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The Savvy Director Blog

Welcome to The Savvy Director™ blog, a place to engage on board governance topics as you travel the path to being a savvy director.

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Bringing Design into the Boardroom

build governance skills May 22, 2022

One of my favorite things about my role at DirectorPrep is that, when I come across a new idea or an interesting concept in the world of board governance, I get to share it with our Savvy Director readers.

That’s how today’s blog came about. While researching an entirely different topic, I came across a series of articles from the Institute of Directors of New Zealand (IoD NZ) about applying the principles and practices of design thinking in the boardroom.

I found the concepts...

The Way We Do Things Around Here

prepare for meetings May 15, 2022

This is the third of three articles on the topic of human capital. The first, Overseeing “Our Greatest Asset”, dealt with the board’s role in Human Capital Management and the second, The Talent-Savvy Board, dealt with Talent Management. In this article we explore the importance of organizational culture.

An organization’s culture can make or break a brilliant strategy and build or damage the careers of experienced executives. A positive culture that aligns well with...

The Talent-Savvy Board

prepare for meetings May 08, 2022

This is the second of three articles on the topic of human capital. The first, Overseeing “Our Greatest Asset”, dealt with the board’s role in Human Capital Management. Next week’s article will deal with Organizational Culture.

Providing oversight of an organization’s top talent has long been a core responsibility for boards of directors. They play a critical role in hiring and firing the CEO, evaluating the performance of top executives, and developing...

Overseeing “Our Greatest Asset”

prepare for meetings May 01, 2022

This is the first of three articles dealing with Human Capital Management. The next two will deal with Talent Management and Organizational Culture.

Historically, organizations have viewed their workforce through a financial lens. The well-worn phrase “our people are our greatest asset” marked a transition from viewing people as just another operating expense to considering them as intangible assets that represent a fundamental component of the organization’s...

Shifting into High Gear

collaborate with others Apr 24, 2022

This article is the second of two dealing with board engagement. Click here for our first article – Getting in Gear.

In the first Savvy Director article on board engagement, Getting in Gear, we explored the meaning of board engagement, some of the signs of engaged or disengaged boards, and how to measure board engagement. The title “getting in gear” implied moving from a neutral position – with gears disengaged – to low gear to start dealing with...

Getting in Gear

collaborate with others Apr 10, 2022

This article is the first of two dealing with board engagement. Part 2, “Shifting into High Gear,” was published on April 24th.

I like the metaphor of “getting in gear” to refer to the topic of board engagement. It’s a familiar phrase that means “starting to deal with something in an effective way.” When a board of directors gets in gear, it starts to deal with the issues and concerns in front of it in an effective way. In other words, it makes...

Navigating Our VUCA World

prepare for meetings Apr 03, 2022

This article is the second of two dealing with our VUCA world and how the board of directors can help their organizations to navigate its challenges. Click here for our first article - Living in a VUCA World.

Like it or not, we find ourselves living in a VUCA world - one characterized by volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. Our environment is changing rapidly and in unexpected ways. It can be hard to discern the best path forward in the face of this shifting...

Living in a VUCA World

prepare for meetings Mar 27, 2022

This article is the first of two dealing with our VUCA world and how the board of directors can help their organizations to navigate its challenges. Part 2, Navigating our VUCA World, was published on April 3rd. Click here for Part 2.

As a board director, are you finding that your organization is operating in an environment that has changed radically – and keeps changing at an accelerating pace?

If so, you’re not alone. You're facing a VUCA world....

Ever-Changing Tech

prepare for meetings Mar 20, 2022

Would you agree that staying on top of technology developments shouldn’t be left to the one tech-fluent director on your board?

Just as it’s no longer acceptable to defer all the responsibility for understanding the financial statements to the accountant on the board, I feel that keeping up with the techies has to become a shared responsibility for all board directors.

It’s pretty clear to me that all directors need to have their heads in the tech game –...

Is Your Board a High Value Team?

collaborate with others Mar 13, 2022

by Alice Sayant, ICD.D

We’ve all had experience with teams – sport teams, project teams, work teams, whatever. So, when we join a board of directors, are we joining another team? Can we apply our life experience with other kinds of teams to the work of the board?

“When most people think of high-performing teams, they think of sports teams, trauma center professionals, or fire department crews. They rarely think of … boards. Still, if you want an exceptional...