Boards That Deliver: Advancing Corporate Governance From Compliance to Competitive Advantage

by Ram Charan

Overview

Finally, a book that brings the vision of truly good governance down to earth. Ram Charan, expert in corporate governance and best-selling author, packs this book with useful tools and techniques to take boards and their companies to a higher level of performance. Charan puts his finger on a growing problem for boards: the disconnect between directors' efforts and their results. The added time and attention boards invest is not translating into better governance—that is, governance that adds value to the business.

Boards That Deliver gets beyond the rhetoric of corporate governance reform. It captures the tried-and-true practices used by high-performance boards. In contrast to experts who base prescriptions on number-crunching exercises, Charan identifies the real problems that drain directors' time and suppress their best judgments—and explains clearly and succinctly how boards can solve those problems. These battle-tested solutions help boards achieve what rules and regulations alone cannot—to get succession right, refine a winning strategy, and design a rational CEO compensation package.

Good governance requires leadership. Boards That Deliver is the no-nonsense guide for directors and CEOs who are rising to the leadership challenge to make their boards a competitive advantage.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781118046616
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	03/31/2011
Series:	Jossey-Bass Leadership Series , #20
Sold by:	JOHN WILEY & SONS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	224
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

The Author
RAM CHARAN is the go-to adviser for corporate directors and CEOs. Highly sought for his unique insights and practical wisdom, Charan has counseled some of the world’s most successful and prominent business leaders at companies including General Electric, DuPont, Verizon, and EMC. His expertise in corporate governance stems from first-hand experiences helping boards with strategy sessions, successions, self-evaluations, and CEO compensation. Charan is co-host of the Fortune Boardroom Forums, has served on the NACD’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Corporate Governance, and is director of the Six Sigma Academy and of Austin Industries in Dallas. He is the coauthor of two best-sellers—Execution and Confronting Reality—and has been published by Fortune and Harvard Business Review. Charan is the author of the 1998 book Boards at Work. He has an MBA with high distinction and a doctoral degree with boards of directors as a field of study from the Harvard Business School.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Advancing the Practice of Corporate Governance.

Part One: Boards in Transition.

1. The Three Phases of a Board’s Evolution.

2. What Makes a Board Progressive.

Part Two: The Three Building Blocks of Progressive Boards.

3. Group Dynamics.

4. Information Architecture.

5. Focus on Substantive Issues.

Part Three: Contributions That Count.

6. The Right CEO and Succession.

7. CEO Compensation.

8. The Right Strategy.

9. The Leadership Gene Pool.

10. Monitoring Health, Performance, and Risk.

Part Four: Maintaining Momentum.

11. Board Operations.

12. Working with Investors.

Conclusion: Leveraging the Board for Competitive Advantage.

Appendix A: Sample Strategy Blueprint.

Appendix B: The Research Agenda.

Acknowledgments.

About the Author.

Index.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Boards today are striving to improve in a very dynamic environment. Based on years of hands on experience and building on the breakthrough ideas of Boards at Work, Charan provides practical, actionable ideas to move boards to a higher level of performance—to make a step change improvement in the quality of their governance. It's a must read for new and experienced directors alike."
—John A. Krol, lead director, Tyco; director, MeadWestvaco and Ace Insurance; former CEO and chairman, Dupont; and NACD Director of the Year in 1998

"By detailing the evolution of board dynamics in the post-Sabanes-Oxley environment and providing insight into new best practices, Ram Charan has developed a comprehensive guide to creating and maintaining a next-generation board. These pages will help every executive stay ahead of the curve—with winning strategies for prospective board members, as well as for executives trying to develop their boards and management teams."
—Ivan Seidenberg, chairman and CEO, Verizon

"For boards, this is it—the guide every director needs, from the world authority on how real boards work today."
—Geoffrey Colvin, senior editor at large, Fortune magazine; co-host, Fortune Boardroom Forum; and co-anchor, Wall Street Week with Fortune

"This excellent book will help countless managers and directors. A practical masterpiece!"
—Richard H. Brown, director, Home Depot and DuPont

"I offer high praise for Boards That Deliver, the latest creation from the fertile mind of Ram Charan! Timely, relevant, and succinct—this could be Charan’s best work to date."
—William T. Solomon, chairman of the board, Austin Industries