INSIDE THE BOARDROOM : How Behaviour Trumps Rationality

by R. Gopalakrishnan, Tulsi Jayakumar

The largest private airline in India went bankrupt, as did the bank that could not say no to its borrowers who defaulted on huge loans. Could these disasters have been foreseen, if not averted? Would it have helped if the directors on the board had spoken up before the corporate failure?
Inside the Boardroom explores the downfall of these companies and many more in the light of directors’ behaviour and its impact on corporate governance. R. Gopalakrishnan and Tulsi Jayakumar believe that corporate success goes beyond having significant knowledge of accounting rules and governance regulations. They boldly assert that directors’ behaviour in the boardroom is less rational than may be widely believed! Being human, directors’ decisions are naturally subjective and prone to behavioural bias, especially when confronted with manifestations of power, passion and authority in the boardroom, or even a secret desire to be accepted by others. Hence, successful directors and boards need to be deep observers of human behaviour and boardroom dynamics because behavioural and cultural nuances are significant aspects in most incidents of mismanagement leading to governance failure.
Lucidly described with a plethora of real events and insightful instances, Inside the Boardroom showcases the authors’ experience with governance and boardroom behaviour. It brings to light misbehaviours in the boardroom, early warning signs of failing governance in companies and some magical mantras for CEOs and independent directors to prevent failures.

Kindle Edition

Published September 5, 2023

About the author

R. Gopalakrishnan has been a professional manager for forty years. He has a wealth of practical managerial experience, initially in Unilever and more recently in the Tata Group. He has lived and worked in India, the UK and Saudi Arabia, and has travelled extensively all over the world. He began his career in 1967 as a computer analyst with Hindustan Lever after studying physics at Kolkata and electronics engineering at IIT, Kharagpur. He worked in the marketing function before moving to general management. During his years with Unilever, he was based in Jeddah as CEO of the Arabia unit; later, he was managing director of Brooke Bond Lipton India and then vice-chairman with Hindustan Lever. He has been president of the All India Management Association. Currently, he is the executive director of Tata Sons based in Mumbai. He also serves on the boards of other companies.