Board Governance Quotes

Effective board governance hinges on the accuracy and reliability of financial reporting, instilling investor confidence.

Effective board governance hinges on fostering a culture of ethics and integrity throughout the organization.

Strategy is really the essence of the boards value proposition to the company. The ability to strategize well is the essence of what makes a board relevant.

Effective board governance hinges on adapting strategic direction based on changing market conditions and emerging opportunities.

Now, more than ever, the world needs transformational leaders not to cultivate change for its own sake, but to lead through the inevitable evolutions in business and human society.

A high-performing board of directors is the backbone of a successful company.

A board-established and led vision is a critical element of effective corporate governance. It provides direction, inspires stakeholders, and guides the company towards a successful future.

Shaping the company's future requires understanding the key drivers of value for the company and establishing metrics to measure progress accordingly.

There's no one-size-fits-all answer to defining business success, as different companies can and should prioritize various aspects of success.

Effective risk management and compliance are essential for protecting the company's assets and reputation.

As a board, you want to be able to identify exactly what the company is succeeding at and exactly what it's failing at so that you can amplify the successes and correct the failures with surgical precision.

In today's competitive business landscape, a board's primary responsibility is to ensure the long-term success and sustainability of the organization.

Critical to success in corporate governance is a vision that inspires and motivates employees at all levels.

Fortifying the company involves assessing the vulnerabilities of critical infrastructure and implementing safeguards.

To be successful, a Board of Directors must foster a culture of respect and appreciation.

As a board, you want to be able to identify exactly what the company is succeeding at and exactly what it's failing at so that you can amplify success and correct failure with surgical precision.

The boardroom is not merely a conference room; it's the bridge of a corporate vessel, guiding the company through the turbulent waters of the business world.

Shaping the company's future requires a board that regularly evaluates the company's performance against its value creation objectives.

By embracing a holistic approach to risk management and conducting regular risk assessments, board members can ensure that their company is prepared to face a wide range of challenges

Effective board meetings encourage active participation from all board members, fostering a culture of open communication and respectful debate.

I don’t care how great your products or services are, if the company’s finances aren’t managed well, it’s doomed to fail.

By harnessing the power of collective intelligence, boards of directors can make better decisions, drive innovation, and ensure the long-term success of their organizations.

Fortifying the company involves managing supply chain risks to ensure continuity of operations and avoid disruptions.

Fortifying the company involves incorporating risk management considerations into strategic planning and decision making processes.

Fortifying the company may involve diversifying suppliers and establishing contingency plans to mitigate supply chain disruptions.

You give me a water board, Dick Cheney and one hour, and I'll have him confess to the Sharon Tate murders." (Larry King Live, May 11, 2009)

Shaping the company's future requires a board that fosters a culture of innovation and agility to adapt to changing market conditions.

Fostering a thriving board is akin to orchestrating a symphony of aligned vision, shared success, and measurable progress.

Diversity should not be pursued solely for its own sake but as a strategic advantage. A diverse board brings a wealth of perspectives, experiences, and insights that can enhance decision-making, innovation, and problem-solving.

Clear and consistent reporting fosters transparency, both internally and externally. This promotes open communication among stakeholders and builds trust.

Effective board governance hinges on conducting rigorous CEO performance evaluations based on relevant criteria.

Financial acumen empowers boards to make informed decisions, identify potential risks, and ensure the company's long-term financial health.

While innovation is essential, it often comes with inherent risks.

Once risks are identified, they must be assessed in terms of their likelihood and potential impact. This allows the company to prioritize risks and allocate resources accordingly.

Corporate governance involves its fair share of immediate concerns, but prioritizing the well-being of the community fosters goodwill.

Ensuring the company's sustainable success requires building resilience into the business model to withstand external shocks.

Identifying key stakeholders is crucial for any company because it allows them to understand who is impacted by their decisions and how.

The business landscape is a constantly evolving ecosystem. Changes in the macro environment, such as technological disruptions or changing consumer preferences, can rapidly alter the competitive landscape. A high-performing board needs to be adept at strategic foresight.

The board's vision sets the standard for leadership throughout the company. By actively promoting and embodying the vision, board members hold management accountable for aligning their actions and strategies with the company's long-term aspirations.

A vision alone ain’t enough. To truly thrive, the board must also align on a concrete definition of success. This involves a meticulous process of identifying key performance indicators (KPIs), setting SMART goals, and establishing a robust framework for measuring progress.

Regular risk assessments are a critical component of a holistic risk management strategy.

The financial statements are just a starting point. By asking the right questions and actively engaging with the data, board members can gain a deeper understanding of the company's financial health and position themselves to make sound decisions that will ensure the company's long-term success.

