Didier Cossin's High Performance Boards covers aspects of culture and organisational design that are foundational to any successful institution. This comprehensive study captures real-world insights on quality governance and effective leadership. It connects his four- pillar methodology for gauging and improving board effectiveness, learning from both failure and success and boardroom best practice. It is a valuable tool for present and future directors.
--Mark Tucker, Group Chairman of HSBC Holdings plc

Recent developments in the financial services industry dramatically illustrate the intimate link between good governance and a company's success or failure, particularly in times of crisis. In his latest book, Didier Cossin sheds light on the design principles and practice that underpin good governance. A catchy and comprehensive textbook for those in charge!
--Sergio Ermotti, Group CEO and President of the Executive Board of UBS AG

The most up-to-date version of the gold standard in board governance

In the newly revised second edition of High Performance Boards: A Practical Guide to Improving & Energizing your Governance, author Didier Cossin delivers an incisive and practical roadmap to board governance best-practices. Accessible to professionals from a variety of backgrounds, the book lays out the foundational and advanced concepts you'll need to understand to effectively govern a for-profit firm, non-profit, or government entity.

You'll learn to manage risk, increase the impact of your board, consider and evaluate the importance of ESG metrics, take into account geopolitics, and supervise your organization's culture. You'll also discover:

• Extensive revisions to existing chapters, including new methods of cyber-risk management and stakeholder management
• Strategies for avoiding the common pitfall of 'greenwashing'
• Increasingly common new activism techniques undertaken by boards and investors to shape the behaviour of organizations

An indispensable resource for board members and directors serving on boards at organizations of all kinds, High Performance Boards will also earn a place on the bookshelves of corporate lawyers, board secretaries, and students of corporate governance. For additional materials to the book, please see didiercossin.com.

Change is coming. Leadership at the top is being redefined as boards take a more active role in decisions that once belonged solely to the CEO. But for all the advantages of increased board engagement, it can create debilitating questions of authority and dangerous meddling in day-to-day operations. Directors need a new road map--for when to lead, when to partner, and when to stay out of the way.

Boardroom veterans Ram Charan, Dennis Carey, and Michael Useem advocate this new governance model--a sharp departure from what has been demanded by governance activists, raters, and regulators--and reveal the emerging practices that are defining shared leadership of directors and executives. Based on personal interviews and the authors' broad and deep experience working with executives and directors from dozens of the world's largest firms, including Apple, Boeing, Ford, Infosys, and Lenovo, Boards That Lead tells the inside story behind the successes and pitfalls of this new leadership model and explains how to:

- Define the central idea of the company
- Ensure that the right CEO is in place and potential successors are identified
- Recruit directors who add value
- Root out board dysfunction
- Select a board leader who deftly bridges the divide between management and the board
- Set a high bar on ethics and risk

With a total of eighteen checklists that will transform board directors from monitors to leaders, Charan, Carey, and Useem provide a smart and practical guide for businesspeople everywhere--whether they occupy the boardroom or the C-suite.

We live in an age of extreme corporate concentration, in which global industries are controlled by just a few giant firms--big banks, big pharma, and big tech, just to name a few. But concern over what Louis Brandeis called the curse of bigness can no longer remain the province of specialist lawyers and economists, for it has spilled over into policy and politics, even threatening democracy itself. History suggests that tolerance of inequality and failing to control excessive corporate power may prompt the rise of populism, nationalism, extremist politicians, and fascist regimes. In short, as Wu warns, we are in grave danger of repeating the signature errors of the twentieth century.

In The Curse of Bigness, Tim Wu explains how figures like Brandeis and Theodore Roosevelt first confronted the democratic threats posed by the great trusts of the Gilded Age--but the lessons of the Progressive Era were forgotten in the last 40 years. He calls for recovering the lost tenets of the trustbusting age as part of a broader revival of American progressive ideas as we confront the fallout of persistent and extreme economic inequality.

Davina Stanley helps you prepare better papers and presentations for your senior decision makers in a fraction of the time.

Few people, it seems, enjoy preparing papers and presentations for senior leaders and Boards.

Equally, leaders and Boards frequently complain about the mediocrity of such papers.

Despite this, all concerned aim for papers that support rich discussions that lead to better and faster decisions. Nobody sets out to create unproductive meetings discussing details that lead to more questions than answers. Yet this is where many executives find themselves.

In Engage, Davina Stanley helps you change this dynamic by lifting the quality of thinking in your papers.

Engage explains how to

Gain extreme clarity around the purpose of each paper.Take advantage of Davina's top 10 patterns for structuring your message.Iterate your messaging more quickly and easily with stakeholders.Deliver better papers in a fraction of the time.

Learn how top-tier private, public and not-for-profit executives globally have lifted their game.

Davina Stanley shares how to set your team up to deliver better papers and presentations to senior decision makers in a fraction of the time.

