BI for JANUARY...

THE DUMB WAY WE SELECT CORPORATE BOARD MEMBERS

What major corporation would hire its top leaders through a cozy, “who knows who” network, ignoring strategic fit, credentials, or even job descriptions? Sounds outrageous -- but that’s just how most corporate board members are recruited, according to an article in the January issue of online board journal Boardroom INSIDER.

Though a corporation’s board is technically its highest office, members are “picked through its most amateurish, opaque, subjective selection process,” writes publisher/commentator Ralph Ward.  Recruiting through a search firm, rigorous review of credentials, targeting specific skills… all are rare in seeking a new board member. Rather, the process looks more like tapping someone for a college fraternity, says Ward. “What other corporate position has such an incoherent hiring process?... even the guy you hire as a janitor has to pass a drug test.”

Also in the January Boardroom INSIDER:

The questions audit committees should ask their auditors.
Why most boards meet just once a year (and how they can do it better).
Q&A: Should I accept this board offer?