Governance
Directors and the Rock Star CEO
This video features Bob Finocchio, veteran corporate director, discussing the Board's relationship with a CEO, the natural tensions, given the Board's oversight duty, and the need to challenge even the...
Are Ex CEOs the Best Investors?
Some entrepreneurs appreciate knowing their VC has walked miles in their shoes as CEOs, prior to becoming an investor. Others say the experience can be a negative, creating control issues or a lack of objectivity. ...
Board Meeting Improvement Tips
During board meetings, keep your head up when leading discussions, rather than down, allowing you to observe directors' reactions, drawing members out or moving the conversation along, as appropriate, advises this...
Should Failure Disqualify Directors?
Research shows company failure is a greater deterrent to future opportunities for CEOs than for board members. Should be a distinction?
How to Make Your Board Happy
A veteran investor offers 10 tips for CEOs interested in creating productive board relationships, including how and how often to communicate, definitions of executive and governance roles, and expectations-setting...
Is There a Beast in Your Boardroom?
This terrific FT article describes one director's strategy for successful board composition. Can you see value in having one board member unconcerned about his or her popularity, unafraid to ask the difficult...
How to Fire a CEO
Penny Herscher, CEO of FirstRain, blogs about several recent CEO terminations and lessons learned. (Implicit within these suggestions are ideas for what to expect and how to respond should you be on the receiving...
Doofuses on YOUR Board?
Recent embarrassments at Yahoo and HP have once again shined the spotlight on governance best practices. Do your board member evaluate one another and themselves annually?
Key to CEO Tenure: Tenure
A new study shows boards are more forgiving and monitor less closely CEOs who have been in the job for five years or more, compared with those whose tenure is shorter. Shocking, but true--and a cautionary tale for...
Steve Jobs and Planned Obsolescence
Apple watchers are divided over the implications of Jobs' transition. Some say it's the beginning of the end; others say Jobs has trained his successors and created a culture that will carry on long after his...
Before You Join a Board...
Ask the key questions posed here. If you are considering adding a board member, make certain you can answer them when you are asked!
CEO Succession--Voluntary and Otherwise
Harvard Law School just released a study of CEO succession over the last decade. Chock full of findings, the research points up at least one striking stat: 80% of CEO departures from 2006 to 2009 were dismissals vs....
McKinsey on Board Effectiveness
A recent McKinsey survey found only 1/4 of directors rate their board's performance as very good or better. Members feel ill-equipped and strapped for the time necessary to perform their duties. This report s...
The Board Made Me Do It
Did the CEO make the decision or cave in to board pressure? Brad Feld frames this all-too-common query and affirms the need for clear decision-making AND communication on the part of chief executives. Use your...
Your Board: Rocket Fuel or Rocks?
This post suggests methods for adding value as a director--and ways to avoid dragging down the board's productivity. Do YOUR board members generally adhere to these guidelines?
7 Myths of Corporate Governance
A new book by Stanford b-school profs debunks much of the accepted wisdom surrounding the impact of governance on corporate performance. For instance, board structure is not a proxy for board quality.
Why Board Meetings Suck
Serial entrepreneur and b-school prof Steve Blank analyzes the typical board meeting--and finds major structural shortcomings with the way most start-ups approach the process. Sound familiar?
Reinventing Start-Up Board Oversight
Steve Blank offers suggestions for ways to augment or adapt your board interactions. Would any of these approaches improve the flow of information or extract greater value from your directors?
When Cronyism Works
New research suggests long-serving CEOs often report to boards whose members they know well, which can lead to improved innovation and investor performance due to the trust they've...
Are YOU an Overconfident CEO?
New research finds that very bullish chief executives are more likely to offer voluntary earnings guidance and to fall short of the expectations they set. Identifying these 'overconfident' CEOs could have ...
