In this episode, Dr. Sarah Holtan talks to Lawrence X. Taylor, who is the President of Taylor Strategy Group and Independent Board Member to many successful companies.

Lawrence is an NACD Board Leadership Fellow and is recognized as a “Director to Watch 2020” by the Private Company Director Magazine. Sarah and Lawrence discuss about board governance for colleges.

In his opinion, Lawrence believes the right skill set amongst board members is essential in facilitating strategic decisions within any business. He feels more than anything that the "right people" need to be occupying the "right roles and seats" on the board. Lawrence goes on to explain that during adversarial moments, having suitable personnel at the helm of a business is particularly crucial, as it's when you truly require adults with authority to enact tough decisions with hard-headed focus.

Episode Highlights

05:44 - You need to have a systematic and conscientious way of bringing on new board members into this process in terms of historical information, or institutional knowledge, or reviewing the prior board minutes.

07:43 - I am always in the mode in the methodology of continuing to educate myself on what are the latest trends and topics in the boardroom? How can I be a better and more effective board member? And you do that through continuing education.

10:20 - When you do have a board opportunity that's coming up, you generally know the gaps in skill set on the board. And when looking into bringing new board members, there are some of the things to look for, in terms of that skill set not to be narrowly defined.

29:50 - Board members need to look at financial statements and assess them long before there are signs of financial distress.

32:10 - No mergers or acquisitions are completely successful. There is no such thing as a merger of equals. Someone has to be in charge. The people involved in the M&A matter most. The post-M&A integration is crucial.

Contact

Sarah Holtan, PhD

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Lawrence X. Taylor

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