Home Library Translate
A A A
Share »
Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Follow us on LinkedIn
Connect »

Blog: Boards of Directors

Menu

  • This Blog's Home
  • Guest Writer Submissions
  • Policies
  • To Subscribe to a Blog
  • About
  • Feedback

How to start looking forward? – a dilemma

By Julie Garland McLellan on March 6, 2012

James is a recently-appointed director on the board of a family business. He is the nephew of the founder and has worked in the business for several years since completing his MBA.

He is concerned because the board meetings are all taken up with historical reports and endless discussions of ‘who did what’ and how it affected performance. There has been no forward-looking or externally generated information presented to the board in all the months he has been a member.

James knows that good boards operate at a strategic level and that his industry is changing rapidly with new technology and impending legislative changes. He has attempted to raise the issue with his uncle, who is now the company chairman, but got brushed off with the statement that none of the other directors were complaining.

What should James do?

Many readers of this blog will be familiar with my newsletter The Director’s Dilemma. This newsletter features a real life case study with expert responses containing advice for the protagonist. Many readers of this blog are practicing experts and have valuable advice to offer so, for the first time, we are posting an unpublished case study and inviting YOU to respond.

If you would like to publish your advice on this topic in a global company directors’ newsletter please respond to the dilemma above with approximately 250 words of advice for Graham. Back issues of the newsletter are available at http://www.mclellan.com.au/newsletter.html where you can check out the format and quality.

The newsletters will be compiled into a book. If your advice relates to a legal jurisdiction, the readers will be sophisticated enough to extract the underlying principles and seek detailed legal advice in their own jurisdiction. The first volume of newsletters is published and available at http://www.amazon.com/Dilemmas-Practical-Studies-Company-Directors/dp/1449921965/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1321912637&sr=8-1

What would you advise?

Julie Garland-McLellan has been internationally acclaimed as a leading expert on board governance. See her website at www.mclellan.com.au or visit her author page at http://www.amazon.com/Julie-Garland-McLellan/e/B003A3KPUO

« Previous Next »

Search Our Site

Meet this Blog’s Co-Hosts

Carter McNamara of Authenticity Consulting, LLC, provides organization development and consultant training services, and is developer of the Free Management Library. [Read more ...]


Julie Garland-McLellan uses her experience and depth of knowledge in corporate governance to show boards with limited resources how to be more effective through practical governance innovation and know-how.
[Read more ...]


Nick Lindsay of Elemental CoSec, provides corporate governance, legal and company secretarial advice to a wide range of companies in the UK.
[Read more ...]

Recent Blog Posts

  • Will beneficial ownership registers spread around the World?
  • Governing an entrepreneur – a dilemma
  • Can a director serve two interests? – a dilemma
  • When a director knows what isn’t in the papers – a dilemma
  • Should the MD have a vote? – a dilemma
  • Association boards and conflicts of interest – a dilemma
  • Issues for a prospective owner director – a dilemma
  • 51% compliance with the UK Corporate Governance Code
  • 10 Myths About Boards of Directors
  • How to manage excessive demands on time (from a powerful person)? – a dilemma

Categories of Posts

  • Accountabilities, Laws and Ethics
  • Basics and Overviews
  • Basics and Overviews
  • Board Committees
  • Board Evaluations
  • Board Meetings
  • Board Membership
  • Board Training and Dev.
  • General Resources
  • Recurring Activities
  • Roles and Responsibilities
  • Supervising CEO
  • Uncategorized

Related Library Topics

  • Board / Employees Roles
  • Board Basics
  • Board Development
  • Board Models
  • Board Operations
  • Board Policies
  • Board Staffing
  • Board Training
  • Committees
  • Compensation of Members
  • Evaluating the Board
  • Laws and Ethics
  • Meetings
  • Roles and Responsibilities

Library's Blogs

  • Boards of Directors
  • Building a Business
  • Business Communications
  • Business Ethics, Culture and Performance
  • Business Planning
  • Career Management
  • Coaching and Action Learning
  • Consulting and Organizational Development
  • Crisis Management
  • Customer Service
  • Facilitation
  • Free Management Library Blogs
  • Fundraising for Nonprofits
  • Human Resources
  • Leadership
  • Marketing and Social Media
  • Nonprofit Capacity Building
  • Project Management
  • Quality Management
  • Social Enterprise
  • Spirituality
  • Strategic Planning
  • Supervision
  • Team Building and Performance
  • Training and Development
About Feedback Legal Privacy Policy Contact Us
Free Management Library, © Copyright Authenticity Consulting, LLC ®; All rights reserved.
  • Graphics by Wylde Hare LLC
  • Website maintained by Caitlin Cahill

By continuing to use this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy.X