The role of boards in charting a wiser course for the future. We are at a crucial juncture in the evolution of business and the economy. In the wake of the financial crisis of 2008 and the subsequent global recession, we must now reshape the structures and practices of business leadership to avoid going down the same destructive path again. This is largely a question of governance - in particular, the role corporate boards must play in wrestling with critical issues like CEO performance and succession, executive compensation, and corporate strategy. Edited by Harvard Business School professor Jay Lorsch, the preeminent authority on corporate boards, The Future of Boards gathers thought leaders, CEOs, and some of the most experienced voices at Harvard Business School to describe the current situation, identify and analyze the most important issues at hand, and chart a wiser course for the future. The chapters include Bill George on how boardroom conflicts can be understood and managed; Krishna Palepu on how directors can gain the knowledge necessary to effectively oversee strategy; Lorsch himself and colleague Rakesh Khurana on how boards can set reasonable compensation while still motivating top talent; and Katharina Pick and Kenneth Merchant on group behavior pathologies in the boardroom and ways to overcome them. The book also includes point-counterpoint chapters by corporate governance experts David Nadler and Raymond Gilmartin on the right model for board leadership. The Future of Boards should be required reading for CEOs, business and industry leaders, policymakers, and anyone else seeking to influence and even reshape business in the twenty-first century.

Learn to create the ultimate vision board to actualize the life you want with this essential guide! A #FutureBoard takes the idea of a vision board one step further—it’s a true visual representation of your desired future life. When utilized correctly, it can be a great tool to help you to turn your dreams into reality—and this book shows you how to do exactly that. #FutureBoards explains how to identify and create your ideal future with intention, and shows you step-by-step how to create a fabulous board worthy of your wildest dreams and so you can use it to upgrade your entire life. Get ready to make the life you’re dreaming about a reality with your very own #FutureBoard!

Climate- and ESG-competent boards are in high demand by investors and other stakeholders. In fact, climate change and other environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues have become some of the biggest challenges faced by 21st-century board directors. Today's boards must contend with a wide range of stakeholders who can affect the fortunes of a company--customers, suppliers, employees, shareholders, politicians, activists, and social-media influencers, among others.This book demonstrates that for long-term profits and sustainability, boards need to not only define the purpose of their company in society but have the insight to ask the right questions of management on complex issues such as climate change, ESG, corruption, cybersecurity, human trafficking, supply-chain resilience, and much more.With insightful contributions from over one hundred world experts, this book provides board members and executives with a practical guide on what is required today to develop thriving, future-fit organizations. The insights shared in this book have one common message: the companies with the best chance of surviving and thriving will be guided by leaders with the foresight, knowledge, and determination to tackle the daunting challenges that confront all of humankind.

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.

Boards may not appear to be noticed while business activities are going well. Yet, when things start to go awry, they are usually the center of attention, and their effectiveness is actively questioned. Are todays' boards equipped to create value for companies in the future? Dr. Almona's proprietary ©Five-Way Directional Model, which can be used in various contexts, guides board members to focus their attention on what matters most. It helps them leverage their board leadership role to achieve success in the short, medium, and long term. The model requires business leaders to look intentionally in the right direction, learn from what they see so that they can lead effectively, and consequently leap exponentially. Looking in the right direction allows the board to have a robust perspective of its stakeholders and the business landscape. Over the past twenty-five years, Dr. Almona has studied board behavior and worked with several boards as an advisor, assessor, trainer, and consultant. In this book, she harnesses her wealth of experience to assist boards in professionalizing their practices to achieve sustainable business success. Boards that look and learn effectively, lead and leap exponentially.

Is your firm’s board creating value—or destroying it? Change is coming. Leadership at the top is being redefined as boards take a more active role in decisions that once belonged solely to the CEO. But for all the advantages of increased board engagement, it can create debilitating questions of authority and dangerous meddling in day-to-day operations. Directors need a new road map—for when to lead, when to partner, and when to stay out of the way. Boardroom veterans Ram Charan, Dennis Carey, and Michael Useem advocate this new governance model—a sharp departure from what has been demanded by governance activists, raters, and regulators—and reveal the emerging practices that are defining shared leadership of directors and executives. Based on personal interviews and the authors’ broad and deep experience working with executives and directors from dozens of the world’s largest firms, including Apple, Boeing, Ford, Infosys, and Lenovo, Boards That Lead tells the inside story behind the successes and pitfalls of this new leadership model and explains how to: • Define the central idea of the company • Ensure that the right CEO is in place and potential successors are identified • Recruit directors who add value • Root out board dysfunction • Select a board leader who deftly bridges the divide between management and the board • Set a high bar on ethics and risk With a total of eighteen checklists that will transform board directors from monitors to leaders, Charan, Carey, and Useem provide a smart and practical guide for businesspeople everywhere—whether they occupy the boardroom or the C-suite.

What is the role of boards in corporate governance? How should they be structured in order to maximize value creation? This 2007 book looks at the role of boards in a variety of different countries and contexts, from small and medium-sized enterprises to large corporations. It explores the working style of boards and how they can best achieve their task expectations. Board effectiveness and value creation are shown to be the results of interactions between owners, managers, board members and other actors. Board behaviour is thus seen to be a result of strategizing, norms, board leadership, and the decision-making culture within the boardroom. Combining value creation, behavioural and ethical approaches to the study of boards, this work offers a systematic framework which will be of value to graduate students and researchers in the field of corporate social responsibility and business ethics.