Reviewing Your Board


Book Description

No individual or team can expect to improve without obtaining regular feedback on their performance. Boards of directors are no exception and an effective board performance evaluation is an invaluable tool in improving your board's performance. An effective evaluation process can be designed to address the performance of the board as a whole, the chair, individual directors, board committees and other governance support staff. Such reviews are widely recommended in various governance standards, by contemporary writers on corporate governance and by leading practitioner organisations, such as the Australian Institute of Company Directors. There is a wide range of considerations in undertaking these evaluations. For example, what aspects of the board activities should be reviewed; how frequently should such evaluations take place; should they be conducted internally or by an external party; who should be evaluated; by whom; how does a board bring about change resulting from an evaluation and how does the organisation communicate the results? Geoff Kiel and Gavin Nicholson authored a widely-used book addressing these and other questions over a decade ago. Now joined by two colleagues, James Beck and Jennifer Tunny, who also have extensive experience in board evaluations, this revised text provides a practical guide to all the questions, issues and techniques involved in undertaking successful board and director evaluations. It contains numerous examples and tools. The book will be essential reading for all chairs, directors, company secretaries, chief executive officers and consultants in corporate governance.




The Handbook of Board Governance


Book Description

Build a more effective board with insight from the forefront of corporate governance The Handbook of Board Governance provides comprehensive, expert-led coverage of all aspects of corporate governance for public, nonprofit, and private boards. Written by collaboration among subject matter experts, this book combines academic rigor and practitioner experience to provide thorough guidance and deep insight. From diversity, effectiveness, and responsibilities, to compensation, succession planning, and financial literacy, the topics are at once broad-ranging and highly relevant to current and aspiring directors. The coverage applies to governance at public companies, private and small or medium companies, state-owned enterprises, family owned organizations, and more, to ensure complete and clear guidance on a diverse range of issues. An all-star contributor list including Ram Charan, Bob Monks, Nell Minow, and Mark Nadler, among others, gives you the insight of thought leaders in the areas relevant to your organization. A well-functioning board is essential to an organization’s achievement. Whether the goal is furthering a mission or dominating a market, the board’s composition, strategy, and practices are a determining factor in the organization’s ultimate success. This guide provides the information essential to building a board that works. Delve into the board’s strategic role in value creation Gain useful insight into compensation, risk, accountability, legal obligations Understand the many competencies required of an effective director Get up to speed on blind spots, trendspotting, and social media in the board room The board is responsible for a vast and varied collection of duties, but the singular mission is to push the organization forward. Poor organization, one-sided composition, inefficient practices, and ineffective oversight detract from that mission, but all can be avoided. The Handbook of Board Governance provides practical guidance and expert insight relevant to board members across the spectrum.




The Board Game Book


Book Description




Corporate Governance Matters


Book Description

Corporate Governance Matters gives corporate board members, officers, directors, and other stakeholders the full spectrum of knowledge they need to implement and sustain superior governance. Authored by two leading experts, this comprehensive reference thoroughly addresses every component of governance. The authors carefully synthesize current academic and professional research, summarizing what is known, what is unknown, and where the evidence remains inconclusive. Along the way, they illuminate many key topics overlooked in previous books on the subject. Coverage includes: International corporate governance. Compensation, equity ownership, incentives, and the labor market for CEOs. Optimal board structure, tradeoffs, and consequences. Governance, organizational strategy, business models, and risk management. Succession planning. Financial reporting and external audit. The market for corporate control. Roles of institutional and activist shareholders. Governance ratings. The authors offer models and frameworks demonstrating how the components of governance fit together, with concrete examples illustrating key points. Throughout, their balanced approach is focused strictly on two goals: to “get the story straight,” and to provide useful tools for making better, more informed decisions.




Building Better Boards


Book Description

Praise for Building Better Boards "Building Better Boards bridges the gap between talk and action. A must-read for board members, CEOs, governance experts - really for anyone who cares about the future of the corporation." Anne M. Mulcahy, chairman and CEO, Xerox Corporation "Building Better Boards covers all the key issues facing boards in the post-Sarbanes-Oxley era. It provides practical advice based on the authors' wide-ranging experience with major companies that have built successful boards." Marty Lipton, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen Roger W. Raber, president and CEO, National Association of Corporate Directors "This book provides a comprehensive review and effective guide to making any board an effective team, and thus an asset, for their company." Richard H. Koppes of Counsel, Jones Day, and former general counsel, CalPERS "A balanced, insightful, thoughtful, and, above all, useful look at what can be done to create excellent boards." Edward E. Lawler III, director, Center for Effective Organizations, Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California "Improving board effectiveness is easier said than done. Building Better Boards lays out the how-tos in a clear and compelling way that is of practical value for directors and CEOs alike." Kenneth W. Freeman, former chairman and CEO, Quest Diagnostics Inc.




