’s<br />
Fair Work Principles<br />
Framework?<br />
Apprenticeships<br />
Opinion is more mixed when looking at<br />
apprenticeships. While 46% of our<br />
respondents work at an organisation<br />
employing apprentices or supporting a<br />
workplace training scheme, only 23% of their<br />
primary organisations pay the<br />
apprenticeship levy. Within that pool, 67%<br />
were either unsure of or critical towards the<br />
value for money presented by the levy.<br />
Does your primary organisation employ<br />
apprentices or support a workplace training<br />
scheme?<br />
Does your primary organisation pay an<br />
apprenticeship levy?<br />
If yes, does the scheme represent good<br />
value for money?<br />
08 SPRING <strong>2024</strong>
www.iod.com/scotland<br />
IoD NEWS | DIRECTION<br />
AI, and it’s role in the workplace<br />
When asked about the future utility of AI-based tools, 80% of<br />
respondents are optimistic and 46% note that AI is already<br />
being using in support of processes within their organisations.<br />
Conclusion<br />
IoD Scotland will use the results<br />
from the State of the Nation<br />
Directors Survey to shape our work<br />
streams and policy focus over the<br />
next 12 months. The feedback that<br />
we have gathered has already<br />
proved to be hugely insightful,<br />
informative and useful when we are<br />
meeting with policy makers and<br />
other representatives.<br />
The results of last year’s survey drew<br />
cross-party attention and were used<br />
within the Scottish Parliament, and<br />
it is our hope that the same will be<br />
true for this year.<br />
Our sincere thanks go to all those<br />
who took the time to complete the<br />
survey and share their thoughts with<br />
us.<br />
The next survey will be available in<br />
early 2025. In the meantime, we<br />
would encourage all IoD Scotland<br />
members to complete the IoD’s<br />
Policy Voice survey.<br />
Professional development<br />
Continuing professional development is still important for IoD Scotland<br />
members, with 87% of respondents having undertaken it in the last three<br />
years and 82% planning to do so within the next three. Taking a wider<br />
view, 92% feel that it is important for their organisations to invest in the<br />
skills of others.<br />
Policy Voice<br />
Policy Voice allows us to take<br />
monthly snapshots of member views<br />
on current business issues. All IoD<br />
members will be invited to complete<br />
Policy Voice each month and share<br />
their views to influence how we talk<br />
to those in power on a range of<br />
business-critical issues — from trade<br />
to taxation, education to<br />
entrepreneurship and inclusion to<br />
innovation.<br />
Further information:<br />
iod.com/policyvoice<br />
SPRING <strong>2024</strong> 09
DIRECTION | BRANCH NEWS<br />
www.iod.com/scotland<br />
ABERDEEN<br />
Navigating challenges<br />
and building resilience<br />
What would you do if someone said<br />
to you: “You’re not what we are<br />
looking for”<br />
Lee (Frank) Spencer was told this<br />
not once but three times. Not giving<br />
up on his dream, it spurred him on<br />
to a remarkable career as a Royal<br />
Marine.<br />
And when tragedy struck and he<br />
lost his leg in a near-death accident,<br />
he went further still, and became<br />
known as ‘The Rowing Marine’.<br />
Back in February, Lee captivated a<br />
room full of IoD members and<br />
guests in Aberdeen with his<br />
remarkable story and a masterclass<br />
in overcoming challenges and<br />
building resilience.<br />
Lee grew up in very difficult<br />
circumstances in a home dominated<br />
by alcoholism and violence, and<br />
despite being told that he wasn’t<br />
what they were looking for, joined<br />
the Royal Marine Commandos in<br />
1992. He completed operational<br />
tours of Northern Ireland and Iraq<br />
before qualifying for special duties,<br />
undertaking tours of Afghanistan<br />
working in an undercover and covert<br />
role within the human intelligence<br />
sphere.<br />
In January 2014 while helping<br />
motorists who had crashed into a<br />
motorway central reservation, Lee<br />
lost his right leg below the knee<br />
having been hit by debris from a<br />
further crash. Conscious throughout,<br />
Lee was able to utilise his military<br />
training to save his own life.<br />
He then went on to achieve some<br />
extraordinary feats of endurance,<br />
including becoming the world’s first<br />
physically disabled person to row<br />
across the Atlantic solo and<br />
unsupported – beating the ablebodied<br />
world record by 36 days,<br />
gaining himself three new Guinness<br />
World Records.<br />
Members of the IoD Aberdeen &<br />
Grampian Branch had the great<br />
fortune of being able to take part in<br />
his experience turned into workshop,<br />
where he shared how this selfconfessed<br />
ordinary man has<br />
achieved extraordinary things, and<br />
how we all can too.<br />
He talked about comfort and<br />
familiarity breeding stagnation.<br />
‘Through challenge and innovation<br />
comes failure, but failure is not final.<br />
Overcoming failure is what builds<br />
resilience. The more you fail, the<br />
more resilient you become.’<br />
Lee’s nine steps to overcoming<br />
challenges and building resilience:<br />
n Concentrate on the positive<br />
n Grab every opportunity<br />
n Break challenges up<br />
n Ride out the tough times<br />
n When disaster strikes it’s rarely<br />
as bad as you think<br />
n Teamwork: no person is an island<br />
n Be truthful with yourself<br />
n Perspective<br />
n Keep hold of your dream<br />
Aged 55, Lee is getting back in the<br />
boat in December, rowing across the<br />
Atlantic from the Canary Islands to<br />
Barbados. This time he’ll row with<br />
wounded servicemen from Ukraine<br />
to shine a spotlight on the human<br />
toll of war in Ukraine and support<br />
the rehabilitation of Ukrainian<br />
service members through the<br />
Invictus Games Foundation.<br />
Keep an eye out for the launch of<br />
Row4Ukraine, where you can follow<br />
their journey and donate.<br />
Get in touch<br />
For more information on the<br />
Aberdeen & Grampian branch,<br />
contact: Sarah Downs<br />
chair.aberdeen@iod.net<br />
10<br />
SPRING <strong>2024</strong>
www.iod.com/scotland<br />
IoD NEWS | DIRECTION<br />
Elevate your corporate away days and<br />
member benefits with neospace Aberdeen<br />
neospace is your go-to for a<br />
seamless blend of work, rest, and<br />
play for your corporate gatherings<br />
and away days.<br />
Located on Riverside Drive in<br />
Aberdeen, neospace caters to the<br />
ever-changing needs of business<br />
professionals, offering an array of<br />
first-class amenities.<br />
At neospace, corporate away days<br />
are tailored experiences which<br />
nurture creativity, collaboration, and<br />
revitalisation. From strategic<br />
brainstorming sessions to<br />
invigorating team-building activities,<br />
our cutting-edge facilities provide<br />
the perfect canvas for fostering<br />
engagement and collaboration.<br />
EDINBURGH & LOTHIANS<br />
IoD promotes<br />
the social side<br />
of business<br />
The lower ground floor offers a<br />
juice bar, meeting rooms, a<br />
Trackman golf simulator, and a<br />
state-of-the-art gym, all tailored to<br />
cater to the requirements of<br />
corporate teams.<br />
Away day packages can<br />
incorporate a range of different<br />
activities including meeting room<br />
hire, catering, access to our gym and<br />
sauna facilities, sessions on the golf<br />
simulator, and high-quality coffee<br />
and refreshments.<br />
IoD member offer<br />
As proud partners of the IoD,<br />
neospace offers members exclusive<br />
privileges and benefits. Enjoying<br />
preferential rates, including a 20%<br />
discount on meeting room rentals,<br />
neospace is the premier choice for<br />
hosting professional gatherings. IoD<br />
members also benefit from<br />
discounted gym memberships,<br />
promoting the ethos of a healthy<br />
work-life balance.<br />
But the perks don’t end there.<br />
neospace also exclusively offers<br />
complimentary 2-day passes each<br />
month which grants IoD members<br />
access to our premium lounge and<br />
coworking facilities. This allows<br />
members to immerse themselves in<br />
the vibrant neospace community,<br />
while travelling to or working in the<br />
city.<br />
Members gave the IoD Edinburgh & Lothians branch<br />
some feedback that they would like to see more<br />
networking events – so that is exactly what we are<br />
doing!<br />
Our first networking event of <strong>2024</strong> was held in<br />
Central Edinburgh. Members and non-members<br />
networked in lovely surroundings at Malmaison,<br />
making new connections and catching up with old<br />
ones.<br />
Next up will be a summer event (or two). We are<br />
currently running a poll on whether members would<br />
rather go to a Fringe event, go to the Edinburgh<br />
Tattoo, do both, or do something else entirely.<br />
What’s your preference? Send your vote to<br />
PR-Comms.Ambassador.Edinburgh@iod.com<br />
Get in touch<br />
For more information on the Edinburgh & Lothians<br />
branch, contact Nathalie Agnew<br />
chair.edinburgh@iod.net<br />
Right, members mingle at Malmaison!<br />
SPRING <strong>2024</strong> 11
DIRECTION | BRANCH NEWS<br />
www.iod.com/scotland<br />
HIGHLANDS & ISLANDS<br />
Freeport highlights<br />
Highlands possibilities<br />
The Uile-bheist Distillery and<br />
Brewery proved an excellent host to<br />
IoD Highlands & Islands members<br />
The first four months of <strong>2024</strong> have<br />
seen a busy calendar of in-person<br />
and online events at the IoD<br />
Highlands & Islands branch<br />
We have had great engagement<br />
from members and highlighted key<br />
strategic topics including the impact<br />
of the Green Freeport on our region<br />
– described as the next industrial<br />
revolution of our time – when we<br />
were joined in conversation with<br />
Calum MacPherson, CEO of Inverness<br />
and Cromarty Firth Green Freeport.<br />
Calum’s presentation kicked off<br />
our <strong>2024</strong> lunchtime online series<br />
with an audience of 50 business and<br />
public sector leaders.<br />
That was followed by another<br />
topical session with IoD Scotland<br />
Regional and Public Sector Director<br />
of the Year, Stuart Black, CEO of<br />
Highlands and Islands Enterprise,<br />
who outlined the regional<br />
development agency’s new strategy<br />
and priorities for supporting<br />
economic growth and local<br />
employment.<br />
Uile-bheist Distillery and Brewery<br />
The debating of regional issues<br />
and businesses opportunities<br />
continued with a dinner event<br />
hosted by a recently-joined member<br />
of the IoD, Victoria Erasmus, at the<br />
excellent Uile-bheist Distillery and<br />
Brewery – it’s the Scottish Gaelic for<br />
‘Monster’.<br />
The event – sponsored by<br />
Rathbones – saw guests tackle the<br />
theme of ‘game-changers’: working<br />
together to revive our economy and<br />
reverse depopulation in the<br />
Highlands and Islands.<br />
Our online series continued on 1<br />
May when we were joined by Anas<br />
Sarwar MSP, Leader of the Scottish<br />
Labour Party, and Michael Marra<br />
MSP, Shadow Cabinet Secretary for<br />
Anas Sarwar MSP<br />
has exciting plans<br />
for the Highlands<br />
& Islands<br />
Finance for a Member Roundtable.<br />
With the Scottish Labour leader<br />
Anas Sarwar MSP promising to put<br />
Scotland at the heart of a Labour UK<br />
Government, it was great to have a<br />
focus on what that will mean for the<br />
Highlands and Islands.<br />
The event and discussion that<br />
followed continued the intense<br />
interest that has followed the<br />
publication of the IoD Scotland<br />
State of the Nation <strong>2024</strong> Report.<br />
It’s excellent to see such high, and<br />
growing, levels of interest and<br />
engagement from members right<br />
across our region, and we have<br />
exciting plans for some Islands<br />
events later in the year, too!<br />
Get in touch<br />
For more information on the<br />
Highlands & Islands branch, contact:<br />
(Highlands) Alison Wilson –<br />
chair.highlands@iod.net<br />
(Islands) Clare Winskill –<br />
chair.islands@Iod.net<br />
12 SPRING <strong>2024</strong>
www.iod.com/scotland<br />
IoD NEWS | DIRECTION<br />
CENTRAL <strong>SCOTLAND</strong><br />
AI on menu<br />
– and it’s a<br />
tasty option<br />
The Central Scotland Annual Dinner<br />
was back this year.<br />
This is a flagship event in the<br />
branch’s calendar, and was once<br />
more kindly hosted by Forth Valley<br />
College at its Gallery Restaurant in<br />
Stirling.<br />
The evening offered the chance to<br />
reconnect with members and build<br />
new relationships with others, while<br />
enjoying a sumptuous three-course<br />
meal in a stunning setting. On the<br />
menu were dishes prepared by Forth<br />
Valley College’s <strong>2024</strong> Scottish<br />
Student Chef of the Year Finalists,<br />
Kerry Hall and Ailis Frize.<br />
An array of expert guest speakers<br />
– Professor Joe Little, Kenji Lamb<br />
and the subject of this issue’s<br />
Leadership interview, Dr Eve Poole<br />
OBE – offered insights on what AI<br />
can mean for the future business<br />
landscape, assessing its impact and<br />
asking what adjustments directors<br />
may need to consider to ensure their<br />
organisations continue to flourish.<br />
Some key ideas that our<br />
committee took away from the<br />
evening included:<br />
n Let your team loose on AI to<br />
have a play – they will find<br />
innovative ways of utilising it.<br />
n AI is not to be feared but<br />
embraced. It is down to us how we<br />
use AI to enable us to do more than<br />
to disable us to do less.<br />
There was a real buzz in the room<br />
and the only sad part was lack of<br />
time – we could have stayed all<br />
night!<br />
Feedback from guests about the<br />
night included: “Best IoD event I<br />
have been to for a long time.”<br />
We also raised £330 for IoD<br />
Central Scotland’s Charity Partner of<br />
the year, Committed to Ending<br />
Abuse in Falkirk from our silent<br />
auction.<br />
Get in touch<br />
For more information on the Central<br />
Scotland branch, contact:<br />
Neil Bradbrook – chair.<br />
centralscotland@iod.net<br />
Brian brings energy and experience to FWB board<br />
FWB, the executive search<br />
and leadership advisory<br />
service has appointed<br />
Brian Williamson as the<br />
new Chair of the Board.<br />
Brian joins following an<br />
extensive search across<br />
relevant corporate, SME,<br />
and scaling-up businesses.<br />
With a wealth of<br />
experience in high-quality<br />
entrepreneurial services businesses,<br />
Brian brings valuable insights and<br />
