The Director's Manual - by Peter C Browning & William L Sparks (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

The Director's Manual: A Framework for Board Governance offers current and aspiring board members essential up-to-date governance guidance that blends rigorous research-based information with the wisdom found only through practical, direct experience. The book's flexible approach to solving governance issues reflects the authors' belief that no two boards and the cultural dynamics that drive them are the same. As such, the advice offered reflects recognizable leadership dynamics and real world, relevant organizational situations.

The book's two authors, Peter C. Browning, an experienced CEO and member of numerous boards and William L. Sparks, a respected organizational researcher, combine their individual experiences and talents to create a book that is both innovative and applicable to directors in any industry sector. Specific best practice guidance is designed to help board members and their directors understand the unique strengths and challenges of their own board while at the same time provide targeted information that drives needed improvements in board performance and efficiency. Specifically, this book will help board members:

• Explore practical advice on key issues, including selection, meeting schedules, and director succession
• Consider board performance from multiple perspectives, including cultural and group dynamics
• Discover how to effectively manage classic problems that arise when making decisions as a group
• Access a comprehensive set of assessment questions to test and reinforce your knowledge

The Director's Manual: A Framework for Board Governance offers practical advice to guide you as you lead your organization's board.

From the Back Cover

Each board of directors has its particular nuances relating to leadership, group dynamics, and decision making that create a board culture. Yet, all boards must fulfill specific fiduciary duties and meet federal reporting requirements and regulations. The Director's Manual gives directors a reliable guidebook of proven techniques for meeting those requirements, while staying true to the unique culture of their boards.

Current and aspiring board members now have an authoritative, up-to-date governance guide that blends rigorous research-based information with the wisdom found only through practical, direct experience. This flexible approach to developing governance solutions reflects the authors' belief that no two boards nor the cultural dynamics driving them are the same. The proven framework is equally useful to both established boards and new ones that are just beginning to learn what it means to truly be an effective board. Only a powerhouse authorial team like Peter Browning and William Sparks can simplify the complex, symbiotic relationship between the world inside the corporate boardroom and the realities outside into a single resource of insightful research findings and practical, straightforward advice. Board members and their directors can use the handpicked selection of proven practices to expedite understanding their board's own unique strengths and challenges, while simultaneously contributing targeted information to drive key improvements in performance and efficiency. With this convenient reference at your fingertips, you can:

• Better understand just what is the role of the board, it's limits and possibilities
• Predict which classic group decision-making dynamics your board is most likely to experience
• Customize assessments to better match your company's processes and board culture, as well as benefit from hard-earned tips on conducting peer reviews
• Handle a director who is so disruptive to the vital chemistry of a board that the only solution is his or her departure

In addition to each chapter's clear and concise guidelines, which are immediately implementable by every board type in any industry, this complete resource solidifies itself as a time saving asset by providing a robust appendix of assessment tools. From individual to group assessments--including lead director, nonexecutive chairman, CEO, compensation and audit committees, and more--these vetted and easy-to-use forms ensure accurate and thorough evaluations.

About the Author

PETER C. BROWNING, with experience on the boards of 13 public companies, two as CEO, is founder and managing director of Peter Browning Partners, LLC, a board advisory service that helps directors answer tough questions in the areas of board governance, board performance and dynamics, and leadership transition and succession planning.

WILLIAM L. SPARKS, PhD, is vice president of Talent with EnPro Industries and a managing partner with Peter Browning Partners, LLC. Concurrently he serves as the Dennis Thompson Chair of Leadership at the McColl School of Business at Queens University of Charlotte.