HBR’s 10 Must Reads on Boards

by Harvard Business Review

Keep shareholders happy and manage for the long term. Earning a board seat is a rite of passage. But directors must juggle many responsibilities, from steering company strategy, managing risk, and appointing leaders to setting the right incentives, meeting shareholder expectations, and dealing with activist investors. How do you balance it all? If you read nothing else on boards, read these 10 articles by experts in the field. We've combed through hundreds of articles in the Harvard Business Review archive and selected the most important ones to help you set your board up for success. This book will inspire you to:

Genres: Business, Management, Audiobook, Nonfiction, Business Leadership

ebook

First published July 7, 2020

Reviews

[Ghasem Safaeinejad · Rating 5 out of 5]

یکی از بهترین مجموعه‌هایی است که دربارهٔ هیئت‌مدیره، حاکمیت شرکتی و نقش واقعی مدیران غیرموظف خوانده‌ام. این کتاب فقط یک گردآوری ساده از مقالات نیست؛ یک «کلاس فشردهٔ حاکمیت شرکتی» است که از چند زاویهٔ مکمل —استراتژی، ریسک، فرهنگ، جانشین‌پروری و نوآوری— به هیئت‌مدیره نگاه می‌کند.

نکتهٔ مهم این است که کتاب از نظریه‌های انتزاعی فاصله دارد و بر تجربهٔ واقعی شرکت‌ها و هیئت‌مدیره‌های بزرگ تکیه می‌کند.
کتاب نشان می‌دهد که هیئت‌مدیرهٔ مؤثر فقط ناظر نیست و شریک فکری مدیرعامل است. نه باید وارد جزئیات اجرایی شود، نه باید نقش تشریفاتی داشته باشد. این تعادل، همان چیزی است که بسیاری از سازمان‌ها از آن محروم‌اند.

[David Maywald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Published in 2020 by Harvard Business School. This is a collection of important articles from HBR, supported by a small amount of contextual resources. Mostly from the 2010s, but some of them are 20-25 years old.

The focus is largely on publicly listed companies in the United States (and the issues are of most relevance to for-profit boards). But there's plenty of material that transcends geography, time, and sector.

This collection includes insightful analysis (and evidence) that was well ahead of it’s time, often by several years. In particular relating to stakeholders, sustainability, succession, incentives, risk management, activist investors, and board effectiveness.

The range of articles will satisfy many readers with an interest in business, investing, management, and governance.

The choice of varied articles leaves this book feeling a bit disjointed, and there are significant gaps (inevitable when 220 pages attempt to cover such a wide field). I'd see this book as a quick start entry ramp, or a refresher, to a new course of study or a period of personal/professional development. It's not a complete reference, and doesn't hold itself out as such.

I’d recommend this for generalists who are looking for intermediate and accessible material, plus for those people who are looking for a concise review of governance publications over the last decade (keeping in mind the focus on US listed companies).

[Greg · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great selection of Harvard Business Review articles on corporate boards. Boards play a pivotal role in steering corporations towards directions which could ultimately impact the economic, social, environmental, and even political lives.

The articles provide useful pieces of advice on determining the right kind of corporate governance depending on situation, how to navigate the nuances of executive compensation, how to effectively select the right CEO, and many more.

This is truly a must read if you wanted to get great insights on corporate boards.

[Robin Jose · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great selection of HBRs articles on corporate boards.

Subjects are diverse, such as:

- from how boards should work differently from the executive team
- how boards are different for a non-profit organization
- how boards can find the right CEO

Short, crisp, and extremely useful if you are interested in learning more on the topic.

[Spencer Brauchla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quality resource for those like myself, who have very limited personal experience working with boards. Helpful to better understand common issues boards combat and options to address those issues.

Given my relative lack of experience, I would have benefited more from this HBR 10 issue with some basic background knowledge on the topic.

[Stefan Bruun · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not very practical. I doubt that many boards fail because the directors don’t want to make it work. The many models and articles take an overly academic approach to be applicable beyond a few good quotes here and there.

[David Maywald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Published in 2020 by Harvard Business School. This is a collection of important articles from HBR, supported by a small amount of contextual resources. Mostly from the 2010s, but some of them are 20-25 years old.

The focus is largely on publicly listed companies in the United States (and the issues are of most relevance to for-profit boards). But there's plenty of material that transcends geography, time, and sector.

This collection includes insightful analysis (and evidence) that was well ahead of it’s time, often by several years. In particular relating to stakeholders, sustainability, succession, incentives, risk management, activist investors, and board effectiveness.

The range of articles will satisfy many readers with an interest in business, investing, management, and governance.

The choice of varied articles leaves this book feeling a bit disjointed, and there are significant gaps (inevitable when 220 pages attempt to cover such a wide field). I'd see this book as a quick start entry ramp, or a refresher, to a new course of study or a period of personal/professional development. It's not a complete reference, and doesn't hold itself out as such.

I’d recommend this for generalists who are looking for intermediate and accessible material, plus for those people who are looking for a concise review of governance publications over the last decade (keeping in mind the focus on US listed companies).