The Savvy Director >> Weekly insights delivered to your inbox on Sunday mornings. Click here

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. 

If you're interested in upping your game at the board table, no matter the size of your board or the type of organization you serve, subscribe below to receive a weekly link right in your email inbox.

A Fork in the Road - The Director's Role in Strategy

prepare for meetings Oct 07, 2023

It’s important for an organization to have clear goals. Goals are where the organization wants to end up, but it needs a strategy to get there. If the goal is the destination, then its strategy is the travel plan.

When faced with a fork in the road, a travel plan answers the question Which road should we take? And it answers many other questions too, such as Which routes will we avoid? What vehicle will we use? How fast will we travel? Who will navigate? Who will be along for the ride?...

Continue Reading...

The Motivation Inside Us

prepare for meetings Oct 01, 2023

Have you ever served on a board with a director you’d consider ideal? Someone you can’t wait to have in the boardroom, to engage in conversation that’s forward thinking, inspiring, and infused with values and goals aligned with the organization you both serve?

If you haven’t experienced that yet, I sincerely hope you do at some point, because there’s nothing like it. No matter your colleague’s background, they come prepared - ready to participate in the...

Continue Reading...

Getting Executive Compensation Right

prepare for meetings Aug 06, 2023

 

When it comes to executive compensation, it’s best to be cautious about giving advice. There’s a great deal of variation across industry sectors and geography, a multitude of designs available, and many different factors to consider.

Yet the board of directors is ultimately responsible for making executive compensation decisions. It’s an important responsibility because having the right plan is a key factor in driving organizational performance.

Given these stakes,...

Continue Reading...

Oversight of Third Party Risk

prepare for meetings Jul 09, 2023

Organizations are becoming more and more dependent on third parties to provide the services they need to stay in business – from IT to accounting, from customer service to HR, and more. And the more we rely on third parties, the more important it is to evaluate and manage our exposure to associated risks.

The board of directors plays an important role by ensuring there’s a focus on effective third-party risk management before problems arise from the increased risk exposure.

...

Continue Reading...

Creating the Board's AI Workplan

prepare for meetings May 28, 2023

For me, reading and learning about artificial intelligence (AI) has been like drinking from a firehose. I could choose to ignore it and get a nice glass of water from the filtered jug in my fridge. But that wouldn’t end well.

Instead, I’ve been learning that boards today aren’t yet seeing AI as an important education topic for their meetings or board retreats. There’s some curiosity around ChatGPT, but otherwise little sense of urgency. In my view, that’s a...

Continue Reading...

The Board's Life Cycle

prepare for meetings May 14, 2023

Businesses naturally progress through different stages as they grow and mature. So do non-profit organizations. Their boards of directors need to change along with them, otherwise there’ll be a serious mismatch between what an organization needs from its board, and what the board can actually deliver.

As a board moves through these stages over time, it requires a changing set of attributes and competencies from its members. As a director, you’ll be more engaged and more...

Continue Reading...

AI in the Boardroom

prepare for meetings Mar 05, 2023

Image - AI bot at the boardroom table - generated by Shutterstock

Today’s post is by David Jaworski, Principal Product Manager for Microsoft Teams and co-founder of DirectorPrep. Dave serves on the board of INEO Solutions (TSXV: INEO) as well as non-profit boards. He previously served on the Advisory Board of Payworks and the public board of PNI Digital Media which was acquired by Staples. [email protected] LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/DaveJaworski

Thanks to ChatGPT for also...

Continue Reading...

How Do We Make Money?

prepare for meetings Jul 17, 2022
 

You may find the term “business model” thrown around in the boardroom.

In this Savvy Director article, we’ll explore what it means, how it differs from strategy, and what the board’s role is, and what directors need to know to fulfill their role with respect to the organization’s business model.

And if the board you serve is in the non-profit sector, not to worry. There’s plenty here for you as well.

 

What is a business model?

The term business...

Continue Reading...

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...
Continue Reading...

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....
Continue Reading...
Close

Welcome to the Savvy Director Blog

Stay connected with our weekly posts about what it takes to be a savvy board director