Not Every Board Can Afford to Be Boring
Not every board conversation changes how you think about governance. The recent discussion with Datuk Idris Jala did. His claim is disarmingly simple: many boards are too busy, too operational, and too polite. Better boards are "boring." They stay out of management's way, focus relentlessly on outcomes, and create the conditions for management to achieve what once seemed impossible. For those of us who advise leadership on reputation, the point lands with force as reputation risk rarely starts in the communications department. It starts higher up, in how boards define accountability and decide what belongs on the agenda. The core discipline Idris reduces the board's job to four essentials: hire the right CEO and hold them accountable; focus on results and True North; independently audit and validate management; and, as an outcome of getting the first three right, protect the company's reputation and brand. Everything else belongs to management. When boards ...