The business environment is constantly evolving. Economic fluctuations, technological disruptions, regulatory shifts, and competitive pressures demand that companies be able to adjust their goals and strategies.

If the company is going to thrive financially, then the board must inquire about the effectiveness of financial controls and risk management practices.

By focusing on a few key financial metrics, board members can transform these statements from a labyrinth into a compass, guiding them through the company's financial landscape.

Building a high-performance board requires prioritizing diverse perspectives, including cognitive, racial, gender, and professional diversity.

By mastering the art of corporate governance, board members and executives can unlock the full potential of their organizations, driving innovation, growth, and social impact.

Consumers today are more discerning and value companies that operate ethically and responsibly.

A focus on multiple success factors strengthens a company's resilience in the face of challenges.

Investors, creditors, and regulatory bodies rely on financial statements to make informed decisions. When internal metrics align with recognized standards, it enhances the credibility of your financial reports, fostering trust among these stakeholders.

While innovation is essential, it often comes with inherent risks. The board should carefully assess the risks associated with different innovation initiatives and ensure that the company's risk tolerance is aligned with its innovation goals.

If the company is going to thrive financially, then the board must ensure the company has adequate risk mitigation strategies in place.

A robust cybersecurity framework is essential to protect a company's digital assets, sensitive data, and critical infrastructure.

Shaping the company's future requires understanding the key drivers of value for the company and establishing metrics to measure progress.

Ensuring the company's sustainable success requires a board that champions a value-centric approach to decision making.

Shaping the company's future requires a focus on value creation for all stakeholders, not just shareholders.

Good strategy requires board members to think beyond the boardroom and monitor global trends and events that could impact the company's operating environment.

The board, in collaboration with management, crafts a strategic roadmap that defines the specific steps required to achieve the vision. This roadmap translates the company's "why" and "when" into a practical "how," outlining key milestones, resource allocation, and performance metrics.

I believe that companies, as major employers, resource managers, technological innovators, and capital allocators, have a unique responsibility to operate with integrity, transparency, and accountability.

Innovation is not a quick fix. It often requires sustained investment and effort over a long period.

The board of directors should foster a culture of collaboration and open communication.

Diversification across success metrics acts as a hedge against unforeseen risks.

The board should consider different future scenarios, such as economic downturns or technological disruptions, and develop contingency plans to navigate them.

Risk management and cybersecurity have transcended their traditional roles as mere compliance functions and have become fundamental pillars of good corporate governance.

Industry and business acumen are not merely desirable traits for board members; they are essential prerequisites for effective corporate governance.

Market leadership, while not the sole definition of success, can be a powerful aspiration for companies and their boards.

A balanced approach fosters sustainable growth by avoiding an over-reliance on any single success factor.

Shaping the company's future requires embracing continuous learning and adaptation as a core value of the organization.

Contingency planning is much more fun than crises mitigation.

Don’t you know that slavery was outlawed?” “No,” the guard said, “you’re wrong. Slavery was outlawed with the exception of prisons. Slavery is legal in prisons.” I looked it up and sure enough, she was right. The Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution says: “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” Well, that explained a lot of things. That explained why jails and prisons all over the country are filled to the brim with Black and Third World people, why so many Black people can’t find a job on the streets and are forced to survive the best way they know how. Once you’re in prison, there are plenty of jobs, and, if you don’t want to work, they beat you up and throw you in a hole. If every state had to pay workers to do the jobs prisoners are forced to do, the salaries would amount to billions… Prisons are a profitable business. They are a way of legally perpetuating slavery. In every state more and more prisons are being built and even more are on the drawing board. Who are they for? They certainly aren’t planning to put white people in them. Prisons are part of this government’s genocidal war against Black and Third World people.

By prioritizing a holistic approach to diversity, companies can create a boardroom that truly reflects the multifaceted nature of their stakeholders and maximizes their potential for success.

Fortifying the company involves implementing quality control measures to ensure product safety and customer satisfaction.

By making risk management everyone's domain, companies can create a more robust defense against potential threats.

Building a high-performing board isn't just about filling seats; it's about creating a mastermind alliance that amplifies collective intelligence.

When companies act ethically, they build trust with their employees, customers, investors, and communities.

If the company is going to thrive financially, then the board must understand the relationship between different financial metrics and how they impact overall financial performance.

Shaping the company's future requires ensuring value creation is a central theme in all board discussions and evaluations. Creating value for the customers should be at the center of every board discussion.

Corporate governance involves its fair share of differing investor expectations, but focusing on long-term value creation aligns interests.

In a mastermind alliance, members freely exchange information, insights, and resources, accelerating learning and problem-solving.

Corporate governance involves its fair share of ethical dilemmas, but upholding strong moral principles guides responsible decision-making.

