That’s a 10% survival rate. Even sectors previously thought to be safe \u2013 mattresses, oil and gas, health care \u2013 are now grappling with power players from unexpected places.<\/p>\n
In the age of mass disruption, every company needs to be ready for the day they wake up to the news that Amazon is moving onto their turf. Just yesterday, Amazon unveiled a new credit card that’s aimed at those with bad credit, something no retailer has done before.<\/p>\n
At the recent ICD Conference in Toronto, I had the opportunity to ask a panel of veteran board members how to get ready for your Amazon moment.<\/p>\n
Here are 6 takeaways from my discussion with John Cassaday, who chairs the board of Manulife Financial, and is director of Irving Oil, Sysco and Sleep Country Canada; Kathleen O’Neill, who sits on the boards of Finning International, ARC Resources, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan; and Michael Wilson, who chairs the board of Suncor and sits on the boards of Air Canada and Celestica.<\/p>\n
\u201cToo often we just accept the agenda,” Cassaday said of board meetings. Try sending out the agenda a month in advance instead \u2013 that gives the board the opportunity to review and add new items, while allowing management time to prepare<\/p>\n
The tone is set from the top \u2013 so boards need to support innovation and disruptive thinking with candid, open, transparent discussions. \u201cIf the board sets the right tone, it permeates management,” O’Neill said. \u201cBoards need to spend time looking at themselves, creating the right culture.”<\/p>\n
Boards used to hire generalists, but now subject matter experts have arrived on the scene \u2013 and they’re invaluable. John says he encourages people to go full steam ahead with questions and insights when their area of expertise comes up. \u201cWhen it’s your turn, be great. Don’t worry about taking up ice time.” O’Neill raised the idea of rotating 10-year memberships, because the skills you require on your board are always changing.<\/p>\n
Having a diversity of views on the board is important, and productive. \u201cI encourage someone who is prepared to throw a contrarian view out there, aggressively,” Wilson said. But within reason – you don’t want to create an adversarial environment, or you won’t get transparency. \u201cThere’s a line between disruptive and disrespectful,” he added.<\/p>\n
\u201cDirectors shouldn’t think about the job as just meetings, but an ongoing commitment to stay up to speed,” Cassaday said. Board-wide education should be an integral part of the calendar, with site visits and input from external experts. Wilson added that he always insists on reading all the analyst reports \u2013 not just the ones highlighted by management, but the \u201csell” reports too. What are the dissenting views? What can you learn from them?<\/p>\n
Cassaday ran Corus for 15 years, during which time mass disruption hit the media landscape. He says he regrets spending \u201cvirtually no time” reflecting as the company sought a way forward, notably through acquisitions. \u201cWe were always looking ahead to the next deal instead of thinking about the deal from three years ago.” Even when change is coming at a rapid past, you need to be learning from the past.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It’s a sobering stat for any board in 2019: only 53 companies have stayed on the Fortune 500 list from 1955 to today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":209,"featured_media":5531,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"disable_focal_point":true,"featured_image_focal_point":{"x":0.5,"y":0.5},"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","footnotes":""},"rbc_tl_category":[122],"rbc_tl_tag":[99,113],"class_list":["post-5530","rbc_tl","type-rbc_tl","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","rbc_tl_category-skills","rbc_tl_tag-innovation","rbc_tl_tag-leadership"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n