The Chair's Dilemma: When the Board Becomes the Problem

The Chairs Dilemma When the Board Becomes the Problem0:00/577.7761×The papers were circulated on the Friday. By the Monday morning meeting every director had read them, and three had read them carefully. Quarterly margin had softened by eighty basis points against guidance. Inventory had grown faster than receivables. Two of the company's largest customers had renegotiated terms in ways that would not show up properly until the following quarter. The chief executive's commentary, two pages of measured optimism, attributed the result to phasing.What followed in the boardroom was not, by any reasonable measure, a serious conversation. The longest-serving director offered observations about the cycle. The chair of the audit committee asked a question about working capital and was answered with a reference to the next strategy session. The newest member of the board, recruited the previous year for her experience in distressed retail, said nothing. The chief executive thanked the…