connections to FWB, as well as<br />
first-hand experience of scaling and<br />
exiting a business in the recruitment<br />
sector and within high growth<br />
PE-backed environments. His<br />
successful leadership in high-growth<br />
people focused services businesses<br />
coupled with his personal drive,<br />
energy, and alignment with our<br />
leadership team and Board, makes<br />
him an ideal fit for the role.<br />
Commenting on the<br />
appointment, Ailsa<br />
Sutherland, Shareholder<br />
and Board Member said:<br />
“We are delighted to<br />
welcome Brian as our<br />
new Chair. His proven<br />
track record and<br />
strategic direction will<br />
undoubtedly contribute to<br />
the continued success and<br />
growth of FWB. We are excited<br />
about the future with Brian’s<br />
leadership and remain dedicated to<br />
delivering excellence for our clients<br />
across the UK as we continue to<br />
invest and grow.”<br />
Brian Williamson stated: “I am<br />
privileged to be appointed Chairman<br />
of FWB, a 30-year-old institution<br />
renowned for delivering excellent<br />
results. The whole team is eager to<br />
continue to advance the business<br />
and grasp the opportunities that lie<br />
ahead.<br />
“I am extremely excited to<br />
add value in my own particular way<br />
and have been humbled by the<br />
enthusiasm with which I have been<br />
welcomed.”<br />
BRANCH CONTACTS<br />
For more information on the Fife & Tayside branch, contact:<br />
Marlene Lowe – chair.fifetayside@iod.com<br />
The South of Scotland chair is currently vacant.<br />
Contact the regional office.<br />
SPRING <strong>2024</strong> 13
DIRECTION | BRANCH NEWS<br />
www.iod.com/scotland<br />
Leadership, mastered<br />
Ros Taylor leads a series of IoD<br />
masterclasses, in partnership<br />
with Rathbones Investment<br />
Management International<br />
This series of IoD masterclasses aims<br />
to provide practical learning and<br />
focuses on the different behaviours<br />
and skills needed to be effective as a<br />
leader. It is for those directors who<br />
are serious about their professional<br />
development.<br />
These are held in central<br />
Edinburgh, and you can attend any<br />
of these as a stand-alone<br />
masterclass. Just £50 per session for<br />
members and £100 for nonmembers.<br />
Lunch is provided.<br />
This first session, “What kind of<br />
leader are you?” took place on the<br />
17th of April and was well received.<br />
Stephen Hunter, Deputy Regional<br />
Director at Rathbones, said,<br />
“Through a combination of shared<br />
facts, anecdotes and valuable group<br />
discussion, there were many<br />
worthwhile takeaways from the<br />
course. It was certainly well worth<br />
setting aside the time.”<br />
Ros said, “We had a wonderfully<br />
diverse group of IoD members at<br />
Get in touch<br />
For more information on the Edinburgh &<br />
Lothians branch, contact Nathalie Agnew<br />
chair.edinburgh@iod.net<br />
the first Leadership Seminar which<br />
took place at the plush offices of<br />
Rathbones in George Street.”<br />
Ros added: “The next three<br />
seminars, based again on my<br />
research, will cover strategic<br />
thinking, influencing skills, handling<br />
difficult people as well as problem<br />
solving and creativity.”<br />
Next sessions:<br />
May 15<br />
Strategic Leadership<br />
June 5<br />
Skills to influence<br />
others and handle<br />
difficult people<br />
July 3<br />
The creative advantage<br />
Click to book<br />
EDINBURGH & LOTHIANS<br />
Introduction to personal brand for directors<br />
Most employees don’t have to think about their<br />
personal brand, but directors are the face of the<br />
company. That’s why IoD Edinburgh & Lothians asked<br />
personal brand expert Ryan O’Keeffe to present at a<br />
webinar for us. This webinar was incredibly popular,<br />
with over 130 people signing up to attend.<br />
The key takeaway is that personal branding is critical<br />
to lead generation. Networking. Relationships.<br />
Recruitment. But it’s about more than that. Personal<br />
branding is about who you are and what you stand for.<br />
Among other things Ryan covered how important it<br />
is to be authentic and to demonstrate your values. He<br />
put everyone into small breakout rooms to talk about<br />
times we have been misunderstood or misrepresented<br />
before addressing how to deal with these issues.<br />
There were also some great<br />
questions at the end, such as how to<br />
get the balance right between<br />
personal brand and company<br />
brand and how to build an<br />
audience if you have yet to get<br />
speaking opportunities.<br />
Ryan has also shared some useful<br />
links for IoD members who are<br />
interested in developing their personal brand:<br />
Click here for more details of the Jago<br />
personal brand benchmark report<br />
Click here for your personal brand<br />
health check<br />
14 SPRING <strong>2024</strong>
SPRING <strong>2024</strong> 15
DIRECTION | DOWNTIME<br />
www.iod.com/scotland<br />
Raise a glass to Scotland’s oldest working distillery<br />
Planning to explore Scotland this summer? Why not visit<br />
Scotland’s oldest working distillery and enjoy a Michelin<br />
star feast with Scottish chef Mark Donald.<br />
The Glenturret Distillery – the first of its kind – is the<br />
perfect spot to enjoy the summer sun with a walk among<br />
the old still houses and tumbling waters of the River<br />
Turret. Enjoy Mark Donald’s delicious dishes in the onsite<br />
restaurant – an exclusive venue with just seven tables.<br />
Home of the Glenturret Single Malt Whisky, the<br />
distillery still demonstrates century-old, hand-operated<br />
methods that have stood the test of time.<br />
The Aberturret Estate House, inspired by the Highlands<br />
and the distillery’s whisky heritage, also offers a private<br />
woodland hideaway for those looking to retreat for a<br />
nightcap or just escape the office for a little longer.<br />
For more information, click HERE.<br />
Photo: The Glenturret Restaurant<br />
A proper<br />
unicorn<br />
as Perth<br />
museum<br />
reopens<br />
its doors<br />
Photo: Culture<br />
Perth & Kinross/<br />
Julie Howden<br />
Interested in sharing your<br />
knowledge about Scotland’s<br />
national animal – the unicorn - with<br />
your colleagues? Or filling<br />
breakroom chats with facts about<br />
the Stone of Destiny and Irish High<br />
Kings?<br />
There’s plenty to learn about at<br />
Perth Museum, which has reopened<br />
after a £27million redevelopment. It<br />
is home to some of Scotland and the<br />
UK’s most iconic historical pieces,<br />
not least the Stone of Destiny, also<br />
known as the Stone of Scone, which<br />
has returned to Perthshire for the<br />
first time in 700 years. It’s still used<br />
to crown kings and queens in<br />
today’s society, most recently King<br />
Charles III.<br />
To find out more, click HERE.<br />
Now brewing: New afternoon<br />
tea experience at Hilton Glasgow<br />
Hilton Glasgow is launching a new<br />
afternoon tea experience in the<br />
heart of the city. The elevated tea<br />
pairing experience at the Tea<br />
Lounge by Dilmah is the perfect<br />
place to catch up with friends or<br />
make long-lasting memories with<br />
family over the perfect brew.<br />
Set in a cosy atmosphere, Tea<br />
Sommelier Lazaros brings his<br />
expertise in tea smells and tastes as<br />
well as food pairings to the table,<br />
after attending the 77th Dilmah<br />
School of Tea session in Sri Lanka in<br />
March.<br />
The new afternoon tea menu, has<br />
a wide range of flavours including a<br />
tart but sweet blueberry and<br />
pomegranate blend and a fragrant<br />
mango and strawberry tea.<br />
IoD members get a special rate for<br />
Hilton Glasgow’s new afternoon tea<br />
experience, so, at 2 for £30, why not<br />
swap the boardroom for the<br />
Hilton Glasgow’s<br />
Dilma Tea Lounge<br />
tearoom or take your loved one out<br />
for a Father’s Day treat.<br />
To find out more and to book, visit:<br />
the Dilmah Tea Lounge | Dilmah<br />
Afternoon Tea (sevenrooms.com)<br />
which can be accessed HERE.<br />
Photo: Andrew Perry Photos<br />
Scotland’s capital is picture perfect<br />
Edinburgh-based festival NT Art Month is returning for its second<br />
year in a row this June.<br />
Sprawled across numerous venues within the city, turn off work<br />
mode and jump into an event that turns Scotland’s picturesque<br />
capital into an exhibition in itself, with 11 galleries open to visitors.<br />
The summer festival is a celebration of local talent and the creative<br />
culturerom photography and paintings to bronze sculptures and<br />
eclectic collections, the event shines a light on the variety within the<br />
industry and the importance of creating these spaces. as a whole.<br />
NT Art Month, sponsored by Investec Wealth & Investment UK,<br />
who are part of the Rathbones Group, runs from 7 June to 30 June<br />
To find out more, click HERE.<br />
16 SPRING <strong>2024</strong>
DIRECTION | BEHIND THE DESK<br />
www.iod.com/scotland<br />
Be professional, be kind – and<br />
have a laugh along the way<br />
Name: DR LUCY HARRIER<br />
Position: MANAGING DIRECTOR<br />
Company: PREPRESS PROJECTS LTD<br />
Number of employees: 17<br />
Short overview of organisation: Prepress Projects has<br />
been providing publishing services since 1991 and has<br />
been employee-owned since 2022. Serving a diverse<br />
clientele that includes UK government departments, EU<br />
and UN agencies, as well as private companies, we take<br />
pride in delivering top-notch services tailored to meet<br />
their specific needs. At Prepress Projects, proficiency in<br />
the English language is a cornerstone of our operations.<br />
All staff members are proficient in both spoken and<br />
written English at a native level. Moreover, we specialise<br />
in editing documents authored by non-native English<br />
speakers, ensuring clarity and coherence throughout.<br />
Our comprehensive range of publishing services<br />
encompasses thorough copy-editing, meticulous<br />
proofreading, and comprehensive project management.<br />
What is the greatest recurring<br />
challenge you come across in your<br />
role, and what’s your strategy for<br />
dealing with it?<br />
One of the greatest recurring<br />
challenges that I face in my role is<br />
finding staff who not only possess<br />
excellent skills and qualifications but<br />
also exhibit good values and<br />
behaviours that align with our business<br />
culture.<br />
It’s essential to have a team that not<br />
only performs well but also treats<br />
others with respect and<br />
professionalism.<br />
I am unwavering in my stance that<br />
no level of individual performance<br />
excuses poor behaviour or<br />
mistreatment of others. Upholding this<br />
principle ensures that our workplace<br />
remains respectful, collaborative and<br />
conducive to the success of the<br />
business.<br />
Who, or what, drives you or inspires<br />
you?<br />
What drives and inspires me is my<br />
need to do a job well. From my earliest<br />
days as a summer student to my<br />
current role as a managing director,<br />
I’ve always been self-driven and<br />
self-motivated to give my best and<br />
achieve the highest standards.<br />
The pursuit of doing something well<br />
and within my capabilities isn’t just a<br />
goal for me; it’s a fundamental aspect<br />
of who I am. I find inspiration in the<br />
challenge of constantly learning and<br />
improving, pushing boundaries and<br />
making a meaningful impact in<br />
whatever task or role I undertake.<br />
What is your long-term vision for the<br />
organisation that you lead?<br />
My long-term focus remains on<br />
consolidation and maintaining steady<br />
growth. Despite navigating through<br />
the challenges of the pandemic and its<br />
aftermath, such as the mass<br />
resignations it triggered, as well as the<br />
constraints posed by Brexit – notably<br />
our inability to directly bid for specific<br />
EU contracts – we are determined to<br />
grow the business in a sustainable and<br />
resilient manner, ensuring our longterm<br />
success and ability to weather<br />
future challenges.<br />
What keeps you awake at night?<br />
The drive to ensure that there’s<br />
enough meaningful work coming into<br />
the business. It’s crucial for the work to<br />
align with our values by providing<br />
fulfilling tasks that keep everyone<br />
engaged and motivated. The thought<br />
of individuals sitting idle with nothing<br />
to do is demoralising for all involved.<br />
Thus, my mind is always strategising<br />
ways to generate new work<br />
opportunities that not only keep our<br />
team busy but also contribute positively<br />
to our shared goals and values.<br />
What makes a good leader great?<br />
There are many behaviours and<br />
values that can make a good leader<br />
great. Unfortunately, I have probably<br />
come across more bad than good<br />
leaders in my career; that said, you can<br />
always learn lessons from these types<br />
of managers and directors.<br />
I would say there is one attribute<br />
that stands out for me that makes<br />
some leaders exceptional. This<br />
attribute is emotional intelligence, ie,<br />
self-awareness, self-management,<br />
motivation, empathy and social skills.<br />
The exceptional leaders that I have<br />
come across have high levels of<br />
emotional intelligence. These<br />
individuals tend to be self-aware, in<br />
that they know their strengths and<br />
weaknesses and, importantly, their<br />
impact on others. They have the ability<br />
to control themselves in difficult<br />
situations, eg, they would never lose<br />
their temper with colleagues.<br />
In addition they are motivated, can<br />
motivate others, are passionate about<br />
what they do, and have a positive<br />
outlook, even in the face of failure; and<br />
they realise and consider the fact that<br />
others have feelings and are humans<br />
(not machines) just like them; and last<br />
but not least, they have the ability to<br />
speak to and build rapport with<br />
people.<br />
Even leaders aren’t the finished<br />
article. What’s next in your leadership<br />
development journey?<br />
In my pursuit of personal growth, I<br />
am committed to enhancing various<br />
facets of leadership within Prepress<br />
Projects. This includes bolstering<br />
emotional intelligence to better<br />
understand and support our team<br />
members, refining strategic visioning<br />
to navigate industry shifts effectively,<br />
and improving communication to<br />
foster a more cohesive and<br />
collaborative work environment.<br />
In addition, I am dedicated to<br />
continuous learning, both for myself<br />
and the business, to stay ahead in our<br />
ever-evolving landscape. Cultivating<br />
