It’s great news that impact investment continues to grow, with latest estimates published by the Financial Times (April 1st, 2019) showing fund values are now more than $500bn.

‘Commercial Innovation’ is increasingly recognized as a critical discipline for business survival and the delivery of value. Back in the 1940's, Nobel prize-winning economist Joseph Schumpeter made the observation that to achieve success, technical invention must be accompanied - sometimes even led - by commercial innovation.

There is compelling data from a number of sources indicating the scale of invoicing error in business.

Today, I’m feeling surprised. And a little disappointed. I thought that progress was happening at a greater pace than it is. The fact it is not is bad news for the commercial community and its ability to innovate.

There’s a lot of conversation about building commercial competence within organizations. Sometimes it is referred to as ‘business acumen’. The reason it is so important is that decisions need to be made faster, but they must take account of risks. So there is growing investment in programs that help the workforce operate with better judgment.

In recent years, the UK Government has shown tremendous ambition in its efforts to transform the delivery of public services. Today, it offers a salutary tale illustrating the importance of ensuring that vision is tempered by an understanding of reality.

Much has been written about the future of the legal profession, in particular suggesting that automation will replace many of today’s lawyers. I think there can be little doubt that a large number of legal activities will indeed be automated. The question of how many legal jobs are eliminated rather depends on their readiness to adapt.

The 2018 HBR Consulting report on in-house legal spend contains interesting data. It reveals a continuing, if modest, increase in budget and a tendency towards increased headcount. Of the various efforts to increase efficiency, the adoption or use of technology appears the most prevalent. Meantime, the hourly rates of outside counsel apparently continue to increase.

Only 29% of organizations are actively monitoring the profitability of their contracts. That’s just one of the findings in IACCM’s latest benchmark research, which gathered data from 752 organizations.