Having spent over 40 years holding at least one, and often dozens, of Board roles, I have come to recognise age-old truths of corporate governance, many shortcomings, higher and key issues, and the hard, cold truth of what constitutes a great Board of Directors.
As many wise, successful and respected business leaders have cited, “It’s all about people” and “The best team wins”. (Two pearls of Jack Welch.)
GLOBAL CALL OF BETTER CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
Given the global pressure of Corporate Governance to evolve, there has never been a more pressing time for Boards to embrace evolution of Purpose, Mission, Vision, Identity and Values statements, to provide clarity of understanding, structural communication, and organisational consistency that forms a sturdy foundation for management and operations, often described as “killer corporate culture”.
SOME LEADERS ARE LUCKY
Fearful, unfamiliar, or intimidated directors might ignore, avoid, or deny the need to exacting commitment to strong corporate governance disciplines. Excuses that might be over emphasised attached to past successes, without consideration to having been “in the right place, at the right time” circumstances.
Too many directors frequently under-value core importance in “marketing”… if fact it is frightening to observe how frequently Directors display an absence of the true meaning of the word, Marketing. Many perceive it to simply mean advertising and/or promotion instead of the complete and holistic management of exchange, incorporating the 8P’s of Marketing.
Incidentally, it is no surprise that an Australian study done over a three-year span between 2004 and 2007 found that there is a direct correlation between Directors with weaker understanding of Marketing and post IPO failure!
THE BEST BOARDS
The best boards are those who do not bring ego to the table: Participants on the best boards do not insist they know it all. Great directors do not demand operational improvement despite harsh market conditions… Most importantly, they do not resist change, they welcome it…
The best board yearns for, invests in and embraces change. It’s members listen far more than they speak. They draft powerful, concise, meaningful, emotive Mission, Vision, Purpose and value statements and support them fully.
That’s how they win!
