Coburn Ventures Podcast

Invisible ESG is meant to give a name to the infinite little or big day-to-day practices inside organizations that will never specifically check a box in the formal ESG mechanism but really do the actual work that ESG is supposed to accomplish: remedying that gap between capitalisms efforts to build businesses and a better understanding of the negative (and positive!) externalities that may pose. An even better way to think of “Invisible ESG” is all the stuff that was deeply multi-stakeholder in spirit before “multi-stakeholder” became a thing. It’s an acknowledgment that many businesses have degrees of ESG already embedded. It's a great position to start from: rather than looking for everything that is WRONG, let's begin by acknowledging so much that is right. Invisible ESG is about working from our base. As a bonus, we have questions for management at the end of this short conversation. Let’s jump in. **This is part of the Day to Day ESG Series: conversations meant to illuminate the day-to-day elements that build up an ESG process. 

Today we have a little something different: sometime last spring as I was editing, I started to save pieces of conversation that didn’t fit with the topic. Maybe they were afterthoughts, side topics, or maybe just fun conversations. The result? We have meaty topics in small bites today, from our conversations earlier in the year with JP Rangaswami, Rudy Karsan, and Rolando Morillo. We went from blockchain to the meaning of language, from materialism to investing with kids. It's a small taste of all that we cover as we make these podcasts for you! I hope you enjoy it.

Rob Rose, a strategist with expertise in marketing and executive teams, dives into the art of adaptation in challenging times. He reveals how many teams have lost purpose while maintaining budgets, a crucial insight for investors. Rob shares a unique decision-making hack from the medical field and introduces thought-provoking questions for management. He emphasizes the importance of resilience and adaptability in business, advising leaders to embrace creative change rather than dwelling on the past. Tune in for valuable tips on enhancing organizational health!

It’s fun to talk about sports a bit, but how does it relate to investing? Oh boy, there is change all over this topic, which matters because this dip into the sea change that the sports world is undergoing is likely a strong harbinger of what is to come in the broader business world. Sports so often plays that role in our society. Our friend Jack Elkins was so helpful to talk to about all of this change! He will offer up his observations, that stem from a mix of experience with many professional sports, a love of sport, and deep knowledge of  how the business of sport works. He put these skills to work as Director of Innovation at the Orlando Magic for many years and now teaches and does this work privately. So maybe a quick spoiler, Jack is going to present that it is the WILD WEST in sports right now, and since we recorded this conversation, the American college football scene has exemplified just about everything Jack is talking about: two major California schools joined the Big 10, charting a course away from regional leagues with long-standing rivalries (and great fight songs that speak to these rivalries!), and important histories tied to region, to a super league based on the strongest, wealthiest, powerhouse programs. Let’s jump into the wild wild west of sports…

Discover the innovative Rocks meeting technique designed to enhance collaborative efforts in investment decisions. The speakers share how asking the right questions can lead to significant insights and better investment strategies. They discuss the cultural shifts needed to adopt this method and its structure for effective dialogue. The importance of creating a supportive environment, refining questions, and encouraging participation is emphasized, showcasing how this counter-cultural approach can unlock deeper analysis and engagement within teams.

Well, we are back again with a few more thoughts on the current market environment. We thought we were done with this last week but great questions keep coming so here’s a bit more. Today we start with a delineation between the different jobs of stock picking. It can be a fantastic orienting tool that you might want to have handy in your investor backpack when you find yourself feeling lost in the woods. We revisit a very nasty pattern from the last two market downturns just in case we see it again we will all have a gentle reminder about it here, and chat a bit about market psychology readiness to evaluate any type of  “green shoots” or other catchy terms.

We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming to bring you some thinking on the current market environment and how that relates to process. This is a light spin on our conceptualization of the "Other Room" of the 2010's. Now, we look for signal in the noise about what investing looks like inside a world of increasing inflation, so we also want to know what the signs are for looking through that period to the "Other Side". We'll discuss a few ways to approach this through the investment process, so let's jump in. 

We all want to get the best out of our team and contribute deeply to our teams. We understand that 1+1 can equal three. We know we don’t know everything and have a sense that working and thinking with others makes us all better… But there is so much about what we experience about conventional collaboration that doesn’t work: group projects steeped in hierarchy and powerlessness, or a group of people around a table feeling forced to be nice and never really getting to the heart of the matter. Instead, we want to route around conventional collaboration and design for something we call Capital C Collaboration. We’ll define what that means to start. Be sure to stay for the last third which is all about things we can do individually or unilaterally to get "Capital C Collaboration" going.

Unlock the secrets to impactful investment meetings! Discover how to transform dread-filled gatherings into dynamic sessions that spark insights. Dive into mastering the nuances of meeting dynamics, emphasizing clarity and active participation. Explore the importance of collective insight, like a band creating music together, and challenge the rigidity often found in professional settings. Redefine the purpose of investment meetings with intentionality, prioritizing engagement and preparation for better decision-making.

A few years ago we were doing some active consulting work with a handful of amazing not for profits. This work was so interesting and so valuable for all the reasons you can imagine: applying skillsets honed in investing that actually help real people with real problems, getting to know a whole host of new brilliant people from other sectors, but also, because, standing in these two worlds, one foot in one, one foot in the other, revealed greatly where the thinking in their industry overpronated on intentionality and goodwill, at times, and when the thinking and m.o. in our industry overpronated on exertion and knowledge building at times.  The result of being this bridge between two worlds? A lot of great insights on how to effect change. After a lot of discussions about it, Pip figured this formula out on his whiteboard one weekend. It brings each element into its own powerful place.  We have been using it ever since. It’s called the Housefly Formula.