Wow! eBook
The CEO's Boss: Tough Love in the Boardroom
Author(s): William Klepper (Author)
- Publisher: Columbia University Press
- Publication Date: 1 Dec. 2009
- Edition: Illustrated
- Language: English
- Print length: 224 pages
- ISBN-10: 0231149883
- ISBN-13: 9780231149884
Book Description
In order to avoid another Enron, WorldCom, or Tyco, company directors have assumed a bold and independent role in the boardroom, monitoring the actions and day-to-day operations of the CEO. This dramatic shift has created a new dynamic, one that requires careful negotiation from both parties to get the job done. Giving directors, executives, investors, and stakeholders the tools to make this relationship work, William M. Klepper describes the best techniques for building a productive partnership and establishing a plan of action for a variety of businesses and settings. Klepper, an executive educator, has worked with AT&T, Bausch & Lomb, Johnson & Johnson, Sony, Sun Microsystems, and a host of other corporations. He knows what makes a healthy partnership between a board and its CEO and the consequences of a bad fit. In this book, he details the eight practices of successful executives, such as facilitating innovation, motivating change, and developing leadership skills, and he explains what directors need to evaluate, such as working style, social behavior, and the handling of stress, before they commit to hiring a CEO. The most critical element is the social contract, in which directors and their CEOs agree to be transparent, continually reassess their company’s risk, maintain core company values, and make a commitment to their stakeholders. These include employees, shareholders, customers, and the community. In this essential volume, Klepper encourages directors to embrace their independence, and he teaches executives to value tough love.
Editorial Reviews
Review
The CEO’s Boss is a read for anyone who looks to be taking the highest position in a company.– “The Midwest Book Review”
The CEO’s Boss serves up a wealth of practical, hands-on recommendations to build a productive partnership and a plan of action for a variety of businesses and settings…. For anyone who wants to take board evaluation, leadership structure, and dynamics to the next level, The CEO’s Boss is inspired reading and will provide impetus for discussion.– “Corporate Board Member”
This sharply focused book fills a very important gap in boardrooms and the literature on corporate governance. William M. Klepper is a highly skilled researcher.–Ram Charan, business consultant and best-selling author
Too many researchers forget that we have as much–or more–to learn from failure as we do from success. By examining transitions that have worked and ones that haven’t, William M. Klepper has given us new perspective on how the board can work with the CEOs while still holding them accountable. This work is a much-needed addition to the canon of board-level best practices.–Michael E. Raynor, author of
The Strategy Paradox and coauthor of The Innovator’s SolutionAbout the Author
Dr. Klepper joined Columbia Business School in 1996 after over thirty years as a general manager in higher education. He is a management professor who teaches Executive Leadership in the EMBA program and serves as the Faculty Director of the partnership with the Financial Times/Outstanding Directors Exchange on corporate governance. He also serves as Academic Director of the Executive Education program. Dr. Klepper received his Ph.D. from St. Louis University in 1975.
