How Strategic Is Your Board?

Many corporate boards lack clarity about their role in strategy. A structured assessment of the board’s strategic responsibilities — and how these should evolve if the company’s competitive context shifts — can change that.

Didier Cossin and Estelle Metayer

Fall 2014

In a world where business models are evolving rapidly and new competitors can emerge almost overnight, strategic thinking — especially at the top of the company — is more important than ever to a company’s survival. Unfortunately, boards of directors have no clear model to follow when it comes to developing the strategic role that is best suited to the company they oversee. At one extreme, the board does little more than rubber-stamp the CEO’s decisions, ...