Corporate governance, in this century, must include exploring how ESG factors can drive innovation and product development.

You can't sustain a business if profits aren't sustained.

Effective corporate governance ensures that the vision and strategy are aligned, with the board of directors playing a crucial role in defining the vision and overseeing the development and execution of the strategy.

Open communication and trust create a safe space for sharing ideas, challenging each other's assumptions, and building on each other's strengths. This fosters a collective learning environment where everyone's contributions are valued.

In a mastermind alliance, members actively contribute their unique perspectives, skills, and experiences, creating a dynamic environment where ideas are cross-pollinated and solutions are co-created.

A board of directors, in many ways, is akin to a well-rounded football team. While individual talent is important, true success comes from a complementary mix of skills and expertise that work together seamlessly to achieve a common goal.

Without a clear definition of success, board discussions can become disjointed, with members focusing on different priorities and potentially conflicting agendas. It can also lead to members talking through each other or over each other during meetings, instead of talking with each other. This can lead to inefficient decision-making, missed opportunities, and ultimately, hinder the organization's progress.

Engaged employees are more productive, innovative, and committed to the company's success. They become passionate advocates for your brand and contribute to a positive work environment that attracts and retains top talent.

A successful blitz requires a well-thought-out strategy and flawless execution. Similarly, effective corporate governance involves developing and implementing sound strategies that align with the company's goals and values.

A strong definition of business success often incorporates elements from several frameworks. A balanced approach might combine financial health with a commitment to innovation and social responsibility. This ensures the company remains profitable while considering its long-term impact and ethical obligations.

In today's volatile business landscape, characterized by rapid technological advancements, geopolitical uncertainties, and evolving regulatory frameworks, companies must adopt a proactive and holistic approach to risk management and cybersecurity.

Just like any team, a board needs to evaluate its effectiveness regularly. This self-assessment allows for continuous improvement. Key metrics to consider include the quality of board discussions, the effectiveness of committee structures, and the board's ability to hold management accountable.

In addition to specific areas of expertise, it's crucial to consider the overall balance and diversity of the board. A board with a mix of ages, genders, ethnicities, and professional backgrounds is more likely to bring a wide range of perspectives and experiences to the table, leading to more robust discussions and better decision-making.

The man of system, on the contrary, is apt to be very wise in his own conceit; and is often so enamoured with the supposed beauty of his own ideal plan of government, that he cannot suffer the smallest deviation from any part of it. He goes on to establish it completely and in all its parts, without any regard either to the great interests, or to the strong prejudices which may oppose it. He seems to imagine that he can arrange the different members of a great society with as much ease as the hand arranges the different pieces upon a chess-board. He does not consider that the pieces upon the chess-board have no other principle of motion besides that which the hand impresses upon them; but that, in the great chess-board of human society, every single piece has a principle of motion of its own, altogether different from that which the legislature might chuse to impress upon it. If those two principles coincide and act in the same direction, the game of human society will go on easily and harmoniously, and is very likely to be happy and successful. If they are opposite or different, the game will go on miserably, and the society must be at all times in the highest degree of disorder.

Have you ever played Maximum Happy Imagination?" "Sounds like a Japanese game show." Kat straightens her shoulders. "Okay, we're going to play. To start, imagine the future. The good future. No nuclear bombs. Pretend you're a science fiction writer." Okay: "World government... no cancer... hover-boards." "Go further. What's the good future after that?" "Spaceships. Party on Mars." "Further." "Star Trek. Transporters. You can go anywhere." "Further." "I pause a moment, then realize: "I can't." Kat shakes her head. "It's really hard. And that's, what, a thousand years? What comes after that? What could possibly come after that? Imagination runs out. But it makes sense, right? We probably just imagine things based on what we already know, and we run out of analogies in the thirty-first century.

It was something about being an Indian. And the government. The government acted like Indians owed them something, but wasn’t it the other way around? She hadn’t been educated in a boarding school or educated in any way about Indians. From her Catholic schooling, she would never have known about Indians at all except as a bunch of heathens who were vanquished or conveniently died off. She’d hardly known her family and was as assimilated as an Indian could be. And people hardly ever recognized her as an Indian. So why did she firmly see herself as an Indian? Why did she value this? Why did she not long for the anonymity of whiteness, the ease of it, the pleasures of fitting in? When people found out why she looked a little different, they would often say, “I never thought of you as an Indian.” And it would be said as a compliment. But it felt more like an insult.

