Strategy setters vs. strategy vetters: boards are not satisfied with the role they are currently playing in strategy development. Here is what they want and need to get more engaged in the process.

Directors & Boards › Vol. 31 Nbr. 2, January 2007

Author: Mankins, Michael C.

Position:: STRATEGY

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STRATEGY

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Strategy setters vs. strategy vetters: boards are not satisfied with the role they are currently playing in strategy development. Here is what they want and need to get more engaged in the process.

AFTER MORE THAN FIVE YEARS of near-complete focus on issues of governance and compliance, boards are once again turning their attention to strategy. Today's business world requires it. Competitors are more aggressive, customers are more demanding, and investors are less patient. When it's working, strategy can create competitive advantage and drive superior performance. When it's not working, nothing else really matters. While everyone agrees that the board is responsible in some way for strategy, many board members are struggling with how best to play this all-important role.

In the fall of 2006, my firm, Marakon Associates, collaborated with the Economist Intelligence Unit to survey board members from 163 companies worldwide with revenues and market capitalizations of $1 billion or more. We wanted to bet...

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