Lining up the right team to act in the best interests of the company

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It is not only the composition of the board that counts but, perhaps more importantly, how the board works

One of my go-to quotes whenever I am teaching directors and boards about their roles and responsibilities is this one by Charles Exley, a past chair of NCR Corporation, a company that has been around for more than 130 years: “

I then go on to ask what one of the most important words or phrases in this quote is. Most people respond with “doesn’t apply any more”, which is obviously a huge challenge when one has learnt a lot.ut I think the most important word in the quote is the word “most”. I believe this because in working with boards over the past decade I think the most important thing for them to discern is what things have changed and what things have not changed.

The distinct generations tend to be 15-20 years in length. Millennials are those people born between 1980 and 1994. That would make them 23-38 years old.Based on the Directors Sentiment Report carried out in 2018 by the SA Institute of Directors most directors in SA are over the age of 45 . Only 9% of directors are under 35. Most of these board members also tend to be, in the commonly used phrase, “pale and male”.

Don’t get me wrong — I am not against anyone of any particular profile or characteristics sitting on a board. What I am against is a mindless tick-the-box approach that dilutes or undermines the whole purpose of the board and its ability to lead and govern a company well. I also firmly believe that many of the challenges, hurdles, and in some cases downright failures, we have seen across a whole range of different companies stem from badly constructed and badly run boards.

 

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