From Starbucks to Malaysia: Governance is Foundational

There has been a lot of positive feedback from “The Virtuous Cycle” post. We are glad. The cycle is an intuitive and powerful idea. In this post, we would like to explore the foundation for a virtuous cycle. Simply put, governance is profoundly important in getting the cycle started and in keeping it effective.

Governance is a big term and people interpret it in different ways. For our purposes, governance is a blend of procedures, programs, controls, and culture that help a company operate in an ethical manner and best position the company for long-term success. When the term is applied to countries, governance is a blend of the laws, regulations, infrastructure, and societal cohesion that help the citizens, and especially the members of government, conduct activities in an e...