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IoD NEWS | DIRECTION<br />
talent within the organisation, building<br />
resilience, fostering adaptability and<br />
upholding ethical leadership standards<br />
are also top priorities. By focusing on<br />
these areas collectively, I believe we<br />
can elevate our leadership capabilities<br />
and drive sustained success and<br />
growth for our business.<br />
What is the ‘next big thing’ that will<br />
transform your sector?<br />
The integration of artificial<br />
intelligence (AI) into our copy-editing,<br />
proofreading, and writing services. AI<br />
technologies are poised to<br />
revolutionise how we approach<br />
language-related tasks, offering<br />
innovative solutions to enhance<br />
efficiency, accuracy and quality.<br />
With AI, we can expect<br />
advancements in automated grammar<br />
and style checks, real-time editing<br />
suggestions and even content<br />
generation. These tools will potentially<br />
not only streamline our workflows but<br />
also empower our team to deliver<br />
higher-quality results in less time.<br />
Overall, embracing AI technology<br />
and integrating it into our workflows<br />
represents the next frontier in<br />
transforming publishing services,<br />
offering unparalleled opportunities to<br />
elevate our services, meeting evolving<br />
client needs, and staying ahead in an<br />
increasingly competitive landscape.<br />
What piece of technology do you rely<br />
on most?<br />
In my realm of business, three<br />
software tools are indispensable for<br />
day-to-day activities: Teams for<br />
communication, Excel for data analysis,<br />
and Xero for efficient financial<br />
management. Teams facilitates<br />
real-time communication, both formal<br />
and informal; for instance, we have<br />
‘Monday Minion’, ‘Wednesday Words’<br />
and ‘Friday Favourites’.<br />
Excel streamlines data analysis and<br />
visualisation of targets, while Xero<br />
serves as our financial hub, simplifying<br />
accounting processes.<br />
Together, these tools form the<br />
cornerstone of my daily business<br />
operations, empowering me to<br />
navigate challenges and drive the<br />
business forward.<br />
What is your favourite social media<br />
platform, and what does it bring to<br />
your business/organisation?<br />
Social media platforms do not play a<br />
major role in our business; we are<br />
active on these platforms, but most of<br />
our business either comes from word<br />
of mouth, recommendations or by<br />
bidding for new work through tenders.<br />
We use our social media channels to<br />
report on what we have been up to as<br />
a business, advertising jobs or<br />
reporting on developments in the<br />
professional publishing world.<br />
What needs fixed?<br />
As I grow older, my perspective on<br />
what needs fixing changes, and the list<br />
grows longer and more expansive.<br />
However, there is one thing that costs<br />
nothing but would solve a lot of life’s<br />
problems, and that is ‘reigi’. Reigi is a<br />
Japanese term that encapsulates the<br />
concepts of manners and respect. It’s<br />
deeply ingrained in Japanese culture<br />
and is considered essential in<br />
interpersonal relationships, social<br />
interactions and daily life.<br />
What leadership advice would you<br />
give your younger self?<br />
Where do I start? I believe that you<br />
sometimes have to look back to move<br />
forward, and in looking back, I<br />
understand that I was beset with<br />
shyness and lack of self-belief in my<br />
early career. My advice would be to tell<br />
my younger self that: (i) being quiet by<br />
nature is not a bad thing, just because<br />
you don’t say anything does not mean<br />
that your opinion means any less than<br />
anyone else’s in a room; (ii) being<br />
cautious and managing modestly is<br />
OK, as everybody has their own life<br />
path to follow and how you follow your<br />
path is up to you; (iii) believe in<br />
yourself; and (iv) be positive, happy<br />
and have a laugh along the way.<br />
SPRING <strong>2024</strong> 19
DIRECTION | IoD NEWS<br />
www.iod.com/scotland<br />
A challenging time... but I<br />
know the IoD is in great<br />
hands, and heading in the<br />
right direction<br />
IoD Scotland member John Watson reflects on a tumultuous few years<br />
as a member of the IoD board, and the lessons that can be learned<br />
by any organisation as it goes through a period of turnaround upheaval<br />
Despite a long career in business,<br />
and being an experienced nonexecutive<br />
director, it didn’t take long<br />
for John Watson to realise that<br />
being on the board of the Institute<br />
of Directors was going to be a little<br />
…different.<br />
When he was approached in 2018<br />
to join the Board, as part of the<br />
appointment process, he faced a<br />
rigorous and well-orchestrated<br />
examination from Council and Board<br />
members.<br />
“The Board was looking for<br />
someone with commercial<br />
improvement expertise as well as<br />
finance – and to Chair the Audit<br />
Committee – so I was fully expecting<br />
to have quite a bit of work to do,”<br />
recalled John.<br />
“Just days later, however, I got a<br />
call explaining that the Institute was<br />
going through a significant overhaul<br />
of governance.”<br />
What followed was a number of<br />
high-level departures.<br />
“The IoD is rightly political in<br />
nature as every member has an<br />
equal right to share their views and<br />
it is to be expected that navigating<br />
conflicting views would require<br />
political sensitivity and resilience,”<br />
said John.<br />
“You’re either the sort of person<br />
who faces into the wind and gets on<br />
with it or one who thinks ‘this isn’t<br />
what I signed up to’. I have always<br />
had a huge admiration for the<br />
Institute so for me, there was only<br />
ever going to be one option.”<br />
A new Director General – Jon<br />
Geldart – came in, a member with<br />
international and marketing<br />
“When COVID came, like many of our<br />
members’ business, we were decimated.<br />
With turnover immediately halved, we<br />
needed a restructuring plan, and quick.”<br />
experience and the resilience of a<br />
seasoned diplomat who put<br />
together a plan to turn things<br />
around. With the backing of the<br />
Board, the work began to rebuild<br />
the IoD.<br />
And then COVID came.<br />
“When COVID came, like many of<br />
our members’ business, we were<br />
decimated. With turnover<br />
immediately halved, we needed a<br />
restructuring plan, and quick.”<br />
Jon Geldart produced a 10-point<br />
plan to halve the cost base which<br />
the Board backed but it included<br />
changes, which historically would<br />
have been seen as controversial and<br />
for some at the highest level of the<br />
organisation, the risk to the Institute<br />
was severe.<br />
“Some of the Board even raised<br />
the prospect of engaging<br />
administrators,” recalled John. “That<br />
risk was real but the imperative to<br />
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IoD NEWS | DIRECTION<br />
“Those turnarounds are<br />
among the things I am most<br />
proud of. They were well<br />
executed but the importance<br />
is that because of them, we<br />
have a strong Institute ready<br />
for the future.”<br />
transform the Institute for its next<br />
century of serving directors was a<br />
powerful driver, and the pathway<br />
was logical.”<br />
John was, however, about to get<br />
even more closely involved as he<br />
was appointed by the governing<br />
council as Interim Chair of the<br />
Board.<br />
“Being interim chair was really<br />
useful as it set a timeline for the<br />
turnaround,” he recalled. “The DG<br />
had a newly appointed, core team<br />
able to work through the challenges,<br />
commercially and financially but<br />
most important was navigating the<br />
impact on our colleagues, with<br />
dignity and all under the expectation<br />
of perfectly executed, institute<br />
governance.”<br />
John’s overriding reflection of that<br />
time was that every Board Director<br />
brought their own, impressive<br />
capabilities to the team. “The level<br />
of debate and challenge needed to<br />
ensure the safety of the institute was<br />
only possible with inclusive and<br />
respectful but open and factual<br />
discussions. As Interim Chair, I felt I<br />
had their support and was<br />
comforted by the willingness of all<br />
to speak out.”<br />
Reset, and restructure<br />
Having successfully reset the<br />
balance sheet and cost base after<br />
COVID, it was time for selective<br />
reinvestment into the regional<br />
network and some of the essential<br />
backbones of the institute. The<br />
legacy of back office systems, which<br />
had been poorly designed, meant<br />
they needed to be overhauled.<br />
But other financial pressures<br />
began to mount and the Board, now<br />
under the chair of Patrick<br />
Macdonald, faced a new challenge<br />
which could impact the transition<br />
plan as the Chief Operating Officer<br />
left to take up opportunity<br />
elsewhere.<br />
“It was an amazing opportunity for<br />
her but we missed her experience<br />
and continuity” said John. “With a<br />
new, and highly capable Head of<br />
Finance in place, and insightful<br />
conversations with the Commercial<br />
Director, the Audit Committee<br />
members worked pragmatically as a<br />
team with the Chair, increasing the<br />
cadence of cashflow forecasting and<br />
monitoring of the DG’s improvement<br />
initiatives, until the new Director of<br />
Finance restored visibility and cash<br />
controls to the level we expected.”<br />
John’s time on the IoD Board<br />
came to an end a few months ago<br />
just as the Institute was reporting a<br />
healthy financial outcome and<br />
membership increase for 2023. “It’s<br />
hard to sum up those eventful years<br />
but with two turnarounds in quick<br />
succession, the mantra might well<br />
have been: ‘Have a plan - keep the<br />
faith. Have a team - keep their faith’,”<br />
said John.<br />
“Those turnarounds are among the<br />
things I am most proud of. They<br />
were well executed but the<br />
importance is that because of them,<br />
we have a strong Institute ready for<br />
the future.<br />
“And we hired the right team. The<br />
DG’s resilience, trust of colleagues<br />
and openness were key to ensure we<br />
didn’t waste time we didn’t have. He<br />
assembled an executive team who<br />
can be proud of their progress and<br />
fully support him.<br />
“To have navigated such tough<br />
waters and to have the support of<br />
his team is testament to his personal<br />
The IoD’s stunning hub,<br />
on Pall Mall, London<br />
leadership style.”<br />
“The strategy remains the same as<br />
the day it was founded; we just do it<br />
better.”<br />
John is also proud of the<br />
increasing diversity of the Institute.<br />
“Having set the DG a target to show<br />
we are committed to inclusivity, he<br />
ensured there was an open<br />
approach to regional Chair<br />
representation and the Institute took<br />
a major step forward,” said John.<br />
“Our community responded and<br />
showed that given the opportunity,<br />
being an effective ambassador for<br />
company directors is about appetite<br />
and skills, not personal background.”<br />
John finally reflected on what<br />
makes the Institute unique and<br />
influential.<br />
“We need to work with our<br />
Governments, using evidenced<br />
based discussion, even if that means<br />
sometimes, we are not always<br />
popular,” he said.<br />
“During the time I served on the<br />
board, we were the strong voice of<br />
our members through significant<br />
political change – five Prime<br />
ministers, six Chancellors and<br />
various Secretaries of State and<br />
Ministers.<br />
“That strength of voice comes<br />
from being a true organisation of<br />
members and that power is<br />
something that every member can<br />
take pride in.”<br />
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DIRECTION | THE LEADERSHIP INTERVIEW: EVE POOLE<br />
www.iod.com/scotland<br />
‘AI is scary... but it’s<br />
time to get on board’<br />
Concerned about the impact AI might have on your business?<br />
You’re right to be, says Dr Eve Poole OBE, but burying<br />
your head in the sand isn’t going to help. As she<br />
explains to Rob Beswick, a better idea is to get on the<br />
train and buckle up for what could be a thrilling ride...<br />
If there’s one complaint you hear most<br />
often from business leaders, it’s that<br />
just as they are getting their heads<br />
around one new phenomenon that will<br />
change the way their world operates, a<br />
new one comes barrelling along<br />
demanding their attention.<br />
Today the newcomer is artificial<br />
intelligence, or AI, the “scary but<br />
exciting” development that author,<br />
business consultant and speaker<br />
Eve Poole OBE says leaders have a<br />
right to be worried about.<br />
For a start, as well as being devilishly<br />
complicated, AI is, well, different to<br />
anything that has gone before. “This is<br />
the first workplace revolution that’s<br />
not coming for the working class, it’s<br />
coming for middle class jobs and<br />
professions,” Eve says. “Previously,<br />
working class jobs have been stripped<br />
away by automation, going back to the<br />
industrial revolution. But this time the<br />
people whose roles will be challenged<br />
are middle class professionals.”<br />
Uncomfortable yet? It gets worse…<br />
As Eve puts it, “anyone who went to<br />
university and is in a role where they<br />
are expected to process data and<br />
come to an intellectual decision,<br />
artificial intelligence will do it for us.”<br />
That makes the future landscape a<br />
touch bleak for many professions:<br />
“lawyers, accountants, even doctors,<br />
are going to see AI impact on their<br />
working lives.”<br />
There’s no way to put this particular<br />
genie back in the bottle either, so her<br />
advice? “You can’t fight it, so get on<br />
the train now, before it’s too late.”<br />
Eve has written and spoken<br />
extensively on AI, and accepts that<br />
there is a huge amount of trepidation<br />
attached to it – indeed, it is her<br />
description above, of it being “scary<br />
but exciting”.<br />
“AI is like going to see a horror film,<br />
when you’re excited but scared at the<br />
same time because you don’t know<br />
what’s going to happen.<br />
“The problem is, we’re talking about<br />
AI but we don’t know enough about<br />
where we are in its development.<br />
Governments are talking about<br />
regulation, but they’re regulating AI<br />
that’s five years old; the modern stuff<br />
that’s being worked on now is being<br />