The Perfect Corporate Board: A Handbook for Mastering the Unique Challenges of Small-Cap Companies


Book Description

The first corporate governance book of its kind—written specifically for board members of smaller companies The Perfect Corporate Board covers the critical issues board members of smaller companies routinely face, helping them make better decisions for organizational success. It provides objective, practical advice on such critical issues as analyzing prospective financing, equity research, stock buy-backs, short selling, investment banking, and purchasing legal services. Adam Epstein is a corporate director and capital markets expert with extensive legal and operating experience. He is a member of the National Association of Corporate Directors, and speaks and writes regularly in national forums with respect to corporate governance.




Perspective


Book Description




Startup CEO


Book Description

A definitive book for any CEO—first time or otherwise—of a high-growth company While big company CEOs are usually groomed for the job for years, startup CEOs aren't—and they're often young and relatively inexperienced in business in general. Author Matt Blumberg, a technology and marketing entrepreneur, knows this all too well. Back in 1999, he started a company called Return Path, which later became the driving force behind the creation of his blog, OnlyOnce—because "you're only a first time CEO once." Now, more than a decade later, he's written Startup CEO. As the fifth book in the StartUp Revolution series, this reliable resource is based on Blumberg's experience as a startup CEO and covers a number of issues he's faced over the dozen years he's been a CEO. Offers valuable insights into how the CEO sets the overall vision and strategy of the company and communicates it to all stakeholders Discusses how to build a company's human capital by recruiting, hiring, and retaining the very best talent Examines how a CEO must align available resources with the company's strategy in order to ensure success Addresses what it takes to master the "How" of being a CEO—from leading an executive team to managing in any type of market Engaging and informative, this book is essential reading for any, and every, CEO.




HBR's 10 Must Reads on Boards


Book Description

Serving on a board is like having a second full-time job. Earning a seat on a board is a rite of passage for senior leaders. Serving on a board is an opportunity to share your skills and extend your reach beyond your own organization as you help select, appoint, and review the performance of an organization's senior leadership team, determine compensation and incentive plans, approve strategic decisions, and ensure the financial well-being of the organization in both the short- and long-term. But in today's increasingly complex business environment, serving on a board also means working to address detailed issues such as increasing diversity on the board itself and in the organization, ensuring a risk-mitigation plan that prepares the organization for everything from hackers to sexual predators, and navigating big-picture challenges such as the unprecedented pace of change and disruption--all while managing financials and shareholder expectations. If you read nothing else on boards, read these 10 articles by experts in the field. We've combed through hundreds of articles in the Harvard Business Review archive and selected the most important ones to help you address classic challenges such as increasing diversity, ensuring a culture that reflects company values, and providing strategic oversight while also addressing emerging issues such as shareholder activism, cybersecurity, and ever-shifting regulations. This book will inspire you to: Collaborate effectively with the other members of the board and executive team Anticipate and address legislation and regulation issues Adopt a company-centered model that prioritizes the health of the enterprise over fattening shareholders' wallets Rethink your role and attitude toward risk Support leadership transitions Foster creative abrasion to keep ideas flowing Manage and build relationships with the executive team--and your shareholders HBR's 10 Must Reads paperback series is the definitive collection of books for new and experienced leaders alike. Leaders looking for the inspiration that big ideas provide, both to accelerate their own growth and that of their companies, should look no further. HBR's 10 Must Reads series focuses on the core topics that every ambitious manager needs to know: leadership, strategy, change, managing people, and managing yourself. Harvard Business Review has sorted through hundreds of articles and selected only the most essential reading on each topic. Each title includes timeless advice that will be relevant regardless of an ever‐changing business environment.




Institutional Review Board


Book Description

This comprehensive reference covers three separate areas related to IRBs: administration, daily management; and ethical issues. This instructional manual provides IRB members and administrators with the information they need to run an efficient and effective system of protecting human research subjects, while remaining in compliance with federal research regulations. The text includes case studies, sample forms, and sample policy documents. The updated Second Edition includes seven new chapters: IRB Closure of Study Files, Internet Research, Research in Public Schools, Phase I Clinical Trials in Healthy Volunteers, Vulnerability in Research, Balancing the Risks and Potential Benefits,and HIPAA.