Chief Executive or Chief Emissary?

The problem with change is it happens underneath the surface and out of sight to most of us. We can keep ourselves occupied with "change management" of those things we believe we can influence, but in reality, that is a tiny proportion of the change going on.

When owners run businesses, we know where we are. They make the calls and reap the consequences, good or bad. About thirty years ago, however, as M&A moved mainstream, things became cloudier. Ownership moved steadily from the boardroom to the shareholders, and real power shifted from the boardroom to those who represented shareholders. Today, twenty per cent of the voting power in the companies that make up the FTSE 350 sits with just ten asset management companies, most of whom are hardly familiar names.

On the other side of the power equation, companies are more dependent than ever on highly mobile talent, those with technical and human skills, from design to communication, who can change games and move markets. They are mobile b…