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Leadership

Book it: Best bets


for board reading
From a roundup of new books, insights on strategic governance, talent management,
great truths, acute problems, game changers, early lessons … and college reunions.

together again, providing you with that deep understanding


On taking them apart: needed to maximize the performance and sustainability of
your whole organization.
‘Hogs’ and governance Hank Boerner is chairman and CEO of Governance & Accountability
From Strategic Governance by Hank Boerner and Mark W. Institute. Mark Sickles, an adviser to corporate directors and execu-
Sickles. Copyright 2010 by Mark W. Sickles. Published by Gover- tives, is the creator of the Shareholder Value Assurance methodology.
nance & Accountability Institute Inc. (www.ga-institute.com).

A friend of ours once bought a brand new Harley


Davidson motorcycle — the incomparable “Hog.”
The first thing he did was take it apart — completely
— and then put it back together. We asked why.
His reply: “Because it deepened my understanding of how
A great truth
from Shelly Lazarus
each part of this bike is designed to work in concert with From The Good Among the Great by Donald Van de Mark.
the other parts, and how the Copyright 2011 by the author. Published by Columbia Island
combined effect is an over- Press.
all capability that could not
be achieved without careful
attention to the alignment,
linkage, and interdependence
of these parts. I’ll now be able
to maximize the performance
L ike many good people who ascend to powerful po-
sitions, Shelly Lazarus, chairman of Ogilvy & Mather
Worldwide, still doesn’t quite believe that she deserves
it. “I had no ambitions when I started out. I mean my whole
life was sort of an accident. I fell into marketing, I fell into ad-
and sustainability of this bike, vertising, I fell into Ogilvy. I never intended to stay more than
because I’ll know how to re- two years. I just thought it would be a good idea to spend two
pair or improve a part in ways years at an ad agency.
that will repair and improve “I stumbled my way to the top. It’s absolutely true. I just
the whole.” sort of found something I loved to do and I just kept doing it.
This is what we’re going to And every once in a while someone would come along and put
do for you with the Universal a new title on my head. Either I lack self-confidence or I have
Purpose of Corporate Gover- humility but every time it was always a surprise to me and I
nance: Break it down into its always felt I wasn’t ready. It was ‘No! I can’t do that job.’ ”
parts, see how the Top 10 Principles of the Strategic Gover- Thirty-seven years after graduating from Smith College,
nance System are built into those parts, and then put it all back Lazarus returned to deliver the commencement address to
the class of 2005:
Edited by James Kristie. Excerpts printed with permission “The question for you is not, ‘Can you have it all?’ The ques-
of the publishers. All rights reserved. tion for you is, ‘What do you really want? How can you have

50 directors & boards


Leadership

a life where you enjoy every- for his behavior.


thing in it?’ I learned very early in my executive coaching that my pri-
“Can you have a life where mary concern should be with changing behavior. That’s what
you enjoy almost everything I’m hired for. As author and inspirational speaker Jo Berry fre-
in it? Absolutely! I know so. quently pointed out, “It’s easier to act yourself into a new way
But first, you must jettison of thinking than to think yourself into a new way of acting.”
the things that just don’t My job is to get the people I coach to act differently.
matter, the things that don’t
engage you, the things that Howard Guttman is founder and principal of Guttman Development
don’t have meaning to you. Strategies Inc., a consulting firm specializing in executive coaching
And then take every ounce of and team building (www.coachyourselftowin.com).
energy you have and dive into
what you love.
“There is a great truth that
I have learned on my journey: Could this be your
you will always be able to fit
into your life all the things game-changer?
you love. It’s the tedious and the frustrating that are hard to
fit in. And you shouldn’t even try.” From Tell to Win by Peter Guber. Copyright 2011 by the author.
Published by Crown Business (www.crownpublishing.com).
Donald Van de Mark was a broadcast journalist who spent more than
25 years interviewing prominent executives for CNN and CNBC.

