A comprehensive guide to transforming boards and achieving best-practice governance in any organisation. When practising good governance, the board is the vital driver of organizational success, while fostering positive social impact and economic value creation. At all levels, executives around the world are faced with complexities rising from disruptive business models, new technologies, socio-economic changes, shifting political circumstances, and an array of other sources. High Performance Boards is the comprehensive manual for attaining best-in-class governance, offering pragmatic guidance on improving board quality, accountability, and performance. This authoritative volume identifies the four dimensions, or pillars, which are crucial for establishing and maintaining best-practice boards: the people involved, the information architecture, the structures and processes, and the group dynamics and culture of governance. This methodology can be applied to any board in the world, corporate or non-profit organization, regardless of size, sector, industry, or context. Readers are introduced to a fictitious senior board member – an amalgamation of board members from well-known organisations – and follow her as she successfully handles real-life challenges with effective governance. Drawn from the author's 20 years of practice and confidential work with boards across the world, this book: Demonstrates how high-performance boards innovate and refine their practices Discusses examples of board failures and challenges, including case studies from both for-profit and non-profit organisations including international organizations and state-owned agencies or even ministries Provides a proven framework to create best-in-class governance Includes a companion website featuring tools for board assessment and board practice High Performance Boards has inspired more than 3000 board members around the world. This book is essential reading for professionals and managers interested in governance and board members, senior managers, investors, lawyers, and students of governance.

Distinguished governance experts offer cures for what ails our boards of directors In light of corporate malfeasance in recent years, the governance of corporations has been receiving great attention from regulators, researchers, shareholders, and directors themselves. Based on Richard Leblanc's in-depth five-year study of 39 boards of directors of both for- and not-for-profit organizations, Building a Better Board goes behind the scenes to reveal the inner workings of boards of directors, including how they make decisions. Recently chosen as one of Canada's "Top 40 Under 40"(TM), Dr Richard Leblanc is an award-winning teacher and researcher, certified management consultant, professional speaker, professor, lawyer and specialist on boards of directors. He can be reached at [email protected]. James Gillies, PhD (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), is Professor Emeritus at the Schulich School of Business, York University, where he serves as Chair of the Canada-Russia Corporate Governance Program.

Enhancing Board Effectiveness seeks to examine the conceptualization and role of the board in a variety of contexts and articulate solutions for improving the effectiveness of the board, especially in developing and emerging markets. Enhancing Board Effectiveness with therefore address the following central questions: To what extent is the concept and role of the board evolving? What rights, powers, responsibilities and other contemporary and historical experiences can enhance the effectiveness of the board, especially in the particular contexts of developing and emerging markets? What socio-economic, political, regulatory and institutional factors/actors influence the effectiveness of the board and how can the policies and practices of such actors exert such influences? In what ways can a reconstructed concept of the board serve as a tool for theoretical, analytical, regulatory and pragmatic assessment of its effectiveness? In examining this issues, Enhancing Board Effectiveness will investigate theoretical, socio-economic, historical, empirical, regulatory, comparative and inter-disciplinary approaches. Academics in the relevant fields of accounting, behavioural psychology/economics, development studies, financial regulation, law and management/organizational studies, political economy and, public administration will find this book of high interest.

In this groundbreaking work, Stephen M. Bainbridge and M. Todd Henderson change the conversation about corporate governance by examining the origins, roles, and performance of boards with a simple question in mind: why does the law require governance to be delivered through individual board members? While tracing the development of boards from quasi-political bodies through the current 'monitoring' role, the authors find the reasons for this requirement to be wanting. Instead, they propose that corporations be permitted to hire other business associations - known as 'Board Service Providers' or BSPs - to provide governance services. Just as corporations hire law firms, accounting firms, and consulting firms, so too should they be permitted to hire governance firms, a small change that will dramatically increase board accountability and enable governance to be delivered more efficiently. Outsourcing the Board should be read by academics, policymakers, and those within the corporations that will benefit from this change.

Must-Have, Firsthand Guidance for the 21st Century Boardroom From the Wall Street Journal and top cable business news programs to global politics, the topic of corporate governance is in the business media spotlight. Yet despite this surge of popular attention and the board of directors’ growing power and burdens, solid advice for running a better board remains scattered and inconsistent. At a time of sharp scrutiny and far tighter board accountability, today’s corporate boards and top managers need practical wisdom more than ever. In this invaluable guidebook, the founder of the online newsletter Boardroom INSIDER compiles the best "first-person" advice for quality boards. Here are expert answers to the most widely asked governance questions from today’s board members and top corporate management. From CEO evaluation to logistics and policymaking, bone up on: Effective board recruiting The hottest trends in board pay What to do when your CEO is the problem Running a smart audit committee How to manage board-meeting surprises Dealing with corporate counsel, boardroom battles, board investigations, and strikes Surviving the family boardroom Board retirement policies Career builders for women in the boardroom Putting your board retreat to work Strategies for nonprofit boards Including dozens of helpful checklists and inside examples of the governance strategies of leading companies, Improving Corporate Boards will help all directors ask the questions that hold the key to better governance for the future.

Ward reveals ten specific failings that are built into our boardroom model and provides real-world fixes to get boards back on track. Ward mixes tart, insightful analogies (what do boards have in common with volunteer fire departments, the U.S. electoral college . . . and Howard Hughes?) with proven nuts-and-bolts advice for putting any board back on track. Order your copy today!