
High Performance Boards
Improving and Energizing your Governance
Didier Cossin(Author)
Wiley (Publisher)
1st Edition
Published on 30. April 2020
Book
Hardback
232 pages
978-1-119-61565-1 (ISBN)
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Description
A comprehensive guide to transforming boards and achieving best-practice governance in any organisation.
When practising good governance, the board is the vital driver of organizational success, while fostering positive social impact and economic value creation. At all levels, executives around the world are faced with complexities rising from disruptive business models, new technologies, socio-economic changes, shifting political circumstances, and an array of other sources. High Performance Boards is the comprehensive manual for attaining best-in-class governance, offering pragmatic guidance on improving board quality, accountability, and performance.
This authoritative volume identifies the four dimensions, or pillars, which are crucial for establishing and maintaining best-practice boards: the people involved, the information architecture, the structures and processes, and the group dynamics and culture of governance. This methodology can be applied to any board in the world, corporate or non-profit organization, regardless of size, sector, industry, or context. Readers are introduced to a fictitious senior board member - an amalgamation of board members from well-known organisations - and follow her as she successfully handles real-life challenges with effective governance. Drawn from the author's 20 years of practice and confidential work with boards across the world, this book:
* Demonstrates how high-performance boards innovate and refine their practices
* Discusses examples of board failures and challenges, including case studies from both for-profit and non-profit organisations including international organizations and state-owned agencies or even ministries
* Provides a proven framework to create best-in-class governance
* Includes a companion website featuring tools for board assessment and board practice
High Performance Boards has inspired more than 3000 board members around the world. This book is essential reading for professionals and managers interested in governance and board members, senior managers, investors, lawyers, and students of governance.
When practising good governance, the board is the vital driver of organizational success, while fostering positive social impact and economic value creation. At all levels, executives around the world are faced with complexities rising from disruptive business models, new technologies, socio-economic changes, shifting political circumstances, and an array of other sources. High Performance Boards is the comprehensive manual for attaining best-in-class governance, offering pragmatic guidance on improving board quality, accountability, and performance.
This authoritative volume identifies the four dimensions, or pillars, which are crucial for establishing and maintaining best-practice boards: the people involved, the information architecture, the structures and processes, and the group dynamics and culture of governance. This methodology can be applied to any board in the world, corporate or non-profit organization, regardless of size, sector, industry, or context. Readers are introduced to a fictitious senior board member - an amalgamation of board members from well-known organisations - and follow her as she successfully handles real-life challenges with effective governance. Drawn from the author's 20 years of practice and confidential work with boards across the world, this book:
* Demonstrates how high-performance boards innovate and refine their practices
* Discusses examples of board failures and challenges, including case studies from both for-profit and non-profit organisations including international organizations and state-owned agencies or even ministries
* Provides a proven framework to create best-in-class governance
* Includes a companion website featuring tools for board assessment and board practice
High Performance Boards has inspired more than 3000 board members around the world. This book is essential reading for professionals and managers interested in governance and board members, senior managers, investors, lawyers, and students of governance.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 160 mm
Width: 99 mm
Thickness: 23 mm
Weight
614 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-119-61565-1 (9781119615651)
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
New editions