An executive coach’s
I n my life I’ve experienced tremendous success across di-
verse ventures and industries, but I’ve also had a boatload
of professional tip-overs, economic mishaps, managerial
disasters, and creative flops.
I’ve backed products that
left my bank account empty
early lesson and my garage full of unsold
inventory. I’ve started music
From Coach Yourself to Win by Howard M. Guttman. Copy- companies that were off-tune
right 2011 by Guttman Development Strategies Inc. Published and bought the Las Vegas
by McGraw-Hill (www.mh- Thunder, a pro hockey team
professional.com). that then went on to a five-
year profit-losing streak with

A while ago, I was


asked to step in after
a dispute between a
male and a female executive.
The male had made some
an audience that didn’t give
a puck. My movies weren’t
all boffo, either. Folks tried
to walk out on “The Bonfire
of the Vanities” even when
remarks that were obviously it was shown on planes, and
sexist. The female was out- I certainly had my ups and
raged and complained to the downs at Sony. These losses were financially and emotionally
CEO, demanding that her painful — and often highly public. And my many successes
male colleague be fired im- only made the failures that much more confounding.
mediately. The CEO believed, For years I wondered, was I ruled by dumb luck? Or was
and I concurred, that the man there a game-changer that would enlarge my target, sharpen
would be able to change once my trajectory, accelerate my momentum, and shorten the dis-
he became more conscious of tance to my goal? Wouldn’t it be terrific if this game-changer
his behavior. The female ex- also increased the joy of the enterprise? If somebody invented a
ecutive would hear no such technology that accomplished all this, they’d make a fortune!
talk. In her opinion, the offender was a dyed-in-the-wool After my loss in Vegas, it occurred to me that everybody in
misogynist — period. “Even if he changes,” she said to me, business shares one universal problem: To succeed, you have
“I’m not sure it will be in his bones.” I explained that bones to persuade others to support your vision, dream, or cause.
don’t much matter. You can’t hold someone accountable for Whether you want to motivate your executives, organize your
his “bones” or his attitude; you can only hold him accountable shareholders, shape your media, engage your customers, win

first quarter 2011 51


Leadership

over investors, or land a job, you have to deliver a clarion call changers behind their backs. It’s at the 20th that things get
that will get your listeners’ attention, emotionalize your goal as interesting, because then it’s the entrepreneurs who shine.
theirs, and move them to act in your favor. You have to reach Someone who’s figured out how to turn dust into gold, created
their hearts as well as their minds — and this is just what story some gotta-have business application or bioengineered some
telling does! drug or created a business process that transforms retail …”
What if purposeful story telling was the game-changer I’d “And so it’s their turn for the spotlight?” I ask.
been looking for all along? “You would think. But lots of people who still work for big
companies or the government can’t get their arms around
Peter Guber is the former chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures and entrepreneurs. They got rich, too rich, so many people just
currently heads the Mandalay Entertainment Group (www.telltowin. assume they were lucky or had some monopoly or somehow
com). stole the money from working stiffs who bought their stuff.”
“Jealousy?”
“Sure, people are jealous. But they’re also programmed to
suspect anyone who had done well from taking too big a piece
A rule of thumb of the pie. Like the pie was taken out of their mouths. They
don’t realize that these guys made the pie bigger. It’s those suc-
for college reunions cessful entrepreneurs who created wealth for everyone else in
the room. Not the lawyers, not the doctors, not the finance guys,
From Eat People by Andy Kessler. Copyright 2011 by the author. but the creators. Yet they end up getting grief. Go figure.”
Published by Portfolio/Penguin (www.us.penguingroup.com).
Andy Kessler is a former hedge fund manager who co-founded

‘S
o I’m headed back for Velocity Capital Management (www.andykessler.com).
my college reunion,”
I said to my friend
George Gilder.
“ Yo u’r e w a s t i n g y o u r You must cultivate
time.”
“Why?” the ‘Superkeeper’
“I have a rule of thumb for
reunions.” From The Talent Management Handbook (Second Edition),
“What’s that?” Edited by Lance A. Berger and Dorothy R. Berger. Copyright
“At the fifth college re- 2011 by McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Published by McGraw-
union, it’s the lawyers who Hill (www.mhprofessional.com).
are kings. They’re out of
law school a few years with
jobs at New York law firms.
They’re driving brand-new foreign cars and wearing custom
suits while everyone else is still struggling to figure out what
they’re going to do.”
A talent strategy
makes explicit the
type of investments
an organization makes today
in the people whom it be-
“Go on.” lieves will best help it achieve
“At the 10-year, everyone ignores the lawyers; they just competitive excellence in the
look tired and they’re usually already divorced. It’s the future. A talent management
doctors’ reunion. They’ve done their med school and intern- strategy views a workforce
ships and fellowships, maybe even specialized. They have a as a portfolio of human re-
thriving practice at some prestigious hospital or research cen- source assets that are differ-
ter. They tell fascinating stories about saving lives and going to entiated based on an assess-
Africa to vaccinate poor children. It’s their turn to shine.” ment of each person’s current
“Even though they all eventually end up hating it?” and potential contribution to
“Yeah, that’s at the next few reunions, if they bother coming. organization success. The talent strategies of most high-per-
They’re overworked and their compensation constantly goes forming organizations contain the following three directives:
down and they’re probably taking a few too many self-pre- 1) Cultivate the Superkeeper, 2) Retain key position back-
scribed medications and …” ups, and 3) Appropriately allocate training, rewards, educa-
“So then who?” tion, assignments, and development.
“Well, maybe around the 15th it’s the financiers, the Wall The “Cultivate the Superkeeper” directive involves the
Street types. But no one likes them. They call them money identification, selection, development, and retention of Su-

