What it’s like to be on the board of a Fortune 500 company
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Re: What it’s like to be on the board of a Fortune 500 company
#2And if a board member isn’t performing well, we get rid of them. I’ve been on boards where the SEC is in there. I’ve been on boards where the Department of Justice is involved. You don’t want that. You destroy companies when you do that. You destroy shareholder value. So what you try to do as board is make sure people are above board. You guard against anything that hurts the companies from an outside perspective. It all comes back to governance and taking care of shareholders.
This points to a problem with due diligence and/or how board members of Fortune 500 companies are chosen. Can anyone elaborate on how this happens?
I get the impression from looking at corporate websites that many board members include former officers of the company, investors, and experienced leaders from adjacent (but not competing) industries. It sounds kind of insidery, which can lead to all kinds of problems and conflicts.
Re: What it’s like to be on the board of a Fortune 500 company
#3And if a board member isn’t performing well, we get rid of them. I’ve been on boards where the SEC is in there. I’ve been on boards where the Department of Justice is involved. You don’t want that. You destroy companies when you do that. You destroy shareholder value. So what you try to do as board is make sure people are above board. You guard against anything that hurts the companies from an outside perspective. It…
I think it's sort of intended to be insidery. Everyone scratches each other's back. It's kind of similar to the dynamic of investors in hot tech companies, where people have a network of contacts they can leverage, etc.
Re: What it’s like to be on the board of a Fortune 500 company
#4This is interesting but a bit self-serving. Imagine going around where you work and interviewing someone about their job:
"Is your job easy?"
"The days of my job being easy are over. Everyday I work very hard."
etc.
Re: What it’s like to be on the board of a Fortune 500 company
#5This is actually a pretty decent overview of what it's like to be on a well-functioning nonprofit board. In that case, instead of shareholder value you're focused on the nonprofit's mission and its long-term viability.
Re: What it’s like to be on the board of a Fortune 500 company
#6And if a board member isn’t performing well, we get rid of them. I’ve been on boards where the SEC is in there. I’ve been on boards where the Department of Justice is involved. You don’t want that. You destroy companies when you do that. You destroy shareholder value. So what you try to do as board is make sure people are above board. You guard against anything that hurts the companies from an outside perspective. It…
I think it's sort of intended to be insidery. Everyone scratches each other's back. It's kind of similar to the dynamic of investors in hot tech companies, where people have a network of contacts they can leverage, etc.
It's really a perfect trifecta of CEOs, board members, and investors all being each others CEOs, board members, and investors. To put it in Bill Burr's words,"It's a big CLUB. And YOU AIN'T IN IT."
Re: What it’s like to be on the board of a Fortune 500 company
#7Total puff piece.
Boards have huge conflicts of interest and are a separate social class. Their incentive is to not upset other people in that social class.
Re: What it’s like to be on the board of a Fortune 500 company
#8Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think it's sort of intended to be insidery. Everyone scratches each other's back. It's kind of similar to the dynamic of investors in hot tech companies, where people have a network of contacts they can leverage, etc.
It's really a perfect trifecta of CEOs, board members, and investors all being each others CEOs, board members, and investors. To put it in Bill Burr's words,"It's a big CLUB. And YOU AIN'T IN IT."
> To put it in Bill Burr's words,"It's a big CLUB. And YOU AIN'T IN IT."
Pretty sure that's actually a George Carlin line, from a relatively famous routine of his. Many, many clips, but here's a random one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKUaqFzZLxU
Re: What it’s like to be on the board of a Fortune 500 company
#9Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's really a perfect trifecta of CEOs, board members, and investors all being each others CEOs, board members, and investors. To put it in Bill Burr's words,"It's a big CLUB. And YOU AIN'T IN IT."
> To put it in Bill Burr's words,"It's a big CLUB. And YOU AIN'T IN IT." Pretty sure that's actually a George Carlin line, from a relatively famous routine of his. Many, many clips, but here's a random one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKUaqFzZLxU
Good catch!
Re: What it’s like to be on the board of a Fortune 500 company
#10>>> Well the first responsibility is to ensure the company is being run in the best interest of shareholders
Do me a favor and tell me that best interests are something else than money, please...