developed behind closed doors at the<br />
big IT firms. Any regulation is always<br />
going to be miles behind the pace of<br />
development.”<br />
What AI threatens is “a major<br />
change in the way the world of work<br />
operates – and it could be such a swift<br />
transformation that it will be hard for<br />
leaders to pivot their organisations to<br />
embrace the changes heading their<br />
way.”<br />
For Eve, her own career path has<br />
seen more than one dramatic pivot.<br />
Life began “in Fife, in the 1970s. We<br />
were still at a point where women<br />
weren’t expected to have careers<br />
outside of nursing and teaching.”<br />
Eve studied theology at Durham<br />
University. “I loved it. It attracted an<br />
eclectic mix of undergrads: would-be<br />
vicars, people aiming to teach RE, old<br />
Etonians who had flunked their A<br />
levels and were looking for any course<br />
at a good university that would have<br />
them, and then people like me, who<br />
were interested in faith and the<br />
philosophies and structures that<br />
underpin it.<br />
“I remember lively debates going on<br />
through the night on whether the<br />
resurrection was real, and who Christ<br />
really was. It was brilliant.”<br />
With no firm work plans, a tutor’s<br />
suggestion she pop along to the<br />
university career library left her<br />
somewhat daunted by the “huge<br />
folders for careers at Shell and Marks &<br />
Spencers that just didn’t work for me.”<br />
Better fortune was found within a<br />
dusty, slim folder marked<br />
‘Miscellaneous’. “It was a collection of<br />
random roles that defied classification,<br />
and in it was a job with the Church<br />
Commissioners.”<br />
It exposed her to a Civil Service-style<br />
graduate entry programme based in<br />
Westminster, where she spent four years.<br />
“It was great experience: I was working<br />
on policy, managing projects on driving<br />
culture change and implementing good<br />
governance.<br />
“It was an old fashioned sort of place<br />
to work and at times frustrating as I<br />
couldn’t quite grasp all the threads I<br />
needed to make a real difference. It<br />
was that feeling that I had some of the<br />
“Governments are talking about regulation, but they’re<br />
regulating AI that’s five years old; the modern stuff that’s<br />
being worked on now is being developed behind closed<br />
doors at the big IT firms. Any regulation is always going to<br />
be miles behind the pace of development.”<br />
22 SPRING <strong>2024</strong>
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IoD NEWS | DIRECTION<br />
information, but not all of it, that drove<br />
me to do an MBA at Edinburgh, and<br />
then move to Deloittes.”<br />
There the focus was on change<br />
management accompanied by a<br />
growing interest in leadership.<br />
“The thing that struck me was that<br />
you could spend as much time and<br />
money as you wanted on change<br />
management programmes, and<br />
communicate them effectively to your<br />
teams, but if your leaders don’t follow<br />
the plan the team won’t either; they<br />
follow the leader. The leadership role is<br />
crucial.”<br />
Eve investigated the importance of<br />
leadership further while teaching at<br />
Ashridge Business School, where she<br />
was one of the first women to teach<br />
leadership modules. “I was only 30 and<br />
I was teaching classes of men in their<br />
50s and 60s.<br />
“It was great exposure for me, as I<br />
got to learn what makes leaders tick,<br />
the reality of their roles on a day-today<br />
basis, and what drove them on.<br />
“It also made me realise just how<br />
little there is out there to help build<br />
and develop leaders in the real world.<br />
There seemed to be no tools to make<br />
people better leaders. No-one was<br />
giving leaders the basic trade skills for<br />
their roles.”<br />
In the end “I asked course delegates,<br />
what did they wish they had known 10<br />
years ago? Most focused on the things<br />
that had gone wrong: crashing and<br />
burning at a shareholder meeting, not<br />
delegating well enough, not realising<br />
that the wrong person was in a key<br />
role soon enough. It was all nuts and<br />
bolts stuff really but these situations<br />
are the crucible in which modern<br />
leadership is forged.”<br />
In 2017 Eve came to a wider<br />
prominence when she wrote<br />
Leadersmithing: Revealing the Trade<br />
Secrets of Leadership.<br />
While researching the book, what<br />
had surprised her? “I think the thing<br />
that surprised me most was that noone<br />
had written a similar book before!”<br />
“The whole theme of ‘leadership’ is<br />
new. If you look at Ashridge it only<br />
began teaching ‘leadership’ in 2000;<br />
before then it was ‘management.’<br />
“But too much of modern leadership<br />
advice harked back to Machiavelli – the<br />
end justifies the means – and was just<br />
old chaps saying how fabulous they<br />
were. There was no ready reference<br />
guide to the skills leaders need.”<br />
“You could spend as much time and money as you<br />
wanted on change management programmes, and<br />
communicate them effectively to your teams, but if<br />
your leaders don’t follow the plan the team won’t<br />
either; they follow the leader. Leadership is crucial.”<br />
Continued on page 24<br />
SPRING <strong>2024</strong> 23
DIRECTION | THE LEADERSHIP INTERVIEW: EVE POOLE<br />
“Is modern business ethical? In many cases,<br />
no. No one wants to be seen as unethical, but<br />
what we practise in our personal lives too<br />
often doesn’t transfer to business...”<br />
Continued from page 23<br />
“That’s why I used the phrase<br />
‘smithing’ in my book; I see leadership<br />
as something that needs cutting,<br />
grooving and polishing, to create<br />
leaders who won’t buckle under<br />
pressure.”<br />
That point brings us round nicely to<br />
the question of ethics in business – and<br />
how ultimately ethical questions could<br />
decide how AI works in society. First, is<br />
modern business ethical? “In many<br />
cases, no. I believe we have privatised<br />
ethics in that, people want to live an<br />
ethical life, no one wants to be seen as<br />
unethical, but what we practise in our<br />
personal lives too often doesn’t<br />
transfer to business.<br />
“What we teach in business schools<br />
tends to be how to get the required<br />
results without upsetting too many<br />
people. We have a utilitarian approach<br />
to business: get the best results for the<br />
greatest number of people with the<br />
least fuss.<br />
“We talk about having a strong<br />
moral compass in our business but if<br />
you think about that analogy, consider<br />
what happens when you introduce a<br />
magnet to a compass: it veers off true<br />
north. That is modern capitalism; as<br />
soon as your moral compass or ethics<br />
cause issues for the business, the<br />
ethics go out of the window.”<br />
That can lead to some “horrible<br />
decisions which look logical, even<br />
ethical, to the people making them,<br />
when they are not.”<br />
The solution is for leaders to be<br />
brave – the personality trait Eve thinks<br />
is most important for leadership – and<br />
develop strong emotional intelligence<br />
to underpin decision making. “When I<br />
talked to business leaders at Ashridge,<br />
they wanted their organisations to<br />
operate in an ethical manner but too<br />
often they didn’t have the strength and<br />
energy to resist outward pressures that<br />
challenged that position.<br />
“Ultimately it’s your emotional<br />
intelligence that allows you to embed<br />
personal ethics into your business life.”<br />
In many ways, even the concept of<br />
‘leadership’ can appear out-dated.<br />
“People today are more focused on<br />
‘followership’. Leaders cannot demand<br />
to be followed; they need to interact<br />
with their people and bring them with<br />
them. That’s why having a strong<br />
moral core to underpin your decision<br />
making is so important. If your team<br />
see you changing tack and jettisoning<br />
your values, they won’t follow you<br />
because they don’t know what you<br />
stand for.”<br />
In other words, they must have faith<br />
in you.<br />
As is perhaps fitting for someone<br />
who studied theology at university,<br />
Eve’s Christian faith is an important<br />
part of her own make up. “My faith<br />
gives me a fixed footing of who I am,”<br />
she says. “Talking to people around the<br />
world, as I did at Deloittes and<br />
Ashridge, proved to me that for many<br />
people, their faith is their lodestar and<br />
underpins the decisions they make.”<br />
Yet our society can make it hard to<br />
bring faith into the public square, and<br />
into business in particular. Eve has<br />
seen this for herself. “At Deloittes they<br />
changed my CV because they didn’t<br />
like it saying I worked for the Church<br />
Commissioners; they thought that<br />
clients would think I’d try to convert<br />
them. Instead, after university, it read<br />
that I worked for a ‘Quasi<br />
Governmental Financial Institution’.<br />
“I was very junior and I didn’t fight it.<br />
It wasn’t a reflection of Deloitte’s view<br />
on faith, just that it was such a clientfocused<br />
organisation, its policies were<br />
all about making the client comfortable.<br />
“They did the same for a colleague<br />
who used to work for the Conservative<br />
Party!”<br />
It’s not a situation that will happen<br />
again, however. “I made a promise to<br />
myself that I would be open about my<br />
faith. It’s a huge part of me, and was a<br />
driver in doing a PhD at Cambridge on<br />
theology and capitalism.”<br />
Faith is also a useful tool when we<br />
consider the impact AI will have on our<br />
lives. “In looking at AI, perhaps we<br />
need to bring in theology as it offers<br />
answers to the big questions that AI<br />
poses of us, which are, what does it<br />
mean to be human? Why are we here?”<br />
“Let’s face it, if we are asking these<br />
questions now about AI and what it<br />
24 SPRING <strong>2024</strong>
www.iod.com/scotland<br />
says about us as humans, well, religion<br />
has been asking the same questions<br />
for millennia. Why are we here is a key<br />
tenet of faith. Perhaps to consider<br />
what AI means to us, we need to go<br />
back to our faith roots.”<br />
So back to AI. Still a potential horror<br />
show? “Yes, it’s scary, it’s exciting but it<br />
won’t go away so the only thing to do<br />
is get on the train now. I’m pretty sure<br />
most of us regret that we are where we<br />
are with AI, and that we would have<br />
been better having the regulations in<br />
place before it was developed, but we<br />
can’t go back now.”<br />
What’s important to Eve is that, rather<br />
like with leadership, we underpin AI’s<br />
development with strong moral values.<br />
“I liken AI to bringing up children. As<br />
parents we try to teach our children<br />
right and wrong, and give them good<br />
values, but ultimately they have free<br />
will so can do what they like. There is a<br />
point in every parent’s life when their<br />
children go off on their own and we<br />
lose control over them. That’s when we<br />
have to hope they make good decisions.<br />
We can’t guarantee it, we just have to<br />
hope they have the values that go with<br />
making the right decisions. Good kids<br />
make good decisions.<br />
“We have to do the same with AI.<br />
We need to embed into it virtue and<br />
ethics. At the moment AI has copied<br />
ourselves so deficiently and inexactly<br />
that it’s basically a master race of<br />
psychopaths, as that’s the logic it’s<br />
been given. That’s the horror story<br />
version of AI, where bad and<br />
conscience-less decision making that<br />
ignores impacts is entrenched into its<br />
design.<br />
“To counter this we need an AI that’s<br />
been designed in a way we can all<br />
approve, based on enlightened thinking.<br />
“We have free will to make bad<br />
decisions but somewhere in our make<br />
up we have learned enough from our<br />
past mistakes to step away from the<br />
precipice and not go completely off<br />
the rails – a kind of defensive design.<br />
“The latest generation of AI is<br />
designed to be autonomous and<br />
reprogramme itself at will, so we need<br />
to learn from how we have developed<br />
and retrofit our own defensive design<br />
into AI so it too doesn’t make bad<br />
decisions.”<br />
Current AI “is only really good at<br />
repeated, predictable situations;<br />
anything personal, centred around<br />
feelings or behaviour, or random<br />
situations, relies on people with gained<br />
“I liken AI to bringing up<br />
children. We teach them<br />
right and wrong, and good<br />
values, but ultimately they<br />
have free will so they can<br />
do what they like. You just<br />
have to hope you’ve given<br />
them the right values to<br />
make good decisions...”<br />
or learned experience. That’s what<br />
we’ve got to impart into AI.”<br />
“Let’s look at a specific sector, the<br />
law. AI is great at applying rules to<br />
situations, such as corporate tax. That’s<br />
where it will eliminate jobs.<br />
“But if you think about family law,<br />
how would AI handle a child<br />
settlement welfare case in a divorce?<br />
How would it handle an asylum claim?<br />
It would be terrible at it, as it wouldn’t<br />
understand the human complexities<br />
involved.”<br />
But that opens up another problem<br />
as we move forward, what Eve dubs<br />
“learning loss”.<br />
“If we let AI cover too many roles,<br />
how will the leaders of the future learn<br />
anything?<br />
“Businesses are rightly focused on<br />
talent management and spotting<br />
future learners, but how are the<br />
leaders of tomorrow going to gain the<br />
skills they need if we offshore too<br />
many tasks to AI? We want our leaders<br />
to be wise and discerning, but some of<br />
that is learned in the early days of our<br />
careers. If we don’t do the ‘rock<br />
tumbling’ when we are younger, we<br />
won’t develop the knowledge base we<br />
need to fall back on later as leaders.<br />
“My fear is that we are heading for a<br />
huge gap in skills acquisition. AI is<br />
taking out our learning path.”<br />
To prevent this, Eve sees a<br />
connection with her research that led<br />
to Leadersmithing: “As I said earlier, I<br />
asked people what they wished they’d<br />
known 10 years earlier. How did they<br />
know that the set of figures was<br />
wrong, that when they sat in that<br />
meeting there was a problem?<br />
“We need to find the answers to<br />
those questions and distill the<br />
knowledge into training programmes<br />
that are very precise. That will give us<br />
the learning muscle memory to make<br />
good decisions. If we don’t, we risk<br />
