Boardcraft - Peter Crow | Helping boards govern with impact

Published on: 2 May 2026

Mundane May: underway

Mundane May, a project I decided upon a few weeks ago, is underway. The idea is simple: Take a photograph of an object or scene every day in May—nothing special or flashy—post them with an open mind and see what happens.

Will I become more observant?
Will I become more patient?
Will it help me become a better advisor, husband, or member of society?
And, will anyone even notice?

I do not know, but let's see what captures my attention over the month, and go from there.

Each Saturday after today, I'll drop seven pictures.

May 1: onset of Autumn

May 2: life in <64 litres

Published on: 21 April 2026

On boardcraft

(Aug 31, 2026. Link to new essay added. Boardcraft: The essence of high-performing boards)

In recent months, there has been a rising level of interest in Boardcraft, a new philosophy of board work. Word is getting it seems, so a précis is probably timely.

Curious? Grab a coffee and read on…

Boardcraft is a term I coined: a governance-focused initiative to help boards operate well in practice—not just describe on paper what they are supposed to do. At its core, Boardcraft is about treating board work (i.e., corporate governance) as a practical craft to help boards more from a compliance mindset to a performance mindset. This is a philosophical shift, not just an operational adjustment.

Why is this important? Many boards comply with prevailing statutes and governance codes, but they, or the companies they govern, still perform poorly. The underlying problem is a barrier lying in plain sight: one cannot comply their way to a great outcome.

Boardcraft offers a pathway forward for boards wanting to break the mould—to govern with impact.

The big shift is this: Effective governance is not a product of structures, policies, or independence per se; it emerges from the quality of thinking, interaction, and decision-making in the boardroom. What is more, Boardcraft is not something I dreamt up at a whiteboard or while driving my old car: it is the product of ground-breaking research conducted a decade ago. In essence, it helps boards understand:

The capabilities, activities and behaviours necessary if boards are to exert influence beyond the boardroom, especially on organisational performance
How to make high-quality decisions together
How to handle conflict and disagreement
How chairs can lead effective discussions
The board's role in shaping strategy, not just approving management's proposals

Ultimately, Boardcraft is more than a mindset—it is a philosophy, to help boards improve their judgement, oversight, steerage and guidance; work as a functional group and make great decisions (think: positive board dynamics); and, ultimately, drive high levels of organisational performance and outcomes. In effect, to embrace Boardcraft is to strive to govern with impact.

Boards and directors interest to learn about Boardcraft, the Strategic Governance Framework (the underlying foundation), and how to embrace Boardcraft in practice have several options:

Curated workshops and board development sessions (half-, full- and two-day options)
Private briefings, coaching and mentoring, for chairs and/or whole boards
Governance diagnostics (assess current board function and performance)
Real-world case studies, rather than textbook or theoretical models
Private advisory assistance

If you want to learn more, check my latest essay (link updated Aug 2026). If you have questions or want to explore this further, please get in touch. I am available globally.

PS: The headline picture is not of a photo of me; it is an AI-generated image. Pretty good eh?

Published on: 27 January 2023

Ramping up, for the year ahead

And with little more than a blink, January 2023 is, nearly, done. January is, for me, a time to relax, reflect on the year past, spend time with family and friends, read and get ready for what lies ahead.

In the last ten days, things have started to ramp up again: international calls, my first board meeting for the year, and local enquiries—all indicators that minds are turning to board work and the pursuit of sustainable performance once more. Soon, I shall be travelling again too, in response to requests to discuss corporate governance, board work, and the role of the board in realising organisational potential.

After a good break, I not only feel ready for what lies ahead, but excited at the opportunity to help boards and directors, academics and regulators grapple with some complex issues. The first three trips for the year are scheduled, as below—and planning is already underway for several more in the months to come.

While events and engagements are being loaded into the diary daily, some gaps remain, mainly in Singapore and England. So, if you want to take advantage of me being in your neighbourhood, best to get in touch soon! If you want to talk or meet, but the timing doesn't suit, let me know anyway—there will be opportunities later in the year.

Dates	Location
6–9 February	Melbourne and Sydney, Australia
12–15 February	Singapore, Singapore
13–25 March	England, Scotland, Romania, Switzerland, Czechia

Published on: 4 March 2021

Where are we headed, and are we making progress?

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to travel in a plane without any knowledge of where you might be headed? While this prospect may excite some, the idea of flying without a destination or purpose in mind beggars belief for most people.

