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Five Greatest Ideas for

Running the Board Effectively

Introduction

The role of a director at the top, or holding-company level is different from that of a
manager. You have to have the confidence to go into this new role knowing that you
have much to learn. But you have your reputation as a manager behind you, so all
you have to do is learn the new roles, Idea 63, and think about all the people in-
volved with the board. But let us start with a valuable lesson derived from a person
who started on a board that was not true to themselves and discovered the impor-
tance of Idea 59.

Idea 59 - Keep an honest boardroom

There is absolutely no place in the boardroom for dishonesty, particularly of the sort
that pretends there is no problem where there actually is. Suppose you are planning
a new initiative. You have researched the product market, decided on your competi-
tive strategy and the only thing left to do is make it happen. Now ask yourselves 'Do
we have the knowledge and experience in this room to manage this project?'

If it involves, for example, the entrepreneur on the board managing a new group
of staff who do a repetitive job and suffer from low morale, you may want to think
again. Try not to put anyone, including yourself, into the position of doing some-
thing they are not good at. This requires the honesty of everyone to admit or volun-
teer gaps in their skills or knowledge.

Look at it this way. When you had appraisals in big companies they will have
confirmed your brilliance in some areas and 'need for development' in others. You