losing decision-making skills as AI<br />
becomes more prevalent.”<br />
And here’s the irony: earlier on we<br />
touched briefly on the key skill Eve<br />
identifies as a requirement for modern<br />
leaders: bravery. But she has another<br />
‘key skill’: “Modern leaders need<br />
incredible antennae and peripheral<br />
vision to see what’s coming over the<br />
horizon, to identify challenges of the<br />
future.”<br />
Being able to say you have a handle<br />
on AI looks likely to be the next one.<br />
“At the moment AI has copied ourselves so deficiently and<br />
inexactly that it’s basically a master race of psychopaths, as<br />
that’s the logic it’s been given. That’s the horror story<br />
version of AI, where bad and conscience-less decision<br />
making that ignores impacts is entrenched into its design”<br />
SPRING <strong>2024</strong> 25
DIRECTION | TECHNICAL BRIEFING<br />
www.iod.com/scotland<br />
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ISSUE<br />
AI: the good, the bad and the ugly!<br />
Dr Mick O’Connor CDir FIoD CEng FRSA FIES,<br />
Managing Director at HAELO Consulting Ltd<br />
considers whether AI can bridge the gap<br />
between the boardroom and the business coalface<br />
Organisations are hyperconnected<br />
networks of people, things and events<br />
which makes them complex and<br />
difficult to makes sense of.<br />
As directors, we are jointly and<br />
severally accountable for company<br />
stewardship, however, we are often<br />
distant from the coalface, meaning we<br />
rely on data, and the opinion of others<br />
to inform our understanding and<br />
decision making.<br />
In this article, I explore how AI can<br />
help to bridge the gap between the<br />
boardroom and the ground truth,<br />
however, there is a health warning!<br />
‘THE GOOD’<br />
Horizon scanning<br />
Continual change to regulation<br />
creates compliance uncertainty. Many<br />
organisations conduct manual checks<br />
of regulator websites to identify<br />
changes to requirements, however, this<br />
is time consuming and prone to error.<br />
AI can automate the process and<br />
crawl websites to identify and<br />
contextualise changes.<br />
Automated monitoring and reporting<br />
As my old boss used to say, “bad<br />
news early is good news!”. AI can<br />
analyse vast datasets, detect unusual<br />
patterns, provide supporting evidence<br />
and aid decision making effectiveness.<br />
Natural language processing (NLP)<br />
NLP, often referred to as large<br />
language models (LLM) eg, ChatGPT,<br />
enables assembly of meaningful<br />
contextualised information. While<br />
LLM’s require training, they have the<br />
potential to revolutionise how we<br />
structure, mine and present data.<br />
Threat intelligence and<br />
prescriptive analytics<br />
AI can forecast future events based<br />
on historical data and emerging<br />
events enabling organisations to<br />
detect and respond to threats before<br />
they become issues. Prescriptive<br />
analytics can not only forecast<br />
possible futures, but it can also advise<br />
on the appropriate recovery action.<br />
‘THE BAD AND THE UGLY’<br />
Bias and fairness<br />
Machine learning comes from the<br />
data it processes, however, it can<br />
inherit the biases of its human<br />
designers leading to undesirable<br />
prejudicial outcomes eg, ethnicity, sex,<br />
gender, religion etc.<br />
Interpretability<br />
We know what the AI does, we just<br />
don’t know how it does it! AI<br />
provenance and transparency is<br />
crucial to good stewardship. It is vital<br />
a balance is struck between human<br />
lived experience and mechanical<br />
algorithms, particularly when AI<br />
creates hallucinations, ie, false or<br />
misleading information presented as<br />
fact.<br />
Data privacy and security<br />
Directors must be clear on the data<br />
used by AI and ensure compliance<br />
with regulation, eg, data protection<br />
act, DPA, and GDPR.<br />
Directors must be vigilant and<br />
ensure secure data encryption, access<br />
control and privacy; the threat of bad<br />
actors gaining undetected access to<br />
AI/ML remains ever-present.<br />
Regulatory lag<br />
AI outpaces regulation globally. The<br />
UK Government has adopted an<br />
outcome-based framework to<br />
regulate AI underpinned by five core<br />
principles.<br />
The framework is not enshrined in<br />
law, however, it is anticipated this will<br />
be the case.<br />
Technology with a human touch<br />
AI has the potential to change the<br />
way in which we govern organisations,<br />
however, it’s no silver bullet.<br />
As directors, it is important we<br />
continue to focus on strategic goals,<br />
business direction, governance, risk<br />
and compliance, and while AI can<br />
enhance decision making, having<br />
competent, situationally aware<br />
humans in the loop remains essential.<br />
AI is only a tool, albeit a very<br />
powerful one, and while there is a lot<br />
a speculation about the future<br />
opportunities and challenges of AI, I<br />
anticipate company stewardship will<br />
remain in the hands of human beings<br />
for some time to come.<br />
26 SPRING <strong>2024</strong>
www.iod.com/scotland<br />
AI SPECIAL | DIRECTION<br />
AI and the world of work: what<br />
do we need to consider?<br />
Marianne McJannett and<br />
Fiona McKee<br />
The Government’s ‘AI and<br />
Employment Law Research Briefing’<br />
published in August 2023, defines AI<br />
as ‘technologies that enable<br />
computers to simulate elements of<br />
human intelligence, such as<br />
perception, learning and reasoning’.<br />
As we see the developing use of<br />
AI in a variety of scenarios, there are<br />
a number of areas which businesses<br />
and employers will need to be live to<br />
when considering the use of AI<br />
within their places of work.<br />
There is currently no explicit<br />
legislation in the UK that governs<br />
the use of AI at work, although there<br />
is some protection which already<br />
exists which employers need to be<br />
mindful of, and which employees<br />
could rely upon.<br />
Protections in place<br />
First is the implied duty of trust<br />
and confidence which exists in all<br />
employment relationships and<br />
where AI is being used by employers<br />
to make decisions, there could be<br />
some challenge to whether such<br />
decisions were in fact made in good<br />
faith. For example, if a redundancy<br />
exercise has been carried out and<br />
decisions taken on the basis of<br />
outcomes generated by AI, an<br />
employer may have difficulty in<br />
arguing that a decision was made in<br />
good faith.<br />
Also in terms of potential<br />
redundancy situations, if the use of<br />
AI results in the reduced need for<br />
certain roles and therefore<br />
employees, then businesses will still<br />
be required to ensure that any<br />
decisions taken to dismiss are done<br />
for potentially fair reasons, and that<br />
any employee with more than two<br />
years’ continuous employment<br />
would be entitled to a statutory<br />
redundancy payment.<br />
Similarly, if AI is used as part of an<br />
organisation’s recruitment process,<br />
the business will need to be aware<br />
of possible biases within the<br />
algorithm. The Equality Act 2010<br />
provides protection from<br />
discrimination, which would include<br />
any decisions made as a result of AI,<br />
and therefore businesses will need<br />
to be aware of this.<br />
The reality is that we will see the<br />
continued use of AI in businesses for<br />
a variety of reasons and the benefits<br />
will be huge for organisations in<br />
terms of efficiency and time saving.<br />
However, as with the rise of social<br />
media over the past decade, it’s wise<br />
for an organisation to implement a<br />
policy around how it uses AI,<br />
ensuring transparency for its staff in<br />
order to maintain the workforce’s<br />
trust in the organisation.<br />
While we await more robust<br />
regulation from the government in<br />
this area, it is important to exercise<br />
“While we await more robust regulation from the<br />
government in this area, it is important to exercise<br />
caution while moving forward with the times...where AI is<br />
being used to make decisions, there could be some<br />
challenge to whether the decisions are made in good faith”<br />
“It’s important businesses<br />
implement a robust policy<br />
for employees who may<br />
use AI such as ChatGPT<br />
in their roles...”<br />
caution while moving forward with<br />
the times.<br />
From a security perspective it’s<br />
important for businesses to<br />
implement a robust policy for<br />
employees who may use AI such as<br />
ChatGPT in their roles. While AI can<br />
be hugely beneficial there is a high<br />
risk that employees could be<br />
inadvertently sharing sensitive<br />
company data on these tools which<br />
could be stored on the AI tool.<br />
Hence clear guidance is key to<br />
negate any such issues.<br />
Marianne McJannett is Head of<br />
Employment at Bellwether Green<br />
Solicitors<br />
Fiona McKee is Director of<br />
The HR Practice<br />
IoD Branch contact details:<br />
Glasgow & West of Scotland<br />
– Mark Spragg<br />
chair.glasgow@iod.net<br />
SPRING <strong>2024</strong> 27
DIRECTION | CYBERCRIME<br />
www.iod.com/scotland<br />
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ISSUE<br />
With cyber crime on the rise, and its exponents getting bolder and<br />
more innovative every day, what steps can businesses take to keep<br />
themselves safe? Jude McCorry, Chief Executive Officer of the<br />
Cyber and Fraud Centre Scotland, suggests AI could give businesses<br />
and law enforcement agencies a crucial edge<br />
We need to utilise power of AI to<br />
beat cyber criminals at own game<br />
Cyber and cyber-enabled crime is a<br />
major and thriving global industry<br />
for serious and organised criminals,<br />
and these criminals are way more<br />
innovative and technically astute<br />
around AI for their criminal activities.<br />
AI makes cyber crime easier and<br />
more widespread rather than relying<br />
on human intervention, and we need<br />
to look at innovation on how we<br />
combat the use for criminal activity.<br />
We will not be able to arrest our way<br />
out of this oncoming epidemic.<br />
In cyber-enabled fraud, for<br />
example, we have seen AI being<br />
used to open up bank accounts.<br />
Voice-enabled technology has asked<br />
for funds to be transferred, not just<br />
for individuals but also large<br />
corporate deals.<br />
In the last few weeks in Scotland<br />
we have had reports of parents<br />
thinking they were asked by their<br />
sons/daughters to transfer funds<br />
and it was not them on the phone,<br />
but rather a bot using their child’s<br />
voice.<br />
Estimates from LexisNexis show<br />
banks worldwide spend nearly $275<br />
billion on tackling financial crime<br />
annually. Yet UN studies suggest less<br />
than 1% of the approximately<br />
$4trillion of illicit funds that are in<br />
circulation is currently being<br />
intercepted by law enforcement.<br />
In Scotland the figures are around<br />
18,000 calls to Police Scotland and<br />
1% of these calls lead to arrests.<br />
Technology to help us?<br />
One contributor to this disconnect<br />
is the restrictive impact of<br />
regulations that limit the banks’ use<br />
of data and advanced technology.<br />
To put it most simply, financial crime<br />
is a data problem. Criminals don’t<br />
bank with only one bank. They<br />
exploit the entire financial<br />
ecosystem to avoid detection. We<br />
need to look at what the data is<br />
telling us – rather than individual<br />
calls to report crime, combine the<br />
data with advanced AI algorithms,<br />
to boost our ability to detect<br />
suspicious transaction patterns.<br />
Banks have to follow laws and<br />
regulations but criminals don’t, and<br />
they leverage technological<br />
innovation at scale and speed to<br />
stay multiple steps ahead of<br />
detection.<br />
It is therefore critical that we find<br />
common ground with regulators<br />
around solutions to tackle this<br />
insidious problem.<br />
We need to look at responsible<br />
data sharing. In the US, banks are<br />
allowed to share information for the<br />
purpose of fighting crime. Enabling<br />
financial institutions in Europe,<br />
Canada and other regions to share<br />
data both from within and outside<br />
their own networks would greatly<br />
enhance our ability to identify<br />
criminal activity. There are proven<br />
models that enable data sharing<br />
while protecting individuals’ rights<br />
to privacy. These can — and should<br />
— be replicated at scale.<br />
The second imperative is for<br />
regulators to allow the industry to<br />
leverage the latest capabilities in<br />
cloud, AI and machine learning so<br />
we can better respond to new<br />
threats, increase effectiveness and<br />
improve efficiency, and take down<br />
criminal gangs after investigation<br />
rather than look on an individuial<br />
basis.<br />
We also need better collaboration<br />
and funding to tackle this in<br />
Scotland. Everyone thinks<br />
ransomware is the only important<br />
part of cyber crime, but more<br />
individuals and organisations will be<br />
affected by cyber-enabled fraud<br />
than ransomware.<br />
28 SPRING <strong>2024</strong>
www.iod.com/scotland<br />
SQA QUALIFICATIONS | DIRECTION<br />
Customised qualifications<br />
for your business<br />
SQA customised awards allow your<br />
organisation to decide the content and<br />
structure of a qualification, with SQA<br />
helping with development, external<br />
quality assurance and certification.<br />
Organisations can design their own<br />
qualifications that are unique and meet<br />
business needs, with flexibility on<br />
content and qualification structure.<br />
A customised award can be<br />
integrated with existing business and<br />
staff development processes. It offers<br />
a large range of benefits, from<br />
achieving business objectives and<br />
increasing skill levels, to providing<br />
development opportunities for<br />
employees and providing an official<br />
credit rating for the qualification on<br />
the Scottish Credit and Qualifications<br />
Framework (SCQF).<br />
Building qualifications for increasing<br />
demand<br />
SELECT is the trade association for<br />
the electrical contracting industry in<br />
Scotland, delivering over 3,500<br />
training courses to electricians every<br />
year. Based in Midlothian, it is<br />
Scotland’s largest construction trade<br />
association and one of the oldest to<br />
represent the modern trades.<br />
With the need for electric vehicle<br />
(EV) charging stations continuously<br />
