Most architecture, engineering, and environmental consulting firms have boards of directors and can benefit from the new debate as to what makes a strong board. Even the smallest of design and environmental firms can derive a benefit from the right board of directors; A/E Board of Directors Cookbook will give firm leaders, board members, potential outside board advisors, and executive management in A/E firms practical information about what their boards should be doing and how to create more effective, responsive, and efficient boards.
Summary of What's Inside:
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Learn about the board's role and what duties it performs
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Learn how to align your board with the strategic goals of your A/E firm
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Investigate the critical aspects of creating a successful board
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Learn how to appropriately compensate board members at your A/E firm
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Hear about common challenges boards face in the A/E industry
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Explore the criterion for choosing the right board members |
- Learn about the board’s role and what duties it performs
- Learn how to align your board with the strategic goals of your firm
- Investigate the critical aspects of creating a successful board
- Learn how to compensate board members
- Hear about common challenges boards face in the A/E industry
- Explore criterion for choosing the right board members
- More!
Who are those people and what do they do, anyway?
Most architecture, engineering, and environmental consulting firms have boards of directors and can benefit from the new debate as to what makes a strong board. Even the smallest of design and environmental firms can derive a benefit from the right board of directors; A/E Board of Directors Cookbook will give firm leaders, board members, potential outside board advisors, and executive management in A/E firms practical information about what their boards should be doing and how to create more effective, responsive, and efficient boards.
In addition, A/E Board of Directors Cookbook offers best practices advice on structuring the board, getting the board to concentrate on the right tasks, and compensating them fairly. With ZweigWhite’s A/E Board of Directors Cookbook, you will learn how a board of directors can benefit a firm, how to find the right talent to staff the board, and what other firms have found works when putting together a board of directors.
A/E Board of Directors Cookbook is also filled with real-life case studies and descriptions of real boards of directors in the industry today. You’ll get a behind-the-scenes look at how other A/E firms are structuring their boards, who’s involved, and what their biggest challenges are. The case studies profile firms of all types and sizes in the design and environmental industry, so you can see how firms just like yours are using their boards to their advantage.
Don’t just lead… lead effectively. A/E Board of Directors Cookbook will show you how! |
Foreword
Chapter 1: Defining the A/E Board of Directors
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What exactly is a board of directors?
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Small versus large and public versus private
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Do small firms even need a board of directors?
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Trend towards more boards across all firms
Chapter 2: Putting the Board Together
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Profiling the firm
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Writing the board prospectus
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Personal qualities in directors
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Job descriptions
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Recruiting
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Voting by the shareholders
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Terms of service
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Structuring the board
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Size matters
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Insiders only?
Chapter 3: Duties of the Board
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Major areas for board focus
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Setting the firm’s mission
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Policy setting and strategic planning
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Recommend and approve significant transactions
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Fiduciary oversight
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Committees
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Business development
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Management oversight
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Self-evaluation
Chapter 4: Challenges Facing A/E Boards
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Choosing the wrong leaders
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Ineffective meetings
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An uncomfortable relationship with top management
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Setting inappropriate target goals for the business
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The too-large board
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Disconnect between strategic decisions and their implementation
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Too many mixed-up hats
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Difficult incorporating outside directors
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Not compensating outside directors appropriately
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Letting politics and cliques horn in
Chapter 5: Keys to a Successful A/E Board of Directors
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Worthwhile meetings
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Communication
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Trust
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Far-sightedness
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Clear expectations
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Performance evaluations
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Diversity
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Structure and process
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A strong, organized chairperson
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Carefully selected directors
Chapter 6: Special Issues
Chapter 7: A/E Industry Case Studies
Resources |
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