The level of interest in board effectiveness and good governance outcomes seems to be growing, or so it seems if the number of advisory, speaking and workshop enquiries that have arrived in recent weeks is any indication. Already, 2017 is shaping up to be busier than last year! My first trip to the UK and EU for 2017 is scheduled for mid-March. The programme is starting to take shape, as follows. Commitments include speaking engagements (topics: the board's role in value creation, emerging trends and findings from my latest research), workshops (board capability development), advisory meetings and a training course. EDIT (30 Jan): My diary is now nearly full—the only remaining opportunities to book a meeting are in London. If you want to meet, but not in March, or if you want to discuss the possibility of an engagement in the future, please register your interest. At this stage, it is my intention to return to the UK and EU in June and September.
0 Comments
Over the years, the boardroom diversity discourse has matured: from women on boards, to other forms of observable diversity, and now diversity of experience and thought. Diversity of thought is perhaps the zenith (but difficult to measure), because complex problems—the type that boards most frequently need to consider and resolve—need to be investigated from many different angles. Rarely does one (only) solution exist. More often, multiple responses are available. The challenge for an effective board is to elicit a full range of options, and analyse them carefully before making the best possible decision. Different perspectives are crucial if high quality decisions are to be produced. The boardroom diversity agenda is laudable because it shines the light on board performance. However, a darker perspective exists, as I discovered last week when the following comments were made in my hearing. A person was recounting to their colleague a recent experience as a candidate for a board appointment. He said that he'd been short-listed following a rather intensive initial interview and discovery process, and that things were looking good with an interview with the full board expected. But then the discussion took an unexpected turn: the storyteller related these comments from the appointment committee chair: You are a strong candidate, perhaps the best. Your skills and expertise, background and approach to team-based decision-making are great. However, we will not be taking you any further because we need to be seen to be meeting public expectations by advancing the diversity mix on the board. I hope you understand. I walked away, stunned. Is this an isolated case of reverse discrimination (I hope so), or some new form of 'normal', a modern-day stocking of Noah's Ark?
The New York Times has reported that Wells Fargo, a US large bank, is now struggling in the aftermath of the fake accounts scandal. It's hardly surprising really, especially given the questionable response from the board of directors. The drop in earnings and business performance that ensued and the subsequent erosion of trust among customers and in the marketplace has placed a heavy burden on the company, the board especially so. What can be learned from this now well-storied case? Firstly, no one is perfect. Mistakes happen and people sometimes commit fraud. Secondly, and importantly, recovery is possible but this depends on certain actions being taken. The challenge (or, more accurately, opportunity) for the person or group that has made a mistake or perpetrated a fraud is to apologise and make good, and to re-establish trust with key stakeholders (staff, customers, shareholders and the market) as quickly as possible. This can be tough because it means admitting failure and swallowing some pride. But these steps are necessary if recovery is to be complete. The exemplar that is often cited is the Johnson & Johnson Tylenol case. Usually, the recovery process involves making good with parties impacted by the event (showing remorse, apologising and making meaningful reparations), and changing behaviours, processes and, potentially, swapping out people to ensure the mistake or fraud is not repeated. The board of directors has a crucial role to play in the recovery process, because company culture is usually a significant contributing factor in any failure. Boards must accept that ultimate responsibility for culture—as with everything else—resides in the boardroom. The Wells Fargo board and management would be well-advised to check the J&J case carefully for insights; commission an independent review of the operating culture (starting in the boardroom); and, commit to taking appropriate actions to cut away all vestiges of the scandal. A public apology wouldn't go amiss either.
Entrepreneurs—that group of individuals who put their resources and, often, their reputation on the line, in pursuit of a big dream—are interesting people. Some are brash and larger than life; others are quieter and more considered. Despite variations in style and personality, one common thread that binds entrepreneurs is the importance of leveraging (often limited) resources to best advantage to maximise the chance of seeing their dream realised. One important and oft-overlooked resource is the board of directors. Some of the questions I've heard entrepreneurs ask include:
I will be in Brisbane Australia on Tue 7 February 2017 to help entrepreneurs and directors of entrepreneurial businesses explore these questions. The Brisbane branch of Entrepreneurs' Organisation, a global network of more than 10,000 business owners in 42 countries, has invited me to deliver a talk and to host a workshop for members. The title of the two sessions are as follows:
If you would like to know more, follow the link, or get in touch with the team at EO Brisbane Events.