Successful air travel is predicated on knowing the destination; a precursor to the pilot creating a flight plan to make the journey and arrive safely. Air travel is, generally, safe and straightforward when this principle is applied. But things can go wrong, and if they do, pilots must be ready to respond well. For that, years of training and accumulated experience are vital. And vigilance too: continuously reading onboard and external signals to verify progress, and to spot and respond to any emerging problems.

Successful governance is directly analogous. Knowledge of the destination and how to get there (purpose and strategy) is vital, as is constant monitoring of both the general direction (to verify progress is being made towards the desired goal) and the current situation (to detect any emerging problems).

Boards are, in general, reasonably good at reading and understanding the current situation. But they are not nearly as good when it comes to general direction. Knowledge and agreement around the ultimate goal, how to get there and how progress might be measured remains problematic. If directors and boards lack clarity on these matters, their ability to govern well and ensure the performance of the company into the future is lost. The consequential risks are high. Chances are, the board and the company will be knocked around—moving but not making progress, just like a cork in a washing machine.

Does your board have this in hand?

Published on: 16 November 2019

Leading from the boardroom: a collective imperative

Leadership is topical in most spheres of human endeavour; companies are no exception. To encourage others to achieve great things is the stuff of effective leaders. The most successful are widely-lauded. But leadership can take many forms, of course. Cast your eye over the last 100 years or so and you'll discern leadership in action in different ways. The era of the titan (Rockerfeller, Carnegie and Morgan being notable examples) saw leaders exert control over companies powerfully. The emergence of the management class in the inter-war years saw the emphasis change, the efficient operation of companies came to the fore. Since the turn of the century and the entry of corporate governance into the business lexicon, leadership has taken another form: the oversight of companies from the boardroom.

Often, perhaps typically, leadership is understood to be an individual endeavour; a person exerting influence. But leadership has a collective dimension too—the board of directors is an instructive case. While individuals (directors, trustees) contribute to board discussion and process, it is the board (not directors) that decides. Leadership in this context is, exclusively, collective.

Collective leadership requires a different approach. Directors need to work together to reach consensus for a start. This article has some more great tips that boards may wish to consider as they seek to lead effectively:

Good leaders focus more on character than ability. Where does your board recruitment practice put its energy?
Effective leaders are open to learning from others. When did your board last undertake a professional development session, together?
Effective leaders are marked out by a spirit of appreciation and thankfulness. Does your executive team know that you appreciate their work and the results they achieve? What about staff, clients and other stakeholders?
Effective leaders are self-aware. Does your board assess this, or is hubris a problem?
Effective leaders choose to get on the solution side very quickly. To dwell on problem definition and compliance is to vote for stasis not progress.

How does your board measure up? More pointedly, does your board even know the effect of its decisions? Nearly thirty years ago, the challenge of explaining board influence over company performance was famously described by Sir Adrian Cadbury, a doyen of corporate governance, as being "a most difficult of question". Thankfully, some progress has been made in recent years, as researchers have entered the boardroom to conduct long-term observational studies of boards in session, and leaders such as Charles Hewlett have shared insights from their experience. While robust explanations remain elusive, one thing is now clear: neither the structure nor composition of the board is a direct predictor of its effectiveness, let alone company performance. If boards are to contribute effectively in the future, they need think, act and behave differently.

Published on: 23 November 2012

Governance in sport: the same or different?

What role should governance (especially Boards) play in sport? Should sporting codes be governed any differently than commercial businesses or not-for-profit agencies?

These questions are raised from time-to-time—often by the media and commentators, and especially when a team or code is not doing so well. Yet another case was reported today, this time concerning New Zealand Cricket. Dion Nash is reported as saying "the board is failing in its duty to lead the game in the right direction." Such criticisms are not new. The challenge is in finding and implementing the remedy.

The moving parts that make up a sporting code are familiar—a board, administration, management, players (called workers, employees, volunteers in other contexts), spectators (customers, consumers). In my view, sporting codes are just another form of organisation, albeit with goals specific to their context. Therefore, they should embrace [sound] organisational constructs and practices, including governance.

Dion Nash's call for the NZC Board to take control of the sport's destiny (and ultimately the Black Caps' performance) via sound top-level planning (strategy) has much merit. The development of strategy is now widely accepted in academic circles to be a major task of the Board. To do this effectively, Boards need to be comprised of people who understand the market and emerging trends, and understand and participate in the development of strategy. In NZC's case, that means appointing suitably knowledgeable and competent people to the Board, and soliciting well-structured contributions from various specialists.

The time to act is now. But will the NZC Board be so bold as to make the necessary governance adjustments—for the good of the game?

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