increasing, SELECT dedicated much of<br />
2023 to creating a comprehensive EV<br />
charge point installation course,<br />
ensuring that the safety and efficiency<br />
of installations was at its core. The<br />
course was shaped by member<br />
feedback and culminated in the<br />
creation of the SQA customised award<br />
in Electric Vehicle Charging Equipment<br />
Installations (SCQF level 7).<br />
The one-day module, adaptable for<br />
in-person or online delivery, addresses<br />
the evolving demands of the industry<br />
and is suitable for all qualified<br />
electricians. By the end of the course,<br />
learners will understand and be able to<br />
design and install domestic,<br />
commercial and industrial electrical<br />
vehicle charging installations, and<br />
receive an SQA and SELECT joint<br />
certificate.<br />
Course aims include understanding<br />
the key requirements relating to EV<br />
charging equipment, gaining the skills<br />
for designing and installing EV<br />
charging circuits, and gaining<br />
knowledge for the requirements for<br />
inspection, testing, commissioning,<br />
maintenance and handover of EV<br />
charging equipment and circuits.<br />
Positive feedback<br />
Shaun Taylor, a SELECT member,<br />
completed the course when it first<br />
launched. He commented, “The course<br />
was very interesting, and I learned a<br />
great deal about charging modes and<br />
options, costs and installation and<br />
potential issues.”<br />
Another participant added, “It was a<br />
good comprehensive course. There is a<br />
lot to learn in one day, but if you do<br />
the study beforehand, it’s definitely<br />
manageable.”<br />
Fiona Harper, Director of Employment<br />
& Skills at SELECT, believes SQA<br />
customised awards are of significant<br />
value. She said: “These qualifications<br />
are a real mark of quality and have a<br />
currency that both learners and<br />
employers relate to. During development,<br />
we took the opportunity to redesign<br />
our training material and delivery<br />
methods to ensure that each of the<br />
courses meets the needs of the industry.<br />
The<br />
SELECT<br />
course,<br />
designed<br />
with SQA,<br />
provided<br />
muchneeded<br />
skills and<br />
knowledge<br />
on EV<br />
charging<br />
“From a learner perspective, it<br />
provides them with an SQA and<br />
SELECT joint certificate, enabling them<br />
to demonstrate the quality of the<br />
training to employers. The numbers of<br />
candidates going through the<br />
customised awards is continuously<br />
growing and are a testament to how<br />
much the industry values them.”<br />
Making a difference<br />
Theresa McGowan, Regional<br />
Manager at SQA, is delighted with the<br />
difference SQA and SELECT are<br />
making to the electrical industry in<br />
Scotland. She said: “I’ve worked with<br />
SELECT for a number of years and I<br />
am delighted to see that their<br />
commitment to providing high quality<br />
skills and training for electricians is<br />
going from strength to strength.<br />
“SQA customised awards give our<br />
customers the flexibility to design their<br />
own qualifications to a high quality<br />
and specific to their needs, while still<br />
owning a qualification certified and<br />
quality assured by an internationally<br />
recognised awarding body.<br />
“Our dedicated Business<br />
Development and Customised Awards<br />
teams can support a variety of private,<br />
public and third sector organisations<br />
to meet their training needs.”<br />
Find out more about how customised<br />
awards can benefit your organisation<br />
at https://www.sqa.org.uk/<br />
customisedawards.<br />
SPRING <strong>2024</strong> 29
DIRECTION | TECHNICAL BRIEFING: AI<br />
www.iod.com/scotland<br />
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ISSUE<br />
AI’s insights can make a<br />
difference in every sector<br />
IT guru and FIoD Scott<br />
McGlinchey asks, why is<br />
artificial intelligence<br />
linked to our economy?<br />
For many, AI may be at the top of<br />
the food chain. Although the<br />
technology is still in its infancy there<br />
are some great examples in use<br />
today. I’m sure most of you have<br />
tried ChatGPT or Google Gemini; if<br />
not, give it a go.<br />
Just this month, you may have<br />
read, that an AI breast screening<br />
solution called Mia helped doctors in<br />
NHS Grampian find an additional<br />
12% more cancers than in routine<br />
practice.<br />
Imagine if deployed across the<br />
entire NHS, a 12% uplift in the<br />
detection of breast cancer could<br />
lead to better outcomes for<br />
thousands of women across the UK.<br />
If AI is applied to business, and bear<br />
in mind we have been using<br />
chatbots in customer services and<br />
machine learning applications to<br />
make decisions for some time, the<br />
returns could be enormous.<br />
However, over my 30 years now in<br />
tech, there have been many<br />
advancements in technology but<br />
often the practicality of competing<br />
priorities in business, the need to<br />
make large capital purchases or the<br />
requirement to adapt to regulatory<br />
change, can make investment in new<br />
technologies more difficult.<br />
Avoid the hype but for those who<br />
have not embarked on a digital<br />
journey yet or seek to replan your<br />
journey then you should include the<br />
possibility of what AI could do in<br />
your business now, next year and in<br />
five years.<br />
So if you can invest in AI:<br />
n Define your objectives: Clearly<br />
define your goals and objectives for<br />
implementing AI in your organisation.<br />
n Start small: Begin with pilot<br />
projects or small-scale<br />
implementations to test the waters<br />
and gain practical experience with<br />
AI technology.<br />
n Collaborate: Collaborate with AI<br />
experts, technology vendors,<br />
research institutions, and other<br />
organisations to leverage their<br />
expertise and resources<br />
So back to that question I asked<br />
earlier - why is AI linked to our<br />
economy? For businesses to invest<br />
more in technology such as AI then<br />
we must also have the optimum<br />
economy and opportunities. Greater<br />
business returns allow greater<br />
investment and growth.<br />
However, speaking to many<br />
businesses the cost of borrowing to<br />
invest today is very high. There is<br />
AI-based<br />
breast<br />
screening<br />
software has<br />
improved<br />
cancer<br />
detection rates<br />
at Aberdeen<br />
Royal Infirmary<br />
by 12 per cent<br />
also a reluctance from banks to<br />
grant business loans.<br />
The Bank of England’s current<br />
delay in reducing interest rates helps<br />
banks but is punitive to most<br />
businesses. Let’s hope there is a<br />
change soon.<br />
We also currently have a Scottish<br />
Government and many councils who<br />
don’t understand business and seek,<br />
perhaps unknowingly, to restrict<br />
success sometimes by interfering in<br />
markets.<br />
For example, retail and hospitality<br />
need footfall and accessibility but<br />
some councils are creating<br />
restrictive parking policies while<br />
making it difficult to access city<br />
centres, creating punitive taxes.<br />
With e-commerce booming too,<br />
access to good transport systems<br />
and routes is fundamental.<br />
A successful and prospering<br />
economy will enhance our public<br />
services such as the NHS, education<br />
and policing. Just a few institutions<br />
that greatly need help. Our success<br />
in business allows us to invest in new<br />
technology and the taxable returns<br />
feed and develop our public services.<br />
There is, in my view, therefore a<br />
symbiotic relationship between our<br />
economy and our technological<br />
advancement.<br />
We should be doing everything to<br />
let business flourish, entrepreneurship<br />
enlarge and above all ensuring our<br />
indigenous businesses that make the<br />
economy in Scotland develop<br />
whenever possible.<br />
Let’s grab the thistle and to coin a<br />
phrase from across the pond: ‘Make<br />
Scotland Great...’<br />
* Scott McGlinchey is a Non<br />
Executive Director of Exception, a<br />
leading digital solutions company,<br />
who during his career has been<br />
engaged at board level in global,<br />
large and medium-sized companies,<br />
and a director of UK leading mobile<br />
and digital app developer Waracle,<br />
and a Fellow of the IoD (FIoD)<br />
30 SPRING <strong>2024</strong>
www.iod.com/scotland<br />
TECHNICAL BRIEFING: AI | DIRECTION<br />
AI is a threat - but it’s a threat<br />
with positive options for all<br />
AI is here... and<br />
Scotland can be<br />
host to many<br />
exciting projects,<br />
says tech writer<br />
Bill Magee<br />
Scott McGlinchey’s expert analysis into<br />
latest developments (page 30) on<br />
genAI presents much-needed insight<br />
and commercial clarity into what has<br />
been labelled an “AI cyber arms race”.<br />
Big Tech’s early attempts to sell its<br />
version of generativeAI, it can be<br />
argued, were hastily designed and<br />
hyped-up, and have had a detrimental<br />
effect on the marketplace. Business is<br />
unclear about the right digital road ahead.<br />
Trillions of business dollars are up<br />
for grabs for the winner. In the rush<br />
Apple has had to respond to demands<br />
by two top UK fund managers abrdn<br />
and Legal & General Investment<br />
Management for clarity on its AI<br />
ethical policies amid concerns over<br />
deep fakes and customer privacy.<br />
Expect more such investor demands<br />
to ensure AI is reliable.<br />
GenAI is being led by computerised<br />
software programs - (ro)bots/co-pilots/<br />
super apps - algorithmically designed<br />
to appear to be thinking and taking<br />
decisions for us. Techopedia points to<br />
‘autonomous AI’ operating and<br />
processing data without human<br />
interaction or oversight. It all adds<br />
ammunition to warnings of a<br />
‘weaponisation’ of tech developments.<br />
More than 100 AI researchers have<br />
called on generative companies to<br />
allow investigators access to gain<br />
insight into often opaque AI systems,<br />
which Computing.com claims is<br />
leading to “repeated and dramatic<br />
misunderstandings” about modern IT.<br />
Computerworld cites a survey of<br />
10,000 office workers who, while<br />
seeing benefits from AI tools, worry<br />
about a lack of guidelines leading to<br />
potential risks to corporate data.<br />
The AI Experience website reveals<br />
96 per cent of chief data officers<br />
agreed delivering business impact<br />
through the new tech represents the<br />
top ‘pain point’ for their teams.<br />
It has prompted a memorandum of<br />
understanding between the UK and<br />
the USA, a partnership based on<br />
endeavouring to ensure AI solutions<br />
lead with trust and user-security.<br />
In Scotland, a mandatory logging of<br />
public sector AI is being introduced.<br />
The Scottish AI Register is currently<br />
being populated on a voluntary basis<br />
but ministers now say organisations<br />
will be required to list public usage<br />
case files for close scrutiny.<br />
A relaunched EIE24 attracted an<br />
estimated 130 investors from all parts<br />
of the globe to check out the Scottish<br />
tech ecosystem in which genAI<br />
strongly features. Venture capitalists<br />
and angels are finally coming out of<br />
their corner, after a virtual freeze on<br />
funds since the pandemic where IPOs<br />
from VCs dried up by 90 per cent.<br />
Mark Logan, Chief Entrepreneurial<br />
Advisor to the Scottish Government,<br />
says the country’s sector is growing<br />
on almost a daily basis involving<br />
“some very exciting and important<br />
work” as EIE brought together some<br />
of the country’s most promising<br />
companies in front of people who can<br />
help them grow.<br />
As Scott McGlinchey says, there are<br />
positives as to the future of work in<br />
these early stages of genAI, pointing<br />
to intelligence-based developments<br />
especially in healthcare, some say hails<br />
a medical revolution in the offing.<br />
There’s even ‘Robotiz3d’ equipped<br />
to tackle one million-plus potholes<br />
throughout UK roads, coming to the<br />
roadside rescue of weary motorists.<br />
Chatbots are already used extensively<br />
across ecommerce. Internet retailing<br />
points to imminent more sophisticated<br />
“There’s even Robotiz3d to<br />
tackle potholes, coming to<br />
the roadside rescue of weary<br />
motorists...”<br />
genAI technologies, bespoke and<br />
highly-conversational two-way<br />
answering techniques with claims of a<br />
more realistic interaction between<br />
brand and consumer.<br />
We’re heading towards a ‘super app’<br />
AI global culture. Just how to filter out<br />
the useful from the problematic, will<br />
be, well problematic. China’s WeChat<br />
already combines social media,<br />
messaging, payment and commerce in<br />
one offering. Elon Musk’s rebranding<br />
of Twitter to X lays the groundwork to<br />
turn the platform into a super app.<br />
Big tech marketers are hastily<br />
hyping a genAI assistant - dubbed<br />
‘Copilot’ - for every department.<br />
Such ‘general purpose technology’<br />
features a variety of IT tools, models,<br />
applications and product designs to<br />
generate new forms of creative<br />
content including audio, code, images,<br />
text, simulations and videos. The<br />
digital works in other words.<br />
It’s the wise organisation that<br />
formulates a threat strategy,<br />
leveraging AI and machine learning to<br />
detect and respond to a mix of<br />
real-time commercial opportunities<br />
but also carrying potential threats. A<br />
medium-to-long-term worry is digital<br />
transformational burnout as business<br />
suffers co-pilot fatigue. Burgeoning<br />
AI-powered facial and voice cloning is<br />
also causing concern.<br />
So where do we go from here?<br />
We’ve some way to go to build the<br />
necessary levels of transparency and<br />
trust. Especially when it comes to<br />
feeling confident in exposing an<br />
enterprise to AI co-pilots and whatever<br />
else follows in their digital slipstream.<br />
It’s not all doom and gloom. Echoing<br />
Scott’s wise words of the linkage<br />
between AI and our economy, New<br />
Scientist tech quarterly carries the<br />
claim: “AIs will make healthcare safer<br />
and better (and)...may even be<br />
cheaper.” Similarly, a TED talk<br />
contends how AI “could save (not<br />
destroy) education.” Both key sectors<br />
inextricably-linked to the economy.<br />
But the MIT Technology Report<br />
reminds us new tech always has<br />
“glitches and fails”.<br />
Whatever the next move, there’s<br />
bound to be an AI super app for that...<br />
SPRING <strong>2024</strong> 31
