The Boardspan staff reviews and selects the most informative articles from business news sources, including:
We categorize articles to make them easier for you to find.
Life in the boardroom has never been more challenging. Directors face an astonishing range of unsettling issues, from workplace harassment and cyber-attacks to sweeping policy changes, from responding to consumer boycotts to sharp-elbowed investor activism. As they work through the challenges, boards are giving more thought to their own changing roles in this new era of governance expectations. How can they stay ahead of the issues? What level ...read more...
Workplace harassment – it’s been going on too long and will no longer be tolerated. It’s hurtful, unethical, career limiting and expensive. And boards are where the buck stops. While no approach can be foolproof, a thoughtful proactive program can help a board and the organization it serves get ahead of this growing crisis and keep their heads high. It’s morally right, and a clear governance ...read more...
The spring of 2016 brought another round of reports on the pale state of the U.S. boardroom. It remains a whiter shade of pale, predominantly male. In its annual review of corporate board appointments, the executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles International Inc. labels the latest crop of Fortune 500 directors “the usual suspects,” noting “stalled progress for women appointees” and “generally flat ...read more...
Arguably, the single best way to ruin a CEO’s day is to report that an activist is on the phone and has just taken a position in the CEO’s company.
More and more CEOs are getting this call, as activist investing has exploded in recent years. We examined more than 400 activist engagements and found that the targets are getting larger and the industries more diverse. We also found that the ...read more...
Bringing a new C-level executive on board is always fraught with risk: Any misstep can be expensive and embarrassing. As a result, companies may play it safe by looking for someone with just the right CV or perhaps a recent stint at a high-flying competitor. Who does the board like? What will the analysts think?
The challenge has become even more daunting as an increasing number of companies use their culture as a point of differentiation ...read more...
Once you have recruited or re-structured your board of directors as part of the financing, make sure to establish a good working relationship with them.
BOARD MEETINGS WITH YOUR DIRECTORS
You must hold regular board meetings to discuss the business of your company. The following tips from Guy Kawasaki’s The Art of the Start and Reality Check can guide you as you cultivate your board, especially with respect to board meetings:
SAVE ...read more...
The past few years have provided numerous examples of the costs, both financial and reputational, that can accompany corporate mismanagement of an emergency or crisis situation. From product recalls to environmental disasters to conduct by senior executives that call their integrity into question, it is almost a given that every public company board has confronted or will have to confront an emergency or ...read more...
A Q&A with Abby Adlerman, CEO of Boardspan. Notably, 15 of Boardspan’s 20 most recent board placements are women. Q: What do you think of California’s SB826, the bill that would require the boards of directors of public companies domiciled in California to include at least one woman director b...
How to restore a Founder’s Mentality, including intolerance for bureaucracy Why do so many companies lose their way? When companies are just starting out, they have no problem identifying the path before them. The founders know where they’re headed, who their customers are and how they hope to...
Q&A With Deloitte’s Dan Konigsburg With recent high-profile incidents that have called for CEOs to step down, it’s evident that ongoing board oversight of culture and CEO succession planning must operate in tandem. Not having a well-thought-out succession plan that incorporates cultural fit is...
Given allegations of bad behavior by employees and leaders of a number of companies, board directors might be asking themselves how best to insure that corporate cultures are healthy. Of course the most direct way to find out is to ask. Many companies are reluctant to do so, concerned that con...
As experts in board recruiting, we often hear from senior executives who want to know: How can I get on a board? We get it! Board seats offer invaluable professional development plus the chance to share your expertise and to build new relationships—but most of us are unfamiliar with how to find b...
Anyone who has ever gone to the “investors” section of a company’s website knows that corporate governance is not the sexiest of topics. While it seems that almost every category of people and/or type of profession has become fair game for reality television, one of the last safe places may actua...
The regulatory landscape around these issues is changing, and company leaders need to know. Board members are at risk of being seen as negligent — and therefore potentially accountable — if they fail to pay adequate attention to environmental and human rights issues. In 2015, regulators exp...
Serving as a corporate board member, particularly for a public company, seems like an intimidating job. Good — it should seem intimidating, in a way that drives us to be better fiduciaries. But the role of corporate director is also a fairly simple one, if we remember what our essential job is — ...
Maintaining a workplace environment free of discrimination, sexual harassment and other misconduct is critical to both the short-term productivity and long-term health of a business. Reports of sexual harassment allegations at public corporations can have material negative effects on stock price...
Every board wants its CEO to thrive--and there’s one simple thing all boards can do to improve the odds: Offer FEEDBACK. It’s surprising how many boards expect top performance from their executives, but only give feedback when they have a specific disagreement or concern about performance metrics...
“To take notes or not to take notes—that is the question” often asked in corporate board rooms today. As a matter of good governance, it is important that the minutes serve as the single, clear, official record of each in-person or telephonic board and committee meeting. Board materials that are ...
Life in the boardroom has never been more challenging. Directors face an astonishing range of unsettling issues, from workplace harassment and cyber-attacks to sweeping policy changes, from responding to consumer boycotts to sharp-elbowed investor activism. As they work through the challenges, bo...