Alex Edmans

Purpose is the buzzword of today, with politicians, the public, and even shareholders calling on businesses to serve wider society. But purpose is also controversial, because companies need to make a profit. Is there a trade-off between purpose and profit, or can companies to achieve both? This talk will critically examine the case for purposeful business, using rigorous evidence and real-life examples to show what works – and, importantly, what doesn’t. It will discuss practical ways for companies of all sizes to put purpose into practice – to ensure it guides their day-to-day decisions, is embedded throughout the organisation, and enhances rather than jeopardises long-run returns.

Interest in sustainable investing is at an all-time high, due to the promise of both financial returns and social impact. But criticism is also at a high, with concerns of “greenwashing” and false promises. This talk will use rigorous evidence and real-life examples to explain what sustainable investing can realistically achieve, and the best way to do so. It will explain how to do sustainable investing – how to handle controversial sectors such as energy and defence, how to overcome the challenges with unreliable data and inconsistent ESG ratings, and how to distinguish companies that are truly sustainable from those that simply claim it.

ESG is at a peak. Companies are prioritising ESG issues, sometimes even more than mainstream business topics, and investors are selecting companies based on their ESG rather than financial performance. But is ESG an unnecessary distraction? Isn’t it enough for a company to focus exclusively on profit, as long as it it’s long-term profit? This talk will critically examine the case both for and against ESG, and set out of a vision for the future of ESG – how companies and investors can reap its benefits while avoiding the controversies and politics.

Textbook finance theory assumes that investors are rational and markets are efficient. But real-world investors are human and prone to biases. This talk will highlight the main biases that distort our trading decisions, and explain how to address them to make better investments, as both individuals and teams. It will also illustrate how the biases of other investors cause markets to be inefficient – stocks and bonds can be overvalued or undervalued – and explain tried-and-tested investment strategies that take advantage of these mistakes.

One of the most dangerous phrases is “evidence shows that …”, because you can almost always find evidence to support any viewpoint. Experts are similarly untrusted, because they may have motives other than the truth. These problems are particularly severe in the digital age where people are bombarded with data and supposed expert opinions. This talk will explain the common mistakes people make in interpreting data, and the biases that cause us to make them. It will provide a practical guide for how to discern whether a particular study or expert opinion is trustworthy – even if we’re pressed for time and don’t have specialist knowledge in the field – and how to create a culture that actively promotes a diversity of thinking.

Classic time management frameworks advise us to focus on the important rather than the urgent. But these frameworks seem not to be applicable to the 21st century, where technology means that we are constantly bombarded with deadlines, and it’s unrealistic to simply ignore the urgent. This talk will explain how to focus on important long-term goals but at the same time meet urgent short-term deadlines, how to use email as an effective communication tool without being overwhelmed with it, and how to instil superior time management practices within the teams that we lead. It will be based on insights from behavioural economics which demonstrate the most effective ways to develop new habits.