DIRECTION | IoD NEWS<br />
www.iod.com/scotland<br />
IoD membership and benefits<br />
We’re delighted that you have chosen the IoD to support<br />
you in your development as a director, and we hope you<br />
get real value from your membership.<br />
The IoD Scotland team is always looking to enhance your<br />
membership with exclusive discounts on products and<br />
services, helping make your role that little bit easier,<br />
Say hello to YOTEL<br />
IoD Scotland members are now eligible for the<br />
YOTEL Work Perk programme.<br />
This special offer gives you access to a host of<br />
great benefits, including 20% off retail rates and<br />
complimentary breakfast.<br />
To book at a YOTEL, the easiest method is by<br />
clicking on the below link and entering your<br />
dates/hotel of choice: CLICK HERE<br />
Or you can enter your corporate ID straight<br />
into the Corporate/Promo code section of the<br />
website, at www.yotel.com<br />
Your Corporate ID is: INS002<br />
This rate can be shared at your discretion with<br />
members and company associates such as<br />
consultants, etc. You can cancel or amend<br />
reservations until 2pm on the day of arrival,<br />
giving you maximum flexibility.<br />
Top, YOTEL Glasgow. Inset, VEGA, on the top floor of<br />
YOTEL Glasgow. Right inset: YOTEL Edinburgh<br />
kinder on the budget and – most importantly – more<br />
convenient.<br />
We have outlined some of the key benefits here:<br />
for a full summary and discount codes, contact<br />
patricia.huth@iod.com<br />
Hotels, dining and accommodation<br />
Unique offers and discounts for IoD members<br />
EDINBURGH<br />
The George<br />
The George, a Grade-II listed hotel,<br />
is complemented by elegant<br />
interiors, from the bedrooms to the<br />
grand King’s Hall. All with the very<br />
best of Edinburgh’s shopping,<br />
restaurants and nightlife on your<br />
doorstep. To take advantage of IoD<br />
membership special discounts,<br />
present your IoD membership card<br />
at check-in or when seated at one of<br />
the hotel’s food outlets.<br />
• Call 0131 240 7137, click here to<br />
book or email the hotel HERE.<br />
Kimpton Charlotte Square Hotel<br />
IoD members receive 15% discount<br />
on food, drinks and accommodation.<br />
There’s also a 15% discount on the<br />
gym and spa at the Charlotte Square<br />
Hotel. Quote IoD Scotland member<br />
when booking.<br />
The George<br />
Holiday Inn, Edinburgh<br />
Members receive 15% off best<br />
available rate.<br />
• To book call 0131 314 7018 or<br />
emailHERE, quoting IoD Scotland.<br />
Other offers:<br />
Malmaison Hotels – 20% off<br />
lunches and dinners in Edinburgh.<br />
Locke Apartments - 20% discount<br />
Cheval Collection - 12% discount<br />
Native ApartHotel - 15% discount.<br />
• Call 0207 313 6146 or email by<br />
clicking HERE.<br />
Angels Share Hotel, Edinburgh<br />
– 15% discount. Quote GLC15.<br />
Eden Locke – 20% off designer<br />
apartment. Visit lockeliving.com and<br />
enter code ‘LOCKEDIN’ for 20% off.<br />
Kimpton Charlotte Square Hotel<br />
32 SPRING <strong>2024</strong>
www.iod.com/scotland<br />
IoD NEWS | DIRECTION<br />
Hotel membership offers<br />
OTHER BENEFITS:<br />
voco Grand Central<br />
ABERDEEN<br />
Malmaison<br />
Up to 10% off accommodation and<br />
20% off food and beverages.<br />
• Call 01224 507097 or see HERE.<br />
DUNDEE<br />
Malmaison<br />
Take your pick from 91 sumptuous<br />
rooms and suites spanning six<br />
fabulous floors. There’s so much to<br />
see and do in Dundee, and the<br />
Malmaison is the perfect place to<br />
stay in the City of Discovery.<br />
Up to 10% off accommodation<br />
bookings and 20% off food and<br />
beverages.<br />
• Call 01382 339715 or see HERE.<br />
GLASGOW<br />
Kimpton Blythswood Square<br />
IoD members receive 15% off best<br />
available bed and breakfast rates.<br />
• Call 0141 248 8888 or find out<br />
more HERE.<br />
St Andrews Management Centre is<br />
offering a 10% discount on its<br />
export and import services to IoD<br />
members.<br />
St Andrews Management Centre<br />
can handle your import and export<br />
clearances for an affordable<br />
flat-fee, with no additional<br />
charges for multiple commodity<br />
codes, as well as offer advice on<br />
customs processes and controls. It<br />
also offers consultancy support to<br />
businesses looking to import or<br />
voco Grand Central<br />
Members receive a 15% discount<br />
on the best available rates for food,<br />
beverage and accommodation.<br />
• Call 0141 221 3388 or see HERE.<br />
One Devonshire Gardens<br />
Members receive 10% off best<br />
available rate for accommodation<br />
when booked online.<br />
• Call 0330 016 0390 or see HERE.<br />
Citizen M<br />
Enjoy best rates at time of<br />
booking and a welcome drink.<br />
• Call 0203 519 1111, quoting ‘IoD<br />
offer’, or see HERE.<br />
Malmaison<br />
10% off best available rates for IoD<br />
members.<br />
• Call 0141 378 0384 or see HERE.<br />
Kimpton Blythswood Square<br />
“Just mention IoD when booking to confirm<br />
your exclusive discounts and offers”<br />
10% off training and advice on imports and exports<br />
export, with training and<br />
workshops of key issues.<br />
For a full list of courses, see<br />
https://stamc.co.uk<br />
The TradeNet International<br />
Trade Support is available at two<br />
levels, making it an affordable<br />
solution to meet your needs.<br />
Silver Service is for the ‘casual’<br />
user and offers on call access to<br />
one of our International Trade<br />
Advisors for around 90 minutes<br />
Members’ discounted<br />
consultancy support<br />
Where Now Consulting Ltd<br />
provides business advice and<br />
support to IoD members in<br />
Scotland. Where Now Consulting<br />
focuses on the development of<br />
business models for growth and<br />
would be delighted to support<br />
members in any of the following<br />
categories: Organic growth;<br />
In-organic growth; and Success<br />
Planning<br />
IoD Scotland offer<br />
Where Now Consulting Ltd will<br />
give members a complimentary<br />
one hour consultancy session to<br />
focus and develop key strategies<br />
for success with a further 10%<br />
discount on further support from<br />
Where Now Consulting, and a £35<br />
discount on the Where Now<br />
Consulting Business Diagnostic<br />
Tool.<br />
Member discounts on<br />
products and services<br />
The IoD has arranged special<br />
discounts on a host of products<br />
and services that are required by<br />
directors and business leaders,<br />
including:<br />
Professional Indemnity Insurance<br />
Office insurance<br />
Data risks insurance<br />
Car and van hire<br />
Personal private health insurance<br />
Home and contents insurance<br />
Private client insurance<br />
Directors’ Liability/Cyber risk<br />
• Click HERE for more details.<br />
per month for £250 pcm (+ VAT).<br />
The Gold Service is for those<br />
with more complex trading<br />
arrangements and provides<br />
around four hours support per<br />
month for £450 pcm (+VAT)<br />
WANT TO KNOW MORE?<br />
Contact St Andrews<br />
Management Centre,<br />
14 St Catherine Street,<br />
Cupar, Fife KY15 4HH<br />
E: tradenet@stamc.co.uk<br />
T: 03300 241316<br />
SPRING <strong>2024</strong> 33
DIRECTION | IoD EVENTS<br />
www.iod.com/scotland<br />
IoD Events<br />
Exit strategies for<br />
small business owners<br />
Date: 22 May<br />
Time: 8.30am-11 (networking to noon)<br />
Venue: Gleneagles Townhouse<br />
Cost: Members £25,<br />
Non-members £40<br />
After pouring blood, sweat and tears<br />
into building your small business -<br />
where do you go next?<br />
Network with other small business<br />
owners and hear from keynote<br />
speakers to find out more about<br />
how to make your business ‘sale<br />
ready’ at this exciting breakfast<br />
event.<br />
Learn what is needed to enhance<br />
their company’s value for a<br />
successful sale - be it in the near<br />
future or 10 years from now.<br />
After the event they will also<br />
Are you competitive in<br />
today’s digital world?<br />
Glasgow & West of Scotland branch<br />
Date: 22 May<br />
Time: 5:30pm — 8pm<br />
Venue: Clockwise<br />
Cost: free of charge<br />
The next general election is just<br />
around the corner and there is one<br />
thing everyone agrees on: <strong>2024</strong><br />
promises to be a turbulent year. So<br />
does this mean a declining year with<br />
little growth or prosperity?<br />
Absolutely not. We look forward to<br />
an evening of lively discussion,<br />
interactive workshops and a healthy<br />
Q & A to conclude with our panel.<br />
Fourways Group, Scale Computing<br />
and a crop of strategic tech experts<br />
are here to dispel this myth at an<br />
interactive evening event for<br />
business leaders in Glasgow –<br />
showcasing the success of<br />
Scotland’s growth companies<br />
despite prevailing market forces.<br />
Join IoD members and fellow<br />
business leaders to share insights<br />
and best practices to examine key<br />
questions:<br />
How can I be sure I am making the<br />
best choices for my business in today’s<br />
uncertain and volatile markets?<br />
receive a top tips guide: “Navigating<br />
your Exit: A Roadmap for Owner-<br />
Managed Businesses”, to provide an<br />
overview of what will be important<br />
to prospective buyers or investors.<br />
Spaces are limited to 15 people,<br />
for SME Business Owners only.<br />
Sponsors: Ahead Business<br />
Consulting<br />
To book:<br />
Contact Patricia Huth<br />
t: 0131 557 5488<br />
e: Patricia.Huth@iod.com<br />
How can a digital transformation<br />
strategy help me to identify any<br />
skills gaps, leverage cloud<br />
economics and scalability and what<br />
actionable data insights should I be<br />
using?<br />
Understand how billion dollar<br />
technology and AI is now readily<br />
available to third sector and SMEs<br />
previously the preserve or corporate<br />
and enterprise.<br />
Don’t wait, save your seat for this<br />
industry-leading event and register<br />
now.<br />
To book:<br />
Contact Patricia Huth<br />
t: 0131 557 5488<br />
e: Patricia.Huth@iod.com<br />
IoD Scotland Charity<br />
Golf Day <strong>2024</strong><br />
Date: 31 May<br />
Time: from 8am - 2.30pm<br />
Venue: Falkirk Golf Club<br />
Cost: Member £125<br />
Member - Team of four £400<br />
Non Member - Team of four £450<br />
Get your challenge team together to<br />
have fun, meet fellow directors –<br />
maybe win – and most importantly,<br />
raise critical funds to help support<br />
Committed to Ending Abuse (CEA)’s<br />
vital work.<br />
Arrive at 8 am for breakfast rolls,<br />
teas and coffees. Longest drive and<br />
nearest the pin prizes, lunch,<br />
networking, a charity raffle and hear<br />
from the CEO of the Charity itself.<br />
The event is sponsored by Ahead<br />
Business Consulting in aid of CEA<br />
which supports adults, children and<br />
young people in the Falkirk area<br />
who have been affected by<br />
domestic abuse and trauma.<br />
Sponsor: Ahead Business Consulting<br />
To book:<br />
Contact Patricia Huth<br />
t: 0131 557 5488<br />
e: Patricia.Huth@iod.com<br />
Lost in the labyrinth<br />
of NED aspirations?<br />
Date: 23 May<br />
Time: 12.30-1.30pm<br />
Venue: Online<br />
Cost: Free of charge<br />
This event will offer clarity to the<br />
roadmap to becoming an Non-<br />
Executive Director (NED). Join<br />
Simon Bergenroth, founder and<br />
managing director of 3Hats as he<br />
demystifies the NED journey, from<br />
initial steps to securing a position.<br />
Leave ready to conquer the exciting<br />
world of NED opportunities!<br />
To book: Contact Patricia Huth<br />
t: 0131 557 5488<br />
e: Patricia.Huth@iod.com<br />
34 SPRING <strong>2024</strong>
www.iod.com/scotland<br />
IoD EVENTS | DIRECTION<br />
Leading the boardroom: navigating the<br />
journey from director to board chair<br />
Venue: 14 May<br />
Time: 1pm-2pm<br />
Venue: Online<br />
Cost: Members Free<br />
Non-members £10<br />
Join European Women on Boards<br />
for an illuminating discussion on the<br />
art and science of progressing from<br />
board member to chair.<br />
The roles of a board director and a<br />
board chair carry distinct<br />
responsibilities and functions; in this<br />
follow-up to our 2023 webinar with<br />
European Women on Boards, learn<br />
about how to effectively make that<br />
step from director to chair.<br />
Join this webinar to hear speakers<br />
from the Institute of Directors and<br />
European Women on Boards discuss<br />
the different opportunities to<br />
becoming board chair and what<br />
additional responsibilities above<br />
those of a board member that you’ll<br />
be expected to take on.<br />
Embrace excellence<br />
Fife & Tayside Members event<br />
Date: 6 June and 5 September<br />
Time: 5.30-9pm<br />
Venue: Rusacks in St. Andrews<br />
Cost: Free<br />
We’re looking forward to an<br />
engaging evening at The Gallery,<br />
Rusacks, and we’d love for you to<br />
join us. It’s a blend of relaxed<br />
networking and genuine<br />
connections, set against the<br />
backdrop of a space where comfort<br />
touches on the grand.<br />
Join us any time between 5:30 and<br />
9 pm. Whether your evening calls for<br />
a refreshing drink, a soothing tea, or<br />
just an appreciation of the<br />
atmosphere, we’re creating the ideal<br />
setting for spontaneous exchanges<br />
and insightful discussions.<br />
Here, conversations about business<br />
and beyond flow freely, with<br />
opportunities to delve into deeper<br />
discussions in smaller, more intimate<br />
groups.<br />
This gathering is an open invitation<br />
to both new faces and familiar<br />
members of our community,<br />
welcoming all who are part of the<br />
What you will learn from this<br />
session:<br />
Understand the key differences<br />
between board member and chair.<br />
Identify challenges commonly<br />
faced on the pathway to becoming a<br />
board chair.<br />
Explore proven strategies for<br />
navigating the transition.<br />
Learn from real-world experiences<br />
and insights shared by accomplished<br />
board chairs.<br />
To book:<br />
Contact IoD Events team<br />
e: events@iod.com<br />
business world, regardless of your<br />
role or the size of your enterprise.<br />
Don’t miss this unique opportunity<br />
to unwind yet engage, to network<br />
yet nurture, in the heart of St<br />
Andrews. Whether you’re seeking<br />
stimulating dialogues or a moment<br />
of tranquillity in good company,<br />
Rusacks is poised to offer an<br />
experience that promises to be both<br />
memorable and meaningful. We’re<br />
excited to host you at The Gallery<br />
– where connections are made, ideas<br />
are sparked, and every interaction<br />
enriches our collective journey.<br />
To book:<br />
Contact Patricia Huth<br />
t: 0131 557 5488<br />
e: Patricia.Huth@iod.com<br />
