Disaster in the Boardroom: Six Dysfunctions Everyone Should Understand

Why  when companies come crashing down, do we hear of boards who have failed  in their fiduciary duties? Or that they have been ignorant, complacent  or downright complicit in these scandals and downfalls?

Of  course, corporate scandals are nothing new, nor are they limited to any  one geography. They are a damning indictment of our systems of corporate  governance around the world. And yet, despite this frequency, little or  nothing changes. We shrug and move on, accepting they are an  unavoidable part of the system that produces incredible wealth for  economies and societies. But it should not be that way. Disaster in the  Boardroom shows how boards can be better. Looking at why these scandals  happen, authors Peterson and Brown present in-depth case studies of  major global corporations – including recent contemporary scandals  associated with companies such as BP, Facebook and Uber – using the  optic of their unique, original and compelling ‘six dysfunctions of the  board’ analysis to reveal their particularities but also how they can be  overcome.

In this book, Brown and Peterson explore common  attributes of scandals such as lack of independence from management,  missing key voices, cultural amplification, diffusion of responsibility,  rule-bound cultures and groupthink. They also identify ways to  strengthen boards, improve their culture and competence, and give  directors and others the power to take action and ultimately prevent  disasters from happening.

Disaster in the Boardroom is essential  reading for every executive in every boardroom, those aspiring to board  positions as well as anyone interested in why boards fail. It has never  been more important to pre-identify and eradicate these boardroom  dysfunctions – not least so that their impacts upon society can better  seen, understood, mitigated, and avoided.