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

Chapter Five

Focus on Substantive Issues

Often, directors and CEOs feel stymied, sensing that they are not devoting enough time to the topics and issues that really matter. As one experienced director observed, “Most boards use up their meeting time on two things: one is listening to last quarter’s results, dissected in unnecessarily minute detail with very little focus on the future, and the other is watching the ‘dog and pony’ shows put on by operating people.” Too often, discussions of important matters such as strategy, succession, and external trends are squeezed in around the edges, leaving directors and CEOs dissatisfied and opportunities to contribute unfulfilled.

As boards take charge of how they work, they must also take charge of ...