Board consulting (BoardEYE)

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Carnegie Mellon University (Entrepreneurship Forum)

CEO Boardroom - Play ball with the Nationals!

The BoardEYE program:

Recent events in the world economy have served to refocus us all on the role, responsibility and importance of effective board operations, guidance and oversight. A board is more than a legal requirement. A well-appointed, well-informed and well-trained board is essential to good governance.

Using the LeaderBridge Solutions System (link this back to the solution page) BoardEYE helps our clients to achieve maximum operational effectiveness in the following manner:

Access: Uncovering both obvious and hidden obstacles obstructing effective governance.
Prescribe: Helping leadership devise new strategies and processes supported by clear goals and objectives.
Implementation: Achieving buy-in between members and staff and harmonizing membership activities in achieving these new goals and objectives.
Evaluation and maintenance: We evaluate your progress, modify programs, goals and objectives, as needed, and maintain contact to guard against slippage and/or relapse.

BoardEYE assists boards in meeting their fiduciary responsibilities to their shareholders or stakeholders and in significantly improving and enhancing their operational effectiveness.

What we’ve observed:

We have observed a number of boards that run like well oiled machines, performing at their highest levels and fulfilling every obligation with stellar results. We have also observed that, despite well-meaning intentions, many boards do not operate in this manner and are failing in their primary goals and responsibilities.

In some of these cases we have found boards that lack a focused set of goals and objectives and others that share a dysfunctional relationship between the board and its staff, making effective and responsible governance nearly unattainable. We found that many of the significant issues that inhibit a board’s effectiveness oftentimes emanate from deep within its operational culture and in many cases these same areas of operational and cultural imperfection are “protected” by various members and staff who may be operating with their own private or hidden motives and agendas.

In addition, we believe that many boards have been improperly assembled to showcase titles and personalities rather than for effective governance.

Finally, we have observed that many boards no longer practice core operational and behavioral principles that produce effective board results.

How is our process different?

We are both high-tech and high-touch and our ability to identify, uncover and solve the deep seated imperfections in our clients’ boards is but one significant way we differ from our competitors.

We further distinguish ourselves in four additional ways. These are:

Our ability to obtain the “organizational-buy-in” that is required to truly uncover and diagnose the issues that inhibit our clients’ capabilities.
Our ability to coach leadership in defining clear goals and objectives for achievement and properly inspire membership participation and loyalty.
Our ability to act as effective change agents and to “harmonize” the efforts of all members and staff.
Our approach to proper board member selection.

It is the combination of these capabilities that makes us different and better.

How are our consultants different?

We are not simply theoreticians and/or academics but rather we are experienced, trusted board practitioners. Our consultants are among the most senior, experienced and effective anywhere and all of them share a number of characteristics and core competencies. These are:

A proven history as effective and experienced “change agents”
An extensive experience as former board members
Service as the chairperson on various boards
Extensive experience in effective board operations and oversight
Service on public, private and/or not-for-profit boards
Experience in working with boards as CEO’s
A proven history of obtaining organizational buy-in to change.

Our philosophy

We believe it is time for boards to get “back to basics” and to govern themselves using an ethos of ethics and excellence. We believe in meeting the fiduciary responsibilities a board has to its shareholders or stake holders. We believe that boards should be assembled for optimal excellence and not for star power. We believe in a basic set of “tried and true” operational principles that produce effective board results.

We are forward thinking; however, we do not subscribe to theoretical concepts put forth by individuals and/or organizations that have little or no practical knowledge of effective board operations.

We believe that the beneficiaries of not-for-profit boards, the stakeholders in private boards , and the shareholders in public boards all expect and deserve a well run, focused, and effective board of directors to lead their organizations.

BoardEYE (Board Search and Services)

Our board services are conducted by our most senior consultants, each of whom has personally served on a number of significant boards and often in the chairman position. Each has also dealt with boards from the CEO perspective, providing a unique insight from both sides. Our consultants have an intimate knowledge and understanding of effective board operations and the challenges boards face in today’s business environment. We deploy a comprehensive no-nonsense approach to effective board assessment, development, operations and oversight.

Our services include:

Board assessment: effectiveness and operations
Board diversity
Board director and CEO search
Staff and board relationship assessment and training
Training boards on effective relationships with staff
Training staff on effective and efficient use of boards
Proactive succession planning
Instructional board presentations and learning opportunities
Leadership/executive assessment
Leadership coaching