Subsequent to this, Lord Myners was also commissioned by the Board at the Co-operative Group Limited to conduct a comprehensive review of their governance. It is good practice to do a spot check on the organisations that we govern by systematically and diligently working through reports like these to ensure that we learn from them.

The way the process is delivered is as important as the key components of the process. There must be two-way communication between the chair and CEO, with honest open dialogue and where necessary, ‘difficult conversations’ need to be had. The appraisal forms that are used then are important and must ask the right questions but