Surely the Board knows what democracy is. It is the line that forms on the right. It is the don’t in Don’t Shove. It is the hole in the stuffed shirt through which the sawdust slowly trickles; it is the dent in the high hat. Democracy is the recurrent suspicion that more than half the people are right more than half the time. It is the feeling of privacy in the voting booths, the feeling of communion in the libraries, the feeling of vitality everywhere. Democracy is the score at the beginning of the ninth. It is an idea which hasn’t been disproved yet, a song the words of which have not gone bad. It’s the mustard on the hot dog and the cream in the rationed coffee. Democracy is a request from a War Board, in the middle of a morning in the middle of a war, wanting to know what democracy is.

The assault on education began more than a century ago by industrialists and capitalists such as Andrew Carnegie. In 1891, Carnegie congratulated the graduates of the Pierce College of Business for being “fully occupied in obtaining a knowledge of shorthand and typewriting” rather than wasting time “upon dead languages.” The industrialist Richard Teller Crane was even more pointed in his 1911 dismissal of what humanists call the “life of the mind.” No one who has “a taste for literature has a right to be happy” because “the only men entitled to happiness… is those who are useful.” The arrival of industrialists on university boards of trustees began as early as the 1870s and the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business offered the first academic credential in business administration in 1881. The capitalists, from the start, complained that universities were unprofitable. These early twentieth century capitalists, like heads of investment houses and hedge-fund managers, were, as Donoghue writes “motivated by an ethically based anti-intellectualism that transcended interest in the financial bottom line. Their distrust of the ideal of intellectual inquiry for its own sake, led them to insist that if universities were to be preserved at all, they must operate on a different set of principles from those governing the liberal arts.

Within sixty-minute limits or one-hundred-yard limits or the limits of a game board, we can look for perfect moments or perfect structures. In my fiction I think this search sometimes turns out to be a cruel delusion. No optimism, no pessimism. No homesickness for lost values or for the way fiction used to be written. Everybody seems to know everything. Subjects surface and are totally exhausted in a matter of days or weeks, totally played out by the publishing industry and the broadcast industry. Nothing is too arcane to escape the treatment, the process. Making things difficult for the reader is less an attack on the reader than it is on the age and its facile knowledge-market. The writer is the person who stands outside society, independent of affiliation and independent of influence. The writer is the man or woman who automatically takes a stance against his or her government. There are so many temptations for American writers to become part of the system and part of the structure that now, more than ever, we have to resist. American writers ought to stand and live in the margins, and be more dangerous. Writers in repressive societies are considered dangerous. That’s why so many of them are in jail. Some people prefer to believe in conspiracy because they are made anxious by random acts. Believing in conspiracy is almost comforting because, in a sense, a conspiracy is a story we tell each other to ward off the dread of chaotic and random acts. Conspiracy offers coherence. I see contemporary violence as a kind of sardonic response to the promise of consumer fulfillment in America... I see this desperation against the backdrop of brightly colored packages and products and consumer happiness and every promise that American life makes day by day and minute by minute everywhere we go. Discarded pages mark the physical dimensions of a writer’s labor. Film allows us to examine ourselves in ways earlier societies could not—examine ourselves, imitate ourselves, extend ourselves, reshape our reality. It permeates our lives, this double vision, and also detaches us, turns some of us into actors doing walk-throughs. Every new novel stretches the term of the contract—let me live long enough to do one more book. You become a serious novelist by living long enough.

Privilege implies exclusion from privilege, just as advantage implies disadvantage," Celine went on. "In the same mathematically reciprocal way, profit implies loss. If you and I exchange equal goods, that is trade: neither of us profits and neither of us loses. But if we exchange unequal goods, one of us profits and the other loses. Mathematically. Certainly. Now, such mathematically unequal exchanges will always occur because some traders will be shrewder than others. But in total freedom—in anarchy—such unequal exchanges will be sporadic and irregular. A phenomenon of unpredictable periodicity, mathematically speaking. Now look about you, professor—raise your nose from your great books and survey the actual world as it is—and you will not observe such unpredictable functions. You will observe, instead, a mathematically smooth function, a steady profit accruing to one group and an equally steady loss accumulating for all others. Why is this, professor? Because the system is not free or random, any mathematician would tell you a priori. Well, then, where is the determining function, the factor that controls the other variables? You have named it yourself, or Mr. Adler has: the Great Tradition. Privilege, I prefer to call it. When A meets B in the marketplace, they do not bargain as equals. A bargains from a position of privilege; hence, he always profits and B always loses. There is no more Free Market here than there is on the other side of the Iron Curtain. The privileges, or Private Laws—the rules of the game, as promulgated by the Politburo and the General Congress of the Communist Party on that side and by the U.S. government and the Federal Reserve Board on this side—are slightly different; that's all. And it is this that is threatened by anarchists, and by the repressed anarchist in each of us," he concluded, strongly emphasizing the last clause, staring at Drake, not at the professor.