Corporate governance is one of the areas that can either accentuate the value of an organization or can sink it.

History is littered with organizations that had poor governance controls where the unsuspecting investors – and in some cases, investors that turned a blind eye – literally lost their shirts. The most recent examples being Wirecard, Nikola and even Alibaba.

The author clearly lays out examples and concrete steps that boards need to take. Often, the incentives of these boards and their old-boy networks can virtually guarantee that no one has an incentive to say that the emperor is indeed naked.

The fall of Theranos is a perfect example which was littered with the Who’s Who of the world politics on their board questions – Murdoch, Kissinger, James Mattis – but couldn’t ask even the most basic of questions.

I love that someone is finally talking about where change needs to be realized: boardrooms. Governance and ideally structures of banking system need to change and coming from a country (Kenya) where a mobile paying system,Mpesa, shook and continues to shake the banking system, reading this was not just a thrill, it was insightful.
I wonder though, the audience for this book, for if it's for the general reader or a lay person like me, it comes off as too academic and compact and as such enjoying it took a lot of my attention and focus.
It's a very detailed, and we'll researched book.
Thanks Netgalley for the eARC.

'Better Boardrooms' is a good book about a very important issue. As the author herself points out, a myriad of texts have been written about leadership - mostly of the how to do it variety, or in praise of a particular heroic-CEO. In popular literature at least, little attention has been paid to the boardroom, governance and how to imporve it This is a pity because it is the Board and company directors who set directions, determine policies and may be responsible for much of the corporate failure that has filled the last twenty years. . Therefore, this book fills a significant gap and does so by proposing a straightforward and sensible system of 'cataytic governance' to foster a broader perspective, more constructive dialogue and better strategic decision-making for companies in a wold that changes at an increasingly fast pace. Unfortunately, whilst being very clearly written, 'Better Boardrooms' is unlikely to encourage the change it seeks, because, as an apparently academic text, it will lack the appeal of its more 'punchy'.counterparts that are written about executive leadership. Governance may be critical, but perhaps it just doesn't fascinate in the way that leadership does. The Board, the collective, may be ultimately responsible, but perhaps it just isn't as sexy as the lone, action-hero CEO..
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