Boards That Excel: Candid Insights and Practical Advice for Directors

by B. Joseph White

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.

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, Audiobook

392 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

B. Joseph White is president emeritus of the University of Illinois and James F. Towey Professor of Business and Leadership at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is dean emeritus of the Stephen M. Ross School of Business and professor emeritus of business administration at the University of Michigan, where he also served as interim president, and Wilbur K. Pierpont Collegiate Professor of Leadership in Management Education. He is the author of The Nature of Leadership and Boards That Excel. Boards That Excel was named Governance Book of the Year for 2014 by Directors and Boards.

Reviews

[Noel Bowman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helping leadership set up a board for a family owned company. This was a great start for my thinking process into this world.

[Ted Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very helpful in certain chapters, tedious in others.