Book
08/2024
2nd Edition
Wiley
€46.00
Available immediately
Additional editions

E-Book
04/2020
1st Edition
Wiley
€27.99
Available for download

E-Book
04/2020
1st Edition
Polity Press
€27.99
Available for download
Person
DIDIER COSSIN is a professor at IMD, Switzerland and the founder and director of the IMD Global Board Center. He is the originator of the Four Pillars of Board Effectiveness methodology and an advocate of stewardship. He is the author and co-author of books such as Inspiring Stewardship, book chapters (such as Governance Risk: A Guide for Investors) and many articles in the fields of governance, investments, risks and stewardship, several of which have obtained citations of excellence or other awards.
Didier works with asset owners, government officials, central bankers, boards and senior leaders to provide the latest thinking on best- in-class governance, board effectiveness, the governance of investments, board dynamics and strategy design. He favors an adaptive and interactive approach to finding distinctive solutions for organisations on a wide range of governance topics. His latest research focuses on stewardship, how we can foster organisations to have long-term positive social impact while creating economic value for all. His past research has dealt with optimising governance in critical decision-making situations (large investments, key personnel changes, M&As, strategic turnarounds and organisational threats). Didier also supports some leading non-profit organisations at fine-tuning their governance for impact.
Didier works with asset owners, government officials, central bankers, boards and senior leaders to provide the latest thinking on best- in-class governance, board effectiveness, the governance of investments, board dynamics and strategy design. He favors an adaptive and interactive approach to finding distinctive solutions for organisations on a wide range of governance topics. His latest research focuses on stewardship, how we can foster organisations to have long-term positive social impact while creating economic value for all. His past research has dealt with optimising governance in critical decision-making situations (large investments, key personnel changes, M&As, strategic turnarounds and organisational threats). Didier also supports some leading non-profit organisations at fine-tuning their governance for impact.
Content
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Introduction
Part I: The Four Pillars of Board Effectiveness
Joanne Marker and Board Service
Chapter 1 - The Four Pillars of Board Effectiveness
Chapter 2 - Governance Challenges around the World
Chapter 3 - The Successful Director: Values and Character
Chapter 4 -The First Pillar: People Quality, Focus and Dedication
Chapter 5 - The Second Pillar: Information Architecture
Chapter 6 - Board Structures and Processes
Chapter 7 - Group Dynamics and Board Culture
Part II: Board Failures & Challenges
Chapter 8 - Four Areas of Board Failure
Chapter 9 - Risks and Ensuring the Right Board Risk Philosophy
Chapter 10 - A Board Member's Practical Guide to Risk Thinking
Chapter 11 - Elements of Advanced Risk Techniques for Board Members
Chapter 12- Crisis management
Chapter 13 - The Four Tiers of Conflicts of Interest
Chapter 14 - High-Level Fraud and Active Board Oversight
Part III - Board Best Practices
Chapter 15 - The Board as a Strategic Asset
Chapter 16 - A Primer on Finance Essentials for Directors
Joanne Marker and Board Values at Comfre
Chapter 17 - Board Leadership and Values
Chapter 18 - The Intricacies of Subsidiary/Holding Governance
Chapter 19 - Fostering Entrepreneurship from the Board
Chapter 20 - The Board's Oversight Framework for M&As
Joanne Marker confronts failing Board Culture
Chapter 21 - The Chair-CEO Relationship
Chapter 22 - The Board-management relationship
Chapter 23 - Effective diversity
Chapter 24 - The Talent Pipeline
Chapter 25 - Boards and Social Media
Chapter 26 - Boards and Investors
Chapter 27 - Managing stakeholders
Chapter 28 - Stewardship from the Board
Conclusion
Index
About the Author
Introduction
Part I: The Four Pillars of Board Effectiveness
Joanne Marker and Board Service
Chapter 1 - The Four Pillars of Board Effectiveness
Chapter 2 - Governance Challenges around the World
Chapter 3 - The Successful Director: Values and Character
Chapter 4 -The First Pillar: People Quality, Focus and Dedication
Chapter 5 - The Second Pillar: Information Architecture
Chapter 6 - Board Structures and Processes
Chapter 7 - Group Dynamics and Board Culture
Part II: Board Failures & Challenges
Chapter 8 - Four Areas of Board Failure
Chapter 9 - Risks and Ensuring the Right Board Risk Philosophy
Chapter 10 - A Board Member's Practical Guide to Risk Thinking
Chapter 11 - Elements of Advanced Risk Techniques for Board Members
Chapter 12- Crisis management
Chapter 13 - The Four Tiers of Conflicts of Interest
Chapter 14 - High-Level Fraud and Active Board Oversight
Part III - Board Best Practices
Chapter 15 - The Board as a Strategic Asset
Chapter 16 - A Primer on Finance Essentials for Directors
Joanne Marker and Board Values at Comfre
Chapter 17 - Board Leadership and Values
Chapter 18 - The Intricacies of Subsidiary/Holding Governance
Chapter 19 - Fostering Entrepreneurship from the Board
Chapter 20 - The Board's Oversight Framework for M&As
Joanne Marker confronts failing Board Culture
Chapter 21 - The Chair-CEO Relationship
Chapter 22 - The Board-management relationship
Chapter 23 - Effective diversity
Chapter 24 - The Talent Pipeline
Chapter 25 - Boards and Social Media
Chapter 26 - Boards and Investors
Chapter 27 - Managing stakeholders
Chapter 28 - Stewardship from the Board
Conclusion
Index