My perfect working environment is quiet, unstructured time in the mornings, before calls and obligations take over – reading, writing, and thinking clearly, without interruption. I do my best governance thinking alone, with a board pack or a case study in front of me, not in a crowded office. Later in the day, I want the opposite: focused, direct conversations with people who challenge my thinking rather than simply agree with it. I don’t need a fixed office or elaborate setup. I need genuine intellectual honesty around me and enough silence early on to think clearly before I speak.