CEO Priorities by Neil Giarratana

Author:Neil Giarratana
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Career Press
Published: 2011-01-27T16:00:00+00:00

WORKING WITH THE BOARD: YOU NEED THEM MORE THAN THEY NEED YOU

You are quite aware of the fact that perception, reality, and level of expectations affect the nature of the way your board/owners will view you and your performance. You also know that the board members, from disparate backgrounds and with relatively limited time, generally have a difficult time understanding some of the more complex issues relating to the business you are running.

They also happen to be human. They have information comfort zones, levels of expectations, likes, and dislikes. They get frustrated and can lose patience, or forget what they have read or been told because they only saw it once in a 100-plus page briefing book. They are worried about being blindsided because of the depth and breadth of a business that probably stretches around the world. They are worried about their liability and reputations. They are also worried about the fact that they haven’t direct and personal experience with many of the things they are being asked to consider and pass opinions on. Nonetheless, they have a stewardship function as it relates to the stakeholders of the company; they are your boss.

At issue here is your relationship with the board and how you should approach making it a successful and mutually beneficial one. You may have known some of the members of the board before you took on the position, which makes your current task a somewhat less formal one, but only because you and they have a personal relationship, which is not to be confused with the business relationship it has now become. Boards and their makeup and duties conform to the specific company situation and its current stage of development. Board meetings are conducted differently depending upon whether the board has strategic oversight of an early stage start-up, or oversees a Fortune 500 company. No matter the size or the individual situation of the company, the essential duties and responsibilities are the same.

So what are the things you should be concentrating on or doing when you think “board?” The essence of your relationship with the board can be summarized in several key questions:• Does the board understand what you and the company are doing as well as planning to do?

• Does it consider the growth strategy or strategies (business plans and business model) behind these activities to be appropriate and financially sound?

• Does it consider that all recognizable and identifiable risks are being appropriately managed or held in check?

• Does it believe that the management team in place is entirely capable of executing its plans and, at the same time, minimizing the risks involved?

• Does it believe that the business of the company is being conducted in a forthright and correct fashion and that practice of integrity in the company’s operations is the measure of all things?

• Does it believe that you are the right person for the job you hold?

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