52 directors & boards


Leadership

perkeepers. Superkeepers are a very small group of individuals corporations, but has far less relevance to controlled compa-
(about 3% of an organization) who have demonstrated supe- nies, founder firms, most family firms, and many recent IPOs.
rior accomplishments, have inspired others to attain superior The most conclusive studies have sidestepped the full impact
accomplishments, and embody the creed, core competencies, of this problem by focusing on just one aspect of governance
and values of their organization. Their loss or absence severely at a time, such as takeover defenses or compensation.
inhibits organizational growth because of their disproportion- The main point is that good governance is not additive but
ately powerful impact on current and future organization essential.
performance. Bill Gates once said, “Take our 20 best people
away from us and I can tell you that Microsoft would be an Robert A.G. Monks is a pioneering institutional shareholder activist.
unimportant company.” He founded Institutional Shareholder Services Inc., and has authored
or coauthored a number of books in the governance field (www.
Lance A. Berger is managing partner and Dorothy R. Berger is a ragm.com). Alexandra Reed Lajoux is chief knowledge officer of
partner of Lance A. Berger & Associates Ltd., a firm specializing in the National Association of Corporate Directors and a past editor of
talent management, compensation, and change management. They Directors & Boards.
co-wrote and co-edited the first edition of The Talent Management
Handbook in 2003.

An acute problem
On the ‘value add’ for senior executives
of good governance From The Leadership Pipeline by Ram Charan, Steve Drotter,
and Jim Noel. Copyright 2011 by John Wiley & Sons Inc. Pub-
From Corporate Valuation for Portfolio Investment by Rob- lished by Jossey-Bass, a Wiley imprint (www.josseybass.com).
ert A.G. Monks and Alexandra Reed Lajoux. Copyright 2011
by the authors. Published
by Bloomberg Press, a Wiley
imprint (www.wiley.com/go/
bloombergpress).
F ailure to seek or listen to feedback is an especially
acute problem for senior executives. It’s not that they’re
averse to certain types of feedback; they’re always ask-
ing for feedback on new programs and products. What they
don’t actively seek — or what they turn a deaf ear to — is

T here is little evi-


dence that “good cor-
porate governance,” as
currently defined, adds value.
We can prove conclusively
unsolicited feedback about themselves. Specifically, they’re not
interested in hearing how they’re leading or how and why they
should do things differently. In some instances, they’re not
interested in this feedback because it doesn’t fit their definition
of leadership. To them, being
that weak corporate gover- a leader means staying the
nance puts shareholder value course in the face of adversity,
at risk, and will, over time, which is appropriate up to a
in most cases result in actual point. If they were to listen
value loss. We can prove this to every negative comment
with regard to total share- or critical suggestion, they’d
holder returns, and also with never follow through on an
regards losses as defined through successful securities litiga- initiative or get anything ac-
tion. We can infer from this that good corporate governance complished.
is essential to achieving and maintaining maximum value. But Leaders who avoid failure
this is still not the same thing as proving that good corporate are open to feedback and
governance adds value. skilled at analyzing whether
The main flaw in this premise is that there cannot possibly it has merit.
be one single model of good corporate governance that can be
applied equally well to all public corporations; both owner- Ram Charan is an adviser to CEOs
ship and corporate maturity must be taken into consideration, and corporate boards. Stephen
and a flexible spectrum of good corporate governance models Drotter is CEO of Drotter Human Resources and was one of the
supported. The typical good corporate governance model em- original designers of GE’s succession planning process. Jim Noel is
braced by the proxy advisory firms and most other observers a retired consultant and executive coach and a former manager of
is most appropriately applied to relatively mature, widely held executive education and leadership development at GE.

first quarter 2011 53

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