Corporate Concinnity in the Boardroom: 10 Imperatives to Drive High-Performing Companies, by Nancy Falls, Greenleaf Book Group Press 2015
concinnity noun - The skillful and harmonious arrangement or fitting together of the different parts of something (first known use: 1531) - Oxford English Dictionary
As Carly Fiorina knows, a Board of Directors can be a blessing and a decision-making curse. Whether the fault lines lie over strategic differences or cost concerns or competitive pressures, the dynamics of a corporate board - profit or non-profit - are complex but workable. Nancy Falls offers ten tough imperatives in her Framework, a new structure for corporate governance. The Corporate Concinnity Framework covers:
1. Draw a Line in the Sand: Clarify roles and responsibilities of the CEO, other executives, and the board
2. Don't Go Overboard: Get the correct people around the table doing the right things
3. Assemble at the Same Starting Blocks: Be deliberate about consensus, identify the starting position, the direction that will be taken, and what it takes to get there
4. Mind the Stakeholder Gap: Tend carefully to the interested of multiple diverse stakeholders.
5. Manage Your Information Appetite: Determine exactly what information is needed from management to do the best job int he boardroom.
6. Be Prepared: Culture an Change Readiness: Be clear on the responsibility for culture and the board's role, with the CEO, in managing culture and change
7. Don't Leave Compensation to the Experts: Get CEO and C-suite compensation right
8. Bench Your Inner Coach: Understand the CEO and C-suite's need for a coach and the very different role that a board member plays
9. Off-Board Well: Appreciate the inevitability of CEO, C-suite, and boardroom turnover and work hard to not make it ugly
10. Cultivate Wisdom: Work continuously to think vs do, reflect vs react, and be compassionate vs. insensitive or uncaring.
The author's corporate board experience shines through in her war stories and suggestions about a better way. Many troubled companies, she advises, could turn their situations around were they to understand and realize the need for a high-level coach. As a consultative review of how to turn around what to management may seem to be the unmanageable, this book offers insights into what leadership must do in this very powerful and influential area.
Note to the publisher: Graphics describing the 10 imperatives are faint and hard to read.