Boards That Excel Candid Insights and Practical Advice for Directors

This is a different kind of corporate governance book. With its vivid stories and conversational tone, Boards That Excel is like sitting down with an astute and experienced friend—one who’s passionate about what corporate and nonprofit boards can contribute to their organizations’ success when they set high aspirations, are clear on purpose, and do the right things in the right way. B. Joseph White, an experienced corporate and nonprofit director and a distinguished academic, argues that boards can enable organizations to do great things, but only when directors go well beyond their duty to oversee and monitor management.

White offers a road map for governance success based on his experience with two of America’s most successful companies, one public and one private. He knows governance research and distills it to a handful of truly useful insights for boards and directors. He provides clear guidance on the essential work boards must do, and, drawing on behavioral research, he describes how they can ensure the boardroom is a place of good information, thoughtful evaluation, and wise decision making.

The book reports on interviews with more than a dozen high-performance board chairs, CEOs, and directors, including Siebel Systems founder Tom Siebel, legendary real estate investor Sam Zell, former Harlem Globetrotters owner Mannie Jackson, GM board chairman and former Cummins chairman and CEO Tim Solso, and volunteer (University of Illinois, University of Michigan) and corporate (Hershey, Bob Evans) director Mary Kay Haben. All speak with unusual candor on what it takes for boards and directors to excel.

B. Joseph White chairs the corporate governance committee of the board of Equity Residential, an S&P 500 company. He helped design governance arrangements and is a director of Gordon Food Service, one of America’s thirty-five largest private companies. He is the James F. Towey Professor of Business and Leadership and president emeritus of the University of Illinois. He is also dean and professor emeritus at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. He has served on many nonprofit boards, including those of Georgetown University, Argonne National Laboratory, and the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.

Introduction: Pay It Forward--The Purpose of This Book
Chapter 1: High Aspirations and Strong Results--The Bookends of Great Governance
Chapter 2: Understand the Role--Stewardship Thinking
Chapter 3: Understand the Enterprise--What is a Company (School, Hospital...)?
Chapter 4: Do The Right Things--The Substance of Great Governance
Chapter 5: Do Things Right--The Process of Great Governance
Chapter 6: Embrace the Best of “Good Governance”--The Emerging Orthodoxy
Chapter 7: Other Voices--Interviews with Board Chairs, CEO’s and Experienced Directors
Chapter 8: Conclusion--The “Vital Few” for Boards and Directors
Notes
Acknowledgments
Index
About the Author