Few people, it seems, enjoy preparing papers and presentations for senior leaders and Boards.

Equally, leaders and Boards frequently complain about the mediocrity of such papers.

Despite this, all concerned aim for papers that support rich discussions that lead to better and faster decisions. Nobody enjoys unproductive meetings discussing details that lead to more questions than answers. Yet this is where many senior teams and Boards find themselves.

In Elevate, Davina Stanley helps you change this dynamic by lifting the quality of thinking in your team's papers without rewriting them yourself.

Set you and your team up to work at level so all of you add more value.

Elevate explains how to

• Set you and your team up to work at level so all of you add more value.
• Iterate quickly around the substance of the messaging rather than meddling in the minutiae.
• Deliver better papers in a fraction of the time.

Learn how top-tier private, public and not-for-profit teams globally have lifted their game.

Bust the status quo of board room administrative tedium and passive participation to contribute to meaningful social transformation and impact in your organization. Authors Jukanovich and West offer changemakers new to the boardroom the mindset and strategies necessary to make a difference in the organizations they lead.

Mission-based, socially responsible, and transformational organizations are needed more today than ever. And the boards that lead them must be in tune with their stakeholder's culture. But so often they are held back by ineffective decision making and a lack of interpersonal trust.

This book breaks down the key elements of a successful boardroom and how to achieve them. From onboarding diverse talent to establishing trust through accountability, you will have the tools and actionable techniques needed to effectively make a difference in the world with healthier boardroom practices.

We only have one planet.

Individually and corporately, we are all stewards of the natural environment, but we have not protected, nurtured, or renewed it as well as we should have.

In ESG Matters, authors Dr. Debra L. Brown and David A. H. Brown challenge the thinking that businesses operate in a vacuum, separate from the environment. Maintaining a focus on environment, social, and governance (ESG) places an organization a step above those that don't consider the ethics of good business.

ESG goes beyond corporate social responsibility that holds an organization accountable. ESG criteria creates visible metrics for the organization.

ESG Matters helps readers

● examine their beliefs to make financial and investment decisions thoughtfully and deliberately.

● understand how to use their purchasing power to protect and renew the environment.

● recognize the true impact of their spending decisions.

● influence public perception and ultimately boost their bottom line.

Save the Planet, Empower People, and Outperform the Competition starting today!

In his new foreword to The Board Book, former Mellon Foundation and Princeton University president William G. Bowen brings his immense experience to bear on the most pressing questions facing boards of directors and trustees today: seeking collaborative relationships and placing a renewed emphasis on sustainable initiatives. The strategies Bowen relates throughout the book foster the collegiality and sense of purpose--more important in today's turbulent times than ever before--that are integral to any effective board.

Betsy Atkins is often asked How can I get on a board? So after 20+ years in the boardroom and multiple roles in public and private companies she is ready to share her secrets. In this book, she teaches you how to build your own personal brand as well as how to keep yourself relevant and growing. She shares tips on how to make your personal network the most effective (and the most enjoyable.) Betsy covers the best ways to present your skills and credentials in order to get that board interview as well as detailed information on how to prepare for it. But getting that board seat won't be the end of your journey. Once you are on the board, you'll want to be the best board member you can, helping your companies grow and prosper so you'll be able to get that next, even better board seat.

For new CEOs and entrepreneurs she covers how to make your board work for you and be a true accelerant for your company; the role of the board, choosing new board members (and getting rid of the bad ones), maximizing your board meetings and building board relationships to ensure success for you as a CEO and for your company.

Also included is a collection of articles and learnings from Betsy's experiences as an operator, board member and advisor to some of America's largest and most notable public companies.

After reading this book, prospective board members will be energized and motivated to create their own personal brand, cultivate it to gain a board seat, be a better board member and CEO and continue to educate on the issues boards are looking at today.

Non-Invasive Data Governance Strikes Again provides a blend of 50 applicable lessons learned and perspectives gained from years of assisting organizations worldwide to follow the popular non-invasive approach from the bestseller, Non-Invasive Data Governance.

Non-Invasive Data Governance (NIDG) does not mean that the governance of data and information will be easy or without trials and tribulations. Non-invasive does not mean that the program will be low impact. The title of this book is a dichotomy: achieving measurable results by being less threatening while the impact of striking with this approach can be huge. NIDG focuses on leveraging existing levels of accountability while addressing opportunities to improve. Read about a new framework for Non-Invasive Data Governance in this book that views the main components of a successful program through different levels and perspectives of the organization.

There is not a more prolific source of original ideas in the data governance community than Bob Seiner. He's in the field every day, working alongside his clients to help them address real business opportunities and problems. So, when Bob shares experience and perspective in his new book, you are tapping into literally thousands of hours of hard work and creative thinking which have been applied in the real world.

