Owning Up: The 14 Questions Every Board Member Needs to Ask »

Ram Charan is the go-to adviser for corporate directors and CEOs. Known for his insights and practical wisdom, Charan has counseled some of the world's most successful business leaders. He is coauthor of the bestseller Execution and author or coauthor of 14 other books including Leaders at All Levels, Boards That Deliver, and Boards at Work. He serves on three boards and was named one of Directorship's top 100 directors. He has an MBA and a doctoral degree with corporate governance as a field of study from the Harvard Business School.

Owning Up

Your world as a director has suddenly changed. You've seen members of other boards take the heat when their companies imploded. The managements of Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns, Merrill Lynch, and Washington Mutual clearly failed, but so did their boards. Now the board of every company beset with problems is coming under scrutiny.

The pressure is on. Your board must own up to its accountability for the performance of the corporation. Governance now means leadership.

Boards must change their modus operandi to address the new and complex issues that are emerging. These include

• Ensuring liquidity in the context of the global financial crisis
• Setting CEO performance targets in a very uncertain economy
• Assessing strategy and enterprise risk under extreme volatility

So what should boards do now? What should they be talking about in their meetings and executive sessions? What decisions must they make? How assertive must they be regarding company priorities and operating goals?

In Owning Up, business advisor and corporate governance expert Ram Charan answers these and other burning questions on the minds of directors and business leaders. He describes best practices that are emerging in boardrooms he has observed firsthand. And he provides practical recommendations on a range of issues, from compensation to dealing with external constituencies. Wisely attuned to the human side, he confronts the need for some boards to refresh their composition and for others to rebalance their board dynamics.

Directors, CEOs, general counsels, and operating executives will find here the guidance they need to meet the new and rising standards for corporate governance in this demanding business environment.

Foreword by Jack Krol.

What Boards Need Now.

1. Question 1. Is the Composition of the Board Right for the Challenge?

2. Question 2. How Are We Addressing the Risks that Could Put Our Company over the Cliff?

3. Question 3. Are We Prepared to Do Our Job Well When a Crisis Erupts?

4. Question 4. Are We Well Enough Prepared to Name Our Next CEO?

5. Question 5. How Well Does the Board Own the Strategy?

6. Question 6. How Can We Get the Information We Need to Govern Well?

7. Question 7. How Can Our Board Get CEO Compensation Right?

8. Question 8. Why Do We Need a Lead Director Anyway?

9. Question 9. Is Our governance committee Best of Breed?

10. Question 10. How Do We Get the Most Value out of Our Limited Time?

11. Question 11. How Can Executive Sessions Improve the Ownership Function of the Board?

12. Question 12. How Can Our Board Self-Evaluation Improve Our Functioning and Our Output?

13. Question 13. How Do We Stop from Micromanaging?

14. Question 14. How Well Prepared Are We to Work with Activist Shareholders and Their Proxies?

About the Author.

Index.