Mental health<br />
awareness<br />
Date: 4 June<br />
Venue: Online<br />
Time: 12.30-1.30pm<br />
Cost: Free of charge<br />
Developing mental health awareness<br />
is key to changing and improving<br />
workplace cultures, reducing sick<br />
leave and improving retention and<br />
performance of employees.<br />
However, due to the complexity of<br />
mental health, and often the<br />
associated stigma, how can directors<br />
really lead an organisation which<br />
benefits people’s mental health?<br />
Join us for this virtual event to find<br />
out.<br />
To book:<br />
Contact Frances Fairclough<br />
t: 0161 521 9252<br />
e: frances.fairclough@iod.com<br />
Workforce<br />
for the future<br />
Date: 4 June<br />
Time: 10am — 2pm<br />
Venue: University of Strathclyde<br />
Cost: Members Free<br />
Non-members £50<br />
How can leaders promote and<br />
support learners, entrepreneurs, and<br />
employees to succeed? This event<br />
will bring decision makers to a halfday<br />
conference to fully understand<br />
the need for skills and the role<br />
business can have in determining<br />
the workforce of the future.<br />
Why and how we want to develop<br />
the workforce of the future really<br />
sits with the end user, the economy<br />
and the employer.<br />
Join us for a lively facilitated<br />
discussion which will explore the<br />
critical skills that we need to ensure<br />
a thriving future economy for<br />
Scotland. The day will include input<br />
from Skills Development Scotland,<br />
those behind the Hayward Review<br />
the Withers Report and from<br />
Scotland’s university and college<br />
sectors. IoD Scotland’s State of the<br />
Nation Survey will also be discussed.<br />
Sponsors: Aspen<br />
To book:<br />
Contact Patricia Huth<br />
t: 0131 557 5488<br />
e: Patricia.Huth@iod.com<br />
SPRING <strong>2024</strong> 35
DIRECTION | IoD EVENTS<br />
www.iod.com/scotland<br />
<strong>Spring</strong> Economic Update<br />
with the Bank of England<br />
Date: 16 May<br />
Time: 12pm-1pm<br />
Venue: Online<br />
Cost: Free, members only<br />
Join us to discuss the outcomes of the latest<br />
MPC report released by the Bank of England.<br />
Keep up to date with the trends and analysis by listening to IoD’s quarterly<br />
economic updates with the Bank of England.<br />
This members-only event will host IoD Director for Policy and Governance,<br />
Dr Roger Barker, who will explore the latest UK economic outlook and what it<br />
means for directors and their businesses. Roger will be joined by Rob Elder,<br />
the Bank of England’s Agent for London. This event is an excellent<br />
opportunity for leaders to hear more about the UK and global economic<br />
outlook for <strong>2024</strong>.<br />
This event will be run under Chatham House Rule and thus will not be<br />
available for playback.<br />
To book: Contact IoD Events team<br />
e: events@iod.com<br />
IoD Glasgow &<br />
West of Scotland<br />
Monthly Breakfast<br />
Networking event<br />
Date: 30 May<br />
Time: 8.30-10.30am<br />
Venue: VEGA, YOTEL Glasgow<br />
As requested by our members we<br />
are moving to a monthly breakfast<br />
networking meeting. Meet local<br />
members over breakfast at the<br />
VEGA, YOTEL Glasgow. Free to<br />
attend, pay for breakfast at the<br />
event.<br />
To book:<br />
Contact Patricia Huth<br />
t: 0131 557 5488<br />
e: Patricia.Huth@iod.com<br />
Is sustainability sustainable?<br />
Date: 28 May<br />
Venue: Online<br />
Cost: Free to members<br />
Join other members in Aberdeen to<br />
hear thoughts from a varied line-up<br />
on the importance of sustainability.<br />
As part of the IoD’s plan to raise<br />
awareness of sustainability, the<br />
Aberdeen & Grampian Branch are<br />
organising an opportunity to hear<br />
from other organisations with<br />
regards to how they are<br />
approaching sustainability. The<br />
event is open to all members and its<br />
aims are to highlight the<br />
opportunities (and risks) to business<br />
with respect to sustainability; to<br />
articulate the key targets and<br />
actions for Scotland / UK; to<br />
highlight existing support available<br />
to members (and their<br />
organisations); to inform using case<br />
studies and show additional value<br />
and expertise in the sustainability<br />
space to members.<br />
Sponsored by Vysus Group<br />
To book:<br />
Contact Patricia Huth<br />
t: 0131 557 5488<br />
e: Patricia.Huth@iod.com<br />
Freeport: Taking advantage of the strategy<br />
Date: 25 June<br />
Time: 12.30pm-2pm<br />
Venue: Online<br />
Cost: Members Free of charge<br />
Non-members £10<br />
Join the discussion with<br />
representatives of freeports around<br />
the UK to learn more about trading<br />
opportunities.<br />
The Government’s Freeport<br />
programme is a major opportunity<br />
for the UK economy. It can help the<br />
UK economy strengthen its global<br />
trading position whilst developing<br />
new international relationships.<br />
Speakers include Callum<br />
MacPherson, CEO at Inverness &<br />
Cromarty Firth Green Freeport.<br />
To book:<br />
Contact IoD Events team<br />
e: events@iod.com<br />
Chartered Director<br />
Conference<br />
Date: 13 June<br />
Time: 9.30am-6pm<br />
Venue: Nissan Sunderland<br />
Cost: £98<br />
Hot on the heels of the success of<br />
last year’s inaugural Chartered<br />
Director Conference, we are<br />
delighted to announce that this<br />
year’s event will take place in the<br />
Nissan Sunderland plant, hosted by<br />
North East (North) Branch Chair,<br />
and fellow chartered, Sarah<br />
Waddington.<br />
See first-hand how Nissan’s<br />
pioneering investment has helped to<br />
build factories of the future,<br />
transformed its facilities and<br />
upskilled its workforce.<br />
The tour will be complemented by<br />
networking opportunities and<br />
speakers on the themes of<br />
innovation, productivity and<br />
unlocking workplace potential.<br />
Welcome refreshments, lunch and<br />
an opportunity to join the group for<br />
networking drinks at Malmaison<br />
back in Newcastle will close the day.<br />
To book:<br />
Contact Polly Laughton<br />
t: 02080784014<br />
e: Polly.Laughton@iod.com<br />
36 SPRING <strong>2024</strong>
www.iod.com/scotland<br />
IoD NEWS | DIRECTION<br />
Professional Development<br />
For more details on any of the following IoD Professional Development courses, see<br />
https://www.iod.com/professional-development/<br />
Role of the Managing Director<br />
Date: 21 May<br />
Time: from 9am<br />
Venue: Online<br />
Cost (exc VAT): Member £1,065<br />
Non-member £1,395<br />
Developing Board Performance<br />
Date: 10-12 June<br />
Time: from 9am-5pm<br />
Venue: Online<br />
Cost (ex Vat): Member £4,250<br />
Non-member £4,995<br />
Aspiring Director<br />
Date: 10-11 June<br />
9am-5pm<br />
Venue: Online<br />
Cost (ex Vat): Member £3,195<br />
Non-member £3,195<br />
Role of the Director and the Board<br />
Date: 10-11 June<br />
Time: 9:30am - 5pm<br />
Venue: Apex Grassmarket, Edinburgh<br />
Cost (ex Vat): Member £2,995<br />
Non-member £3,495<br />
Role of the Chair<br />
Date: 17 Jun<br />
Time: 9am<br />
Venue: Online<br />
Cost (ex Vat): Member £1,065<br />
Non-member £1,395<br />
Role of the Director and the Board<br />
Date: 18-19 June<br />
Time: 9am-5pm<br />
Venue: Online<br />
Cost (ex Vat): Member £2,995<br />
Non-member £3,495<br />
Role of the Company Secretary<br />
Date: 8 July<br />
Time: from 9am<br />
Venue: Online<br />
Cost (ex Vat): Member £1,065<br />
Non-member £1,395<br />
Role of the Non-Executive Director<br />
Date: 8 Aug<br />
Time: 9am<br />
Venue: Online<br />
Cost (ex Vat): Member £1,395<br />
Non-member £1,655<br />
Leadership for Directors<br />
Date: 27-28 August<br />
Time: 9am-5pm<br />
Venue: Online<br />
Cost (ex Vat): Member £2,995<br />
Non-member £3,495<br />
Role of the Director and the Board<br />
Date: 2-3 September<br />
Time: 9am-5pm<br />
Venue: Online<br />
Cost (ex Vat): Member £2,995<br />
Non-member £3,495<br />
Role of the Non-Executive Director<br />
Date: 19 September<br />
Time: from 9am<br />
Venue: Online<br />
Cost (ex Vat): Member £1,395<br />
Non-member £1,655<br />
Leading Sustainability for Directors<br />
Date: 30 September<br />
Time: 1:30pm<br />
Venue: Online<br />
Cost (ex Vat): Member £1,500<br />
Non-member £1,950<br />
Accelerated Certificate in<br />
Company Direction<br />
Date: 13-18 October<br />
Venue: Norton House Hotel,<br />
Edinburgh<br />
Cost (ex Vat): Member £10,695<br />
Non-member £13,895<br />
Role of the Trustee<br />
Date: 17 October<br />
Time: from 9am<br />
Venue: Online<br />
Cost (ex Vat): Member £250<br />
Non-member £330<br />
Strategy for Directors<br />
Date: 21-23 October<br />
Time: 9:30-5pm<br />
Venue: Apex Waterloo Place Hotel,<br />
Edinburgh<br />
Cost (ex Vat): Member £3,195<br />
Non-member £3,845<br />
Role of the Non-Executive Director<br />
Date: 28 November<br />
Time: 9:30am<br />
Venue: Maryculter House, Aberdeen<br />
Cost (ex Vat) : Member £1,395<br />
Non-member £1,655<br />
Leadership for Directors<br />
Date: 2-3 December<br />
Time: 9:30am-5pm<br />
Venue: Apex Waterloo Place Hotel,<br />
Edinburgh<br />
Cost (ex Vat) : Member £2,995<br />
Non-member £3,495<br />
SPRING <strong>2024</strong> 37
DIRECTION | PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT<br />
www.iod.com/scotland<br />
Professional Development <strong>2024</strong><br />
Click the logo<br />
for more details<br />
Accelerated Certificate in Company Direction<br />
Accelerated Certificate in Company Direction<br />
Date: 13- 18 October <strong>2024</strong><br />
Venue: Norton House Hotel, Edinburgh<br />
Member Rate £9,955 + Vat<br />
Non-Member rate £12,995 + Vat<br />
The IoD’s Accelerated Certificate in Company Direction<br />
five-day intensive residential course is set at Norton<br />
House Hotel in Edinburgh. This intensive residential<br />
course for experienced directors is designed to fit around<br />
your schedule, enabling you to be more effective in your<br />
director role in just five-and-a-half days.<br />
Why attend?<br />
Achieve the IoD Certificate in Company Direction in a<br />
flexible way and without taking focus away from your<br />
professional life.<br />
Who will benefit?<br />
Any busy director who simply cannot take too much time<br />
away from the demands of their business and who is<br />
looking for a fast -track method of achieving the<br />
certificate in company direction.<br />
What’s involved?<br />
Using a practical approach, each of the four Certificate in<br />
Company Direction modules will equip you with the<br />
knowledge and skills needed for effective performance,<br />
covering the key areas of governance, leadership, finance<br />
and strategy. You will explore different business aspects<br />
first-hand by meeting course leaders and delegates from<br />
a mix of sectors and hear different perspectives, helping<br />
to broaden your understanding of your role.<br />
Practical learning enhanced by real-life scenarios and<br />
peer collaboration will provide you with the essential<br />
knowledge and skills for immediate application and<br />
maximum impact.<br />
This course is condensed into five days, all parts of the<br />
course are mandatory.<br />
“My experience of the Accelerated<br />
Certificate programme was probably<br />
the best learning week of my career so<br />
far, so clearly it comes very highly<br />
recommended.”<br />
Bernard Grenville-Jones CDir,<br />
MD, Activate Learning<br />
38 SPRING <strong>2024</strong>
www.iod.com/scotland<br />
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT | DIRECTION<br />
Click the logo<br />
for more details<br />
Role of the Director<br />
and the Board<br />
Date: 10 and 11 June<br />
Venue: Apex Grassmarket, Edinburgh<br />
Cost: Member Rate: £2,795 + VAT<br />
Non-Member Rate: £3,295 + VAT<br />
This course provides an introduction to a director’s<br />
duties and legal responsibilities and the board’s role in<br />
corporate governance and risk management. You’ll<br />
leave with confidence to tackle boardroom challenges,<br />
equipped to take your career to the next level.<br />
What delegates said...<br />
“This module really articulated the responsibilities of<br />
directors, especially from a legal point of view. I doubt<br />
most directors are actually aware of what they are<br />
liable for, and I believe there should be some sort of<br />
mandatory training for directors such as this when<br />
they join a board.”<br />
Paul Bolton, CDir, ONECPD<br />
Click the logo<br />
for more details<br />
From in-person to online: A strategy success story<br />
Marlene Lowe, Chair of IoD Fife<br />
& Tayside, attended an online<br />
IoD Strategy for Directors<br />
professional development<br />
course. Here she reflects on the<br />
experience<br />
Listen, I wasn’t sure how well an<br />
online IoD Strategy for Directors<br />
course could compare to the<br />
fantastic in-person experience I had<br />
with Role of a Director. But let me<br />
tell you, any worries I had vanished<br />
quicker than a free Red Bull sample!<br />
The tech team behind the course<br />
deserves a standing ovation. They<br />
ensured everything ran smoothly,<br />
and any glitches were dealt with<br />
swiftly. Big kudos to the entire team<br />
as well for prioritising breaks<br />
throughout the three days. It kept<br />
everyone focused and ready to<br />
learn.<br />
Ian Waddelow was a fantastic<br />
course host. He made sure everyone<br />
had the opportunity for one-on-one<br />
interaction, which was invaluable for<br />
truly grasping the material. The<br />
discussions were lively and<br />
engaging, with analysing Red Bull’s<br />
strategies – how they transformed<br />
from ’just’ a drink into a global<br />
phenomenon – being a particular<br />
highlight for me.<br />
The course really emphasised the<br />
importance of not sticking to a<br />
single strategic tool, but rather using<br />
a diverse toolbox. It also drove home<br />
the power of creative brainstorming<br />
– a true game-changer!<br />
By the end of the three days, my<br />
brain was definitely at capacity.<br />
Revisiting the course materials, as<br />
Ian encouraged, is a must-do.<br />
However, I also walked away with a<br />
ton of fresh ideas on how to discuss<br />
strategy with my micro-business<br />
clients. This course truly helped me<br />
understand how to empower them<br />
to unleash their creativity and propel<br />
their businesses forward.<br />
If you’re looking to gain a deeper<br />
understanding of strategy and<br />
identify your strengths within the<br />
strategic process, this course is<br />
fantastic. It was eye-opening and left<br />
me feeling prepped to become a<br />
strategic rockstar!<br />
• For more details on<br />
IoD Professional<br />
Development courses,<br />
including Strategy for<br />
Directors, click the logo<br />
SPRING <strong>2024</strong> 39