How Boards Work
Book Review — How Boards Work — Dambisa Moyo
The typical perception of boards and board meetings is of a group of privileged individuals who lounge at exotic locations and golf courses and only occasionally discuss the company’s strategic direction while enjoying extravagant treats.
But this book is an eye-opener !!!
It highlights and gives a critical context to the difficulties faced by corporate boards and the ever-changing winds of change a board must navigate and maneuver through while facing these challenges.
Below are some of the topics covered in the book -
- Globalization and protectionism, including the always-prevalent risk of confiscation of company assets.
- The importance of diversity on the board.
- Regional, political and legal considerations that may augur the need of local boards in the future.
- Responsibility to society and the environment.
- The impact of high-frequency trading on stocks and the possibility of a share-price collapse.
- Threats from activist shareholders.
- The CEO’s role and the heated debate surrounding their pay.
- Technology-based threats such as security and data breaches.
- Role of Innovation in the company strategy.
This list is by no means exhaustive.
However, if you believe in the idea that;
“It is a truth universally acknowledged that anyone seeking a successful and fulfilling career must strive to become a member of a well-functioning board of directors”,
then this book provides an insight into the demands a board faces and a crucial understanding of the complex skills required to get that coveted seat on a board.
It almost makes one wonder, “Hmmm, do they still find time to indulge in bonbons?”
Ref :
Pride and Prejudice — Jane Austen
First line of the book — “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”
Originally published at https://vidyabhandary.github.io on February 12, 2023.
