Can a board maximize its effectiveness without scrapping current board members?
Constance Dierickx: Oh, absolutely. We always start with the assumption that board members are experienced, talented, and successful people and they bring a lot to the party. If there is something in the dynamics among the group that is getting in the way, the first thing we want to think about is, are the board processes clear and does the board support that? The first place to go when there’s a problem on the board is not to see who’s got a personality issue—that’s the last place to go. You want to keep talented people on your board, if you can. If you look at issues of alignment and clarity first and those don’t fix the problem, you can always get rid of the guy, but you might actually keep someone on your board that’s good. People bring us in often because they think somebody’s nuts. And the person might be acting nutty but that doesn’t mean he’s nuts. CBM: What about a board where the directors get along, but the board thinks it can be more effective—what can that board do? CD: Th