In this sequel to Non-Invasive Data Governance, Bob Seiner uncovers, unwraps, exposes, defrags, and dissects the lessons and the questions he has discovered in the application of his groundbreaking methodologies for data governance. The reader will be well prepared with examples of how to manage, steward, measure, and to become the best Data Governance professional with the least possible friction.

Bob's invention of the Non-Invasive Data Governance methodology has helped to revolutionize the way organization's manage data. And this book shares the lessons he has learned putting NIDG to practice. So, if you are looking for guidance on governing your organization's data without requiring significant changes to existing processes or infrastructure, let Bob's latest book be your guide.

Too often, data books present a rose-colored lens of how things should be. Bob Seiner certainly has the pedigree to know what needs to change, but he also has the practical experience to make it happen. This book is a key that can help anyone unlock the knowledge that Bob has accumulated the hard way, from the experience of many real-life data governance implementations. Everyone should add this to their data bookshelf, since no matter the scenario, there is likely to be a chapter or essay that will apply and help improve the situation. I can't imagine a better encore to Bob's original Non-Invasive Data Governance book!

Data governance is broken. It's time we fix it.

Why is data governance so ineffective? The truth is data governance programs aren't designed for the way we run our data teams, they aren't even designed for a modern organization at all. They were designed when reports still came through inter-office mail.

The flow of data into, within, and out of today's organizations is a tsunami breaking through rigid data governance methods. Yet our programs still rely on that command and control approach. Have you ever tried to control a tsunami? Every organization that uses data knows that they need a data governance program. Data literacy efforts and legislation like GDPR have become the bellwethers for our governance functions. But we still sit in data governance meetings without enough people and too many questions to move things forward. There's no agility to the program because we imply a degree of frailty to the data that doesn't exist. We continue to insist on archaic methods that bring no value to our organizations. Achieving deep insights from data can't happen without good governance practices.

Laura Madsen shows you how to redefine governance for the modern age. With a casual, witty style Madsen taps on her decades of experience, shares interviews with other best-in-field experts and grounds her perspective in research. Witness where it all fell apart, challenge long-held beliefs, and commit to a fundamental shift--that governance is not about stopping or preventing usage but about supporting the usage of data. Be able to bring back trust and value to our data governance functions, and learn the:

• People-driven approach to governance
• Processes that support the tsunami of data
• Cutting edge technology that's enabling data governance

Warren Buffett and his company, Berkshire Hathaway, are legendary for their distinctive investing approach. Yet many equally unconventional but less well known aspects of Berkshire's managerial practices and organizational structure are rich with lessons for those seeking to follow in Buffett's footsteps. Margin of Trust is the first book to distill Buffett's approach to management and corporate life. It provides a definitive analysis of the tenets of the Berkshire system, its costs and benefits, and how it can be adapted for other organizations.

Lawrence A. Cunningham and Stephanie Cuba develop a new account of how Berkshire Hathaway works, showing that the key to its success is trust. Profiling partnership practices and business methods, they contend that Berkshire's distinguishing feature is a culture in which autonomy and decentralization are core management principles. Cunningham and Cuba provide instructive examples of how this model has been successfully adapted by other companies that share a faith in trust as an organizing principle. They also offer candid commentary on the risks of a trust-based approach and how to mitigate them. Margin of Trust features illuminating analysis of Buffett's take on the role trust plays in business agreements, what Buffett looks for in great corporate boards, and what lies ahead for Berkshire after its iconic leader leaves the scene.

Berkshire Hathaway, the $500 billion conglomerate that Warren Buffett built, is among the world's largest and most famous corporations. Yet, for all its power and celebrity, few people understand Berkshire, and many assume it cannot survive without Buffett. This book proves them wrong.

In a comprehensive portrait of the corporate culture that unites Berkshire's subsidiaries, Lawrence A. Cunningham unearths the traits that assure the conglomerate's continued prosperity. Riveting stories of each subsidiary's origins, triumphs, and journey to Berkshire reveal how managers generate economic value from intangibles like thrift, integrity, entrepreneurship, autonomy, and a sense of permanence.

Rich with lessons for those wishing to profit from the Berkshire model, this engaging book is a valuable read for entrepreneurs, business owners, managers, family business members, and investors, and it is an important resource for scholars of corporate stewardship. General readers will enjoy learning how an iconoclastic businessman transformed a struggling textile company into a corporate legacy.

Great Companies Deserve Great Boards is considered a governance classic. Boardrooms are filled with intelligent accomplished people - yet despite all the changes boards have undergone over the past two decades, many fail to achieve their full potential and add the kind of value for the CEO, executive team, and company stakeholders that most boards are capable of. This book offers no-nonsense insights that can take any board from mediocrity to the top of its game, providing workable approaches to tackle a variety of boardroom issues. It's filled with practical advice that any CEO, Board Chair, or board member can introduce at their very next meeting.