What is great governance? Experience and research point to a top-10 list of things a board must do for management and the organization to thrive:
1. Set high performance aspirations and a proper tone at the top.
2. Appoint an excellent leader and plan for succession.
3. Help develop and approve a winning strategy.
4. Approve annual and long-range plans and monitor results.
5. Create incentives for desired performance.
6. Ensure quality financial reporting and effective internal controls.
B. Joseph White is a board member of an S&P 500 company, Equity Residential, a director of one of America’s largest private companies, Gordon Food Service, an experienced nonprofit board member and chairman, and a distinguished academic leader with the University of Illinois, where he is the James F. Towey Professor of Business and Leadership and president emeritus, and the University of Michigan, where he holds the position of dean and professor emeritus at the Ross School of Business. He is the author of Boards That Excel: Candid Insights and Practical Advice for Directors, copyright ©2014 by the author, published in August 2014 by Berrett-Koehler Publishers Inc. (www.bkconnection.com). This excerpt is printed with permission of the publisher. All rights reserved. The author can be contacted at bjwhite@illinois.edu.