Check out and download the presentation that Leslie delivered to the IOD Dorset Branch on 14th March . Entitled Boardroom Excellence, the presentation considers the ingredients that make for a successful and productive board as well as highlighting the view through the other end of the telescope - dysfunctionality! Boardroom Excellence - Boardroom Dynamics can help you get it!!
Keep an eye open for a new British Standard for Corporate Goverenace due out in the spring of 2013. Contact us for more information.
---------------
Leslie will be delivering the IOD Student Membership Programme Inaugural Lecture at Bournemouth University on 24 April at 7pm entitled "How to keep out of jail and everything else you need to know as a director"
So what did those who attended have to say....
"Went to the IoD presentation this evening on the importance of a high performing board. absolutely fantastic! But how many of us are high performance Directors?
It was a shot in the arm for me to hear about the importance of good governance within SMEs and to listen to the value of Clarity.
I loved the Sir John Harvey Jones part about creating momentum, movement, improvement and direction in our businesses
That Good practice and structure is just as important in an SME as it is in big business.
That if you can get the culture right it eats strategy planning for breakfast, 'knockout'
If you do ever get a chance to listen to Leslie Spiers I would recommend it." Jeff Lester Vehicle Strategies
"It was a pleasure to meet you yesterday and I did enjoy your presentation style and content rich format."
Tina Baker
Dorset Community Foundation
"Leslie is an excellent speaker"
Steve Neal
Kingston and Smith Accountants
"a note to congratulate you all on such a very useful event last evening". Alexandra Wiggins Director TARA Business Limited
News Update and Recent Projects
CLIENT: The UK arm of a multinational engineering group
OBJECTIVE: To analyse the performance of the board and to then create a programme that would lead to the board operating to best practice as per the IOD's Principles of Corporate Governance for Unlisted Companies
ROLE: Following a series of one to one meetings with directors and the completion of a skills gap analysis, we created a series of 100 minute workshops to deal with areas where the board needed to improve and then agreed with each director an action plan that would effect change in such as board processes, strategy, reporting and CSR. We met the parent company director in Paris and met the NED to ensure they were part of the plan and validated the output through a series of post project reviews and sitting in a board meeting as a "fly on the wall".
OUTCOME: The board now has a clear set of operating principles and is very close to compliance with the IOD principles. It has completed its strategy and is well on the way to finalising a Business Continuity Plan. The board will soon be selecting consultants to assist with the delivery of a CSR programme.
____________________________________________________________________________________
CLIENT: A major UK food producer, packer and grower who is part of a multinational group
OBJECTIVE: To analyse and select managers, as part of a succession plan, who have the potential to become directors in one of the group companies and to give them the knowledge and skills needed to take on a new and demanding role.
ROLE: The company selected the managers and we then carried out a series of workshops to ensure they were committed to the programme. The workshops took as their baseline measure the requirements of the IOD publication "Standards for the Board" and 16 topics were chosen ranging from The Director and the Law to Corporate Governance and Managing Strategic Change. The managers sat in to observe board meetings in a range of other non-associated businesses and gave feedback to the host directors. Squad members were involved in visits to Business Schools to take part in "Question Time" and will shortly present to an MBA class on Boardroom Excellence
OUTCOME: The project is over 60% complete and the client has commissioned us to run a second programme for another "Squad". An evaluation of the programme by the participants showed that 95% rated it as either Excellent or Very Good (60% and 35% respecively)
POSTSCRIPT: For the same client we have been asked to conduct a 360 board evaluation of a subsidiary board. We have created a competency framework and have devised the competency classes and the relevant sub-sections. We will shortly be briefing all concerned and the project will be complete by the end of August 2012. Two years ago we were instrumental in ensuring all the potential directors were up to speed before being formally appointed to the board and earlier this year we conducted a board audit to check that they were in compliance with the IOD Principles of Corporate Governance for Unlisted Companies.