Cover Story

Inside the boardroom:
The faces of leadership
By James E. Rogers
Using the company's annual report as an educational tool — offering a sweeping panorama of the board in text and photographs — the author demonstrates how stakeholders can better understand the role that directors serve in the organization and what corporate governance means.

Features

A visit to board 'central casting'
By Colin B. Carter and Jay W. Lorsch
In an excerpt from their new book, Back to the Drawing Board, the authors detail a methodology to bring together the right team of directors.

A way to get to 'what if...?'
By Harold J. Ruvoldt Jr.
A 'decomposition' analysis, conducted by a cross-disciplinary team of experts, can protect a board by projecting how a decision can go bad.

A role for the 'loyal opposition'
By Barry Nalebuff and Ian Ayres
The case for designating a director as the board's official 'devil's advocate.'

'There's a lot of trauma out there'
An interview with Edward A. Brennan
In a discussion led by recruiter Jim Drury, the longtime leader of Sears Roebuck reflects on the nature of governing needed for the times ahead.

19 things executives don't want you to know
By James B. Mintz and James H. Rowe
A board's job is more investigative than ever. Here are pointers on uncovering buried issues about someone's business career and personal history.

How boards can head off problems
By Jim Peters
A performance 'QuickView' is a tool that allows directors to become an extra set of eyes on the business, ever watchful for performance degradation.

Tom Horton, adviser extraordinaire
He was a great thinker, practitioner, and writer on board accountability and leadership who helped point corporate America to the governance high ground.

The enigma of the emeritus director
By Dan R. Dalton and Catherine M. Daily
An attempt to unravel the elusive nature of this board position and the important issues to be considered before conferring emeritus status.

Fund nonqualified benefit plans — now!
By James Clary and Stephen Karp
Employees, shareholders, lenders, and others rely on directors to make the decision to set aside assets today to fund the liabilities of the future.

Departments & Columns

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