Do you need a board of directors for your small business? What can a board add to grow and protect your business? How do you pay a board? What are the risks? What advice should I give my board? This is one of a series of eight short, easy to read books from the Small Business Success Collection, containing actionable insights from Dave Berkus, nationally recognized successful entrepreneur, angel investor and board member, serving over forty companies. Dave tells stories of successes and failures - of strategies that worked, and those that didn't. He offers his insights for your business success based upon his many experiences. Reading this book, and others in the series, will make you a better visionary, manager, and leader!

In Building a Successful Family Business Board , the authors show why private firms need the in-depth expertise and objective feedback that a well-chosen board, including qualified independent directors, can provide, and demonstrates how owners and directors can work together to ensure a long and profitable life for the firm.

Praise for Building Better Boards "Building Better Boards bridges the gap between talk and action. A must-read for board members, CEOs, governance experts - really for anyone who cares about the future of the corporation." Anne M. Mulcahy, chairman and CEO, Xerox Corporation "Building Better Boards covers all the key issues facing boards in the post-Sarbanes-Oxley era. It provides practical advice based on the authors' wide-ranging experience with major companies that have built successful boards." Marty Lipton, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen Roger W. Raber, president and CEO, National Association of Corporate Directors "This book provides a comprehensive review and effective guide to making any board an effective team, and thus an asset, for their company." Richard H. Koppes of Counsel, Jones Day, and former general counsel, CalPERS "A balanced, insightful, thoughtful, and, above all, useful look at what can be done to create excellent boards." Edward E. Lawler III, director, Center for Effective Organizations, Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California "Improving board effectiveness is easier said than done. Building Better Boards lays out the how-tos in a clear and compelling way that is of practical value for directors and CEOs alike." Kenneth W. Freeman, former chairman and CEO, Quest Diagnostics Inc.

An essential guide to understanding the dynamics of a startup's board of directors Let's face it, as founders and entrepreneurs, you have a lot on your plate—getting to your minimum viable product, developing customer interaction, hiring team members, and managing the accounts/books. Sooner or later, you have a board of directors, three to five (or even seven) Type A personalities who seek your attention and at times will tell you what to do. While you might be hesitant to form a board, establishing an objective outside group is essential for startups, especially to keep you on track, call you out when you flail, and in some cases, save you from yourself. In Startup Boards, Brad Feld—a Boulder, Colorado-based entrepreneur turned-venture capitalist—shares his experience in this area by talking about the importance of having the right board members on your team and how to manage them well. Along the way, he shares valuable insights on various aspects of the board, including how they can support you, help you understand your startup's milestones and get to them faster, and hold you accountable. Details the process of choosing board members, including interviewing many people, checking references, and remembering that there should be no fear in rejecting a wrong fit Explores the importance of running great meetings, mixing social time with business time, and much more Recommends being a board member yourself at some other organization so you see the other side of the equation Engaging and informative, Startup Boards is a practical guide to one of the most important pieces of the startup puzzle.

Serving on a board is like having a second full-time job. Earning a seat on a board is a rite of passage for senior leaders. Serving on a board is an opportunity to share your skills and extend your reach beyond your own organization as you help select, appoint, and review the performance of an organization's senior leadership team, determine compensation and incentive plans, approve strategic decisions, and ensure the financial well-being of the organization in both the short- and long-term. But in today's increasingly complex business environment, serving on a board also means working to address detailed issues such as increasing diversity on the board itself and in the organization, ensuring a risk-mitigation plan that prepares the organization for everything from hackers to sexual predators, and navigating big-picture challenges such as the unprecedented pace of change and disruption--all while managing financials and shareholder expectations. If you read nothing else on boards, read these 10 articles by experts in the field. We've combed through hundreds of articles in the Harvard Business Review archive and selected the most important ones to help you address classic challenges such as increasing diversity, ensuring a culture that reflects company values, and providing strategic oversight while also addressing emerging issues such as shareholder activism, cybersecurity, and ever-shifting regulations. This book will inspire you to: Collaborate effectively with the other members of the board and executive team Anticipate and address legislation and regulation issues Adopt a company-centered model that prioritizes the health of the enterprise over fattening shareholders' wallets Rethink your role and attitude toward risk Support leadership transitions Foster creative abrasion to keep ideas flowing Manage and build relationships with the executive team--and your shareholders HBR's 10 Must Reads paperback series is the definitive collection of books for new and experienced leaders alike. Leaders looking for the inspiration that big ideas provide, both to accelerate their own growth and that of their companies, should look no further. HBR's 10 Must Reads series focuses on the core topics that every ambitious manager needs to know: leadership, strategy, change, managing people, and managing yourself. Harvard Business Review has sorted through hundreds of articles and selected only the most essential reading on each topic. Each title includes timeless advice that will be relevant regardless of an ever‐changing business environment.

A comprehensive guide on creating, growing, and leveraging a board of directors written for CEOs, board members, and people seeking board roles. The first time many founders see the inside of a board room is when they step in to lead their board. But how do boards work? How should they be structured, managed, and leveraged so that startups can grow, avoid pitfalls, and get the best out of their boards? Authors Brad Feld, Mahendra Ramsinghani, and Matt Blumberg have collectively served on hundreds of startup and scaleup boards over the past 30 years, attended thousands of board meetings, encountered multiple personalities and situations, and seen the good, bad, and ugly of boards. In Startup Boards: A Field Guide to Building and Leading an Effective Board of Directors, the authors provide seasoned advice and guidance to CEOs, board members, investors, and anyone aspiring to serve on a board. This comprehensive book covers a wide range of topics with relevant tips, tactics, and best practices, including: Board fundamentals such as the board's purpose, legal characteristics, and roles and functions of board members; Creating a board including size, composition, roles of VCs and independent directors, what to look for in a director, and how to recruit directors; Compensating, onboarding, removing directors, and suggestions on building a diverse board; Preparing for and running board meetings; The board's role in transactions including selling a company, buying a company, going public, and going out of business; Advice for independent and aspiring directors. Startup Boards draws on the authors' experience and includes stories from board members, startup founders, executives, and investors. Any CEO, board member, investor, or executive interested in creating an active, involved, and engaged board should read this book—and keep it handy for reference.

Part I: Strategies and Tactics; Part II: Making the Job Easier; 7. Environmental-Stress Screening; Part III: Creating Test Solutions; Part IV: Pulling It All Together; Appendix.

Templates for Trustees is a four-part series designed by the Museum Trustee Association to focus attention on key processes and tasks of governance. The books and web-based customizable templates include tools that collect information and then guide the board in using that information to organize their thoughts, identify their priorities, and plan their actions. All templates in the series have two parts: a printed guide and an on-line website. Purchasers of the books have access to the ongoing assistance of MTA staff. Building Museum Boards examines emerging practices in nonprofit governance including diversifying board composition, improving board effectiveness, and strengthening the governance committee. The text and templates guide the governance committee through every step of the nomination and board-building process including identifying and cultivating board prospects; crafting job descriptions for members, officers, and committees; ensuring compliance with conflict of interest standards; and orienting and activating new board members. The entire process is summarized in an interactive calendar.