Is your board comprised of your spouse, children, friends or key managers?  Do you have directors who will challenge your management team on strategy implementation?  Are there management conflicts that are disrupting the company?  We help implement good governance systems to help CEO's with their challenging problems. We are active members of the National Association of Corporate Directors.  Our founder is a leading expert on boards and board development.  We believe good companies become great companies by the effective use of boards in guiding the company through crisis, succession, and growth strategies. We offer board formation assistance, director orientation, and board assessments or retreats facilitation. We also advise CEO's with board activities, committee formation, and director selection.

Founding CEO's have a very unique and challenging condition when they discuss developing a board.  Our ability to attract other CEO's who have experienced the transition from a single director to an engaged board.  It is not a simple or quick process.  It requires time to build trust and collegiality.  In addition, founding CEO's regularly have risked everything to keep the business alive.  Selecting directors who have signed personal guarantees builds common experiences and also allows management to address their risk concerns without offending the CEO.  We also think having other experiences on the board, beyond CEO's adds perspectives that enhance shareholder value.

We believe engaged directors are the foundation of an effective board or family council. We also appreciate the value of independent directors on boards and in-laws on family councils.  ESOP Committees and Trustees are also important governing structures that improve company performance.  We are experienced in helping clients develop boards and councils, and educate them with the knowledge necessary to be effective trustees, directors or council members. Our network of seasoned executives in many industries are a pool of qualified candidates for your next board vacancy.

In a succession process, the use of Boards and family councils can be a remarkable tool for developing the next generation of management, as wisdom is exchanged and accountability developed. Our approach is to develop wisdom and accountability simultaneously as a system to retain harmony for holiday gatherings and moving change initiatives forward effectively.

We have found that Boards with family members as well as independent "outsiders," can be an effective competitive competency. Many times, we try to invite successful relatives, who have earned their family's trust, to join the board and encourage actions that reduce conflict, and increase management performance.