The Savvy Director Blog

Let’s start with a fundamental truth in the world of boards — whether they’re non-profit, private company, publicly traded, or charity boards. Board directors wear many hats — but they don’t wear them every day. Unlike staff, directors aren’t embedded in the organization’s daily operations. Their time together is limited, their role is strategic, and their impact depends on one essential truth.

A Savvy Director focuses on what matters.

This isn’t one of DirectorPrep’s Six Key Habits, but i...

Joining a new board of directors is like getting on a bus – one that’s already full of people and is well on its way to its destination.

The tricky part is that the bus isn’t stationary. Even as you hop on, it’s already moving.

Whether it’s your first bus ride or you’re a veteran, you’ve got to catch your breath, find your place, and settle in for the journey.

In the same way, whether you’re a first time director or you’ve already served on a few boards, it’s normal to start a new board ro...

Whenever I spot the word “governance” in a headline, I notice it. So, a recent article in our local news feed caught my attention. It described issues on the board of a well-known public institution, then went on to say that the board chair had been contacted for comment.

The chair deferred comment to the organization’s director of communications. The director of communications in turn refused to comment, saying "The board is an independent governing body so any further comment would rest wit...

If you find your board work a less than enjoyable experience, and board meetings boring and frustrating, maybe you’re part of a dysfunctional board.

When it comes to a board of directors, dysfunction tends to arise from two broad areas – process and people. You’re probably not surprised that people-centered dysfunction is way more frustrating to experience, and way trickier to fix, than the process-centered kind. That’s what happens when you throw human nature into the mix!

Still, there are...

Over the years I’ve been involved in more than a few searches for a new CEO, and, I have to say, it’s got to be one of the most nerve-wracking processes that a board of directors undertakes. There is just so much riding on that one decision. It’s a process that is fraught with risk – the risk of overlooking the right person and selecting the wrong person.

In recent blog posts, we’ve dealt with different takes on the board’s role in CEO succession – first, the challenge of naming an interim CEO ...

If you’ve been hesitant to try AI, you’re not alone — and you’re not behind. Many board directors are still figuring out where AI fits into their governance work.

The good news? You don’t need to be a tech expert to benefit from AI. You just need to be curious and willing to see with your own eyes. That’s what it means to be an independent thinker.

This week’s edition of The Savvy Director explores how AI tools — especially DirectorPrep’s ChatDPQ™ — can harness AI to support your role as a ...

At DirectorPrep, we’re obsessed with questions. Asking clear, compelling questions is often the best way that we, as directors, can make a significant contribution to discussions and influence board decisions.

We use questions to clarify information, launch and build on meaningful discussions, encourage dialogue, and challenge assumptions. Without questions, how would we explore fresh ideas, analyze problems, and generate solutions?

The concept is simple - better questions kick start better ...

 

Here’s a new acronym for you. BANI. It stands for Brittle, Anxious, Non-linear, and Incomprehensible. These four words form a framework that’s meant to describe the current state of the world.

Futurist Jamais Cascio created the BANI framework as a way of dealing with an increasingly chaotic environment — a confusing world that leaves us with the sense that things are spinning out of control. Cascio’s goal was to uncover an understanding of why we’re getting unexpected outcomes, and how the ...

The Savvy Director blog usually focuses on the director role as it relates to the board as a whole. But in the past few weeks, I’ve found myself spending far more time on my role as a committee member. And that’s not unusual.

With committee work on my mind, it seems like a good time to write about board committees.

I like to include quotations in these blog posts, so I did a quick Google search on ‘Quotes about Committees’. It pains me to say it, but apparently few have ever had anything goo...

As board directors, we often measure our impact by the weight of our responsibilities, the complexity of the decisions we make, or the prestige of the organizations we serve. But when our board term comes to an end, and our memory of all the meetings fades, what truly remains?

It’s not the title.

It’s not the time you spent.

It’s not the governance rules you learned.

It’s the legacy you leave behind in the hearts and minds of those you served with.

“They may forget what you said — but t...