The action of turning the calendar to welcome a new year generally sees commentators spring into print, creating lists of trends, predictions and recommendations for their field of interest. This year has been no exception, with many contributions in the areas of boards, board practice and corporate governance including by the CEO of Diligent Corporation, EY, KPMG, the Institute of Directors and Martin Lipton, amongst others. Some of the suggestions are specific to a jurisdiction or an operating context and some, when read together, are contradictory. How should boards and directors decide what is important and how their time should be allocated? Which commentaries are most relevant, and what issues do boards need to pay closest attention to? Rightly understood, the role of the board is to govern: to provide steerage and guidance to ensure desired company goals (purpose) are achieved (i.e., to practice corporate governance). The board needs to give its full attention to this demanding task, lest it become a cost centre—simply monitoring management—or, worse, subservient to management. The following suggestions provide a starting point for boards wishing to improve effectiveness in 2017: The pursuit of value (embrace a performance orientation): The board of directors carries the ultimate responsibility for business performance. This is understood in law, but what of practice? When surveyed or interviewed, many directors say that business performance is a high priority of the board. However, a quick review of how boards actually spend their time reveals a slightly different story: most boards seem to be more concerned with compliance, monitoring and control activities—the avoidance of corporate and reputational risk. If the board is to fulfil its responsibilities well, it needs to become a source of value creation (cf. value protection or risk avoidance). This means allocating sufficient time to the consideration of corporate purpose and strategy, and ensuring that all strategic decisions are taken, explicitly, in the context of the agreed purpose and strategy. (This is not to say that performance monitoring should be ignored. Rather, boards need to ask management to report actual performance against agreed strategy and strategic priorities, so that the board can determine whether desired outcomes are being achieved or not. If the CEO's report is written in this way, the board can take it as read, rather than waste time interrogating each section.) Understand and respond to the complex risk landscape: In recent years, many correspondents have encouraged boards and directors to become more savvy in specific risk areas. These have included climate change, cybersecurity and disruptive technologies, amongst others. While calls for specific expertise to be added to the board are not inappropriate per se, the more pressing challenge for boards in 2017 is to embrace an increasingly complex risk landscape holistically. Directors, collectively, need to be able to identify major risks to the business (i.e., the achievement of strategy and desired performance goals) on an on-going basis and, having understood them, make informed decisions to maximise the chance of achieving the agreed strategy and goals. This is not to ask directors to be experts on all emerging risks in a dynamic landscape. That is wasteful and, probably, futile. Boards need to stay focussed on the big picture—the determination and achievement of strategy. In so doing, boards should seek out experts (notice the plural) from outside the company (this is important, otherwise, the board risks being captured by management), to address the board directly and debate the likelihood and appropriate response options to emergent risks. This additional source of information should enhance both the board's consideration of strategic options and the quality of the strategic decisions that follow. Accountability: Many companies have suffered at the hands of sanguine and, sometimes, fraudulent managers and ineffective boards (because they are not sufficiently engaged or informed) in the past. Sadly, more examples emerged in 2016 to suggest that some boards continue to flout their responsibilities: Wynyard Group and Wells Fargo being two of them. It is little wonder that 2016 saw further rises in shareholder activism. At the core, the problem is social; one of behaviour and expectation. If boards are to contribute effectively, to minimise the chance of corporate failure, one or both of two accountabilities—the board holding management to account and the board providing an account to shareholders—must be addressed. Directors are appointed by shareholders, and boards are responsible for both ensuring the on-going performance of the company they are charged with governing and providing an account to shareholders. While a strategic mindset is crucial (the value creation imperative), the underlying attribute needs to be one of service: the board and management working harmoniously together, as a team in service of the company. These suggestions are offered for the consideration of boards seeking to make effective contributions in 2017 and beyond. While this short list is neither exhaustive nor intended to replace any other list, it may provide a useful basis for debate at a board meeting. The three suggestions—drawn from personal observations of boards in action, interactions with directors and readings—seek to establish an overall context to assist boards consider emerging trends and strategic opportunities, and so govern effectively in an increasingly complex world. If you would like to discuss the applicability of these suggestions to your situation, please get in touch.
One of the great joys of the holiday season is the opportunity it presents to let the mind wander, both to relax and recharge after a busy year, and to draw strength for the year ahead. Whether out walking, chatting with friends, completing personal projects or, more simply, sitting and reading, the time and space afforded by the lull in both business activity and the associated flow of correspondence is one to be savoured. Amongst the books and papers that I have read recently, the edited summary of a speech by Admiral James Stavridis at the National Defence University convocation in 2011 stood out. (Stavridis retired from the US Navy in 2013. He is now Dean of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.) Stavridis offered the class of 2012 three keys to successful leadership in the 21st-century: read, think, write. The straightforward though wide-ranging message contained some real gems, applicable to leaders from many walks of life, especially those involved in demanding and fluid environments. Here are a few of the standout comments: "The quintessential skill of an officer [leader] it to bring order out of chaos." "Reading is the rock upon which you will build the rest of your career." "We must think our way to success in incredibly complex scenarios." "After you read and think, I would argue you must write. Writing is essential in communicating what we have learned, as well as allowing others to challenge our views and thus make them stronger." "Diversity of capabilities, capacities, and responses to any challenge should be seen as a strength, not a weakness, but only if action and tools can be used synergistically." Stavridis said that collaboration, an innovative mindset and a preparedness to move quickly in response to emergent opportunities are crucial attributes if leaders are to meet and successfully overcome complex situations. The keys—of reading, thinking and writing—provide the foundation. However, a comprehensive approach is still needed: to bring together and synergise the talents of a variety of people from many different quarters, because no one person has all the insights let alone answers. The parallels between the military examples mentioned by Stavridis and the business context are striking. If military campaigns are to be successful, generals must understand complex and fluid situations, deal with emergent opportunities and challenges, and make decisions promptly. Similarly, company success is contingent in no small measure on the effectiveness of the board as a decision-making team. Despite the seemingly unending demands that press in, the most valuable asset in the director's arsenal remains: the gift of time. How will you use it to your advantage over the next twelve months?
|
SearchMusingsThoughts on corporate governance, strategy and boardcraft; our place in the world; and other topics that catch my attention. Categories
All
Archives
January 2025
|