Policy Pulse Series Kickoff

POLICY PULSE: “What Questions Should Boards Ask?” Derived from Interaction of 80 NACD Members June 18, 2025

A . Workforce & Talent Architecture
•    Retention Delta – How does our retention rate compare to industry benchmarks, and where are the gaps largest?
•    Skill ROI – What evidence shows that skills-based hiring and micro-credentials outperform traditional degree requirements?
•    Culture-Values Audit – Where do everyday behaviors diverge from our stated values, and how are we closing those gaps?
•    Barrier Busting – Which legacy job requirements will we scrap this quarter to widen the talent funnel?
•    Build-vs-Buy Mix – For short- and long-term needs, what is the optimal split between employees and external contractors?
•    Rapid Re-Skilling – Can our learning platform retrain 20 % of the workforce within six months if technology shifts?
•    Early-Warning Dashboards – Which lead indicators (birth rates, visa cycle times, turnover spikes) tell us talent risk is rising before it hurts performance?

B. Technology & AI Enablement
•    Human-Plus AI – Where can AI amplify creativity, insight, or speed—not just cut cost—and how will we measure that uplift?
•    AI Literacy for All – What is our plan to give every employee baseline AI skills by year-end?
•    Innovation Guardrails – Do our policies encourage safe experimentation, or are they stifling the breakthroughs we need?

C . Supply-Chain, Trade & Tariff Resilience
•    Scenario Playbooks – What happens to margin, cash flow, and service levels under 10 %, 25 %, and “snap” tariffs?
•    Product-Redesign Trigger – At what tariff level would we re-engineer products instead of merely switching suppliers?
•    Tier-4 Visibility – How far down the supply stack can we see, and which single points of failure still worry us?
•    Regional Options – Which products are ready for near- or friend-shoring, and what’s the cost/benefit of moving now versus later?
•    360° Feedback Loop – How are insights from employees, customers, and suppliers shaping our tariff response?
•    Board-Update Protocols – What cadence, format, and escalation thresholds govern tariff intelligence reports to the board?
•    Stakeholder Messaging – How will we explain unavoidable price shifts to stakeholders within 24 hours of a tariff announcement?

D. Policy, Regulatory & Government Relations
•    Policy Radar – Which tools or advisers flag municipal, state, and federal moves that could upend our model within a quarter?
•    Red-Flag Thresholds – Which regulatory triggers (draft rules, executive orders, enforcement actions) must hit the board’s desk inside 24 hours?
•    Advocacy Strategy – Who owns our proactive government-relations playbook—and where is the line between advocacy and compliance?
•    Compliance-Process Agility – How fast can we update policies, controls, and training when rules change overnight?
•    Values-Based Prioritization – Does our regulatory-risk heat map reflect corporate values, not just financial exposure?
•    Reg-Response “Fire Drills” – How often do we rehearse rapid-response communications to employees, customers, and investors?
•    Fiscal Policy Exposure - How specifically is our business model vulnerable to evolving state and municipal fiscal policies, and how have we accounted for these risks in our long-term strategic planning?
•    Jurisdictional Competitiveness - What strategies ensure our competitiveness in high-tax or fiscally distressed jurisdictions, and how does our approach compare with competitors?
•    Influencing the Landscape - Are we actively leveraging advocacy, partnerships, or
•    industry coalitions to shape policy outcomes, and how effectively have these efforts influenced our operating environment?

E . Financial Resilience & Risk Transfer
•    Stress-Test Rigor – Have we modelled cash-flow hits, covenant breaches, and rating-agency reactions for each policy-shock scenario?
•    Insurance Levers – Which underwriting or hedging products can soften the blow of sudden regulatory change or supply interruption?
•    Capital Optionality – Do we have standby facilities, shelf registrations, or asset-light models that let us pivot without delaying board approval?

F . Purpose, Reputation & Trust
•    North-Star Question – “What side of history do we want to be on?”—and does every major decision ladder back to that answer?
•    Generational Resonance – How are we tailoring our purpose narrative so it rings true for Gen Z recruits and seasoned investors alike?
•    Transparency Protocols – Are our disclosures on political spending, sourcing shifts, and AI ethics pre-empting activist or media scrutiny?

G . Strategic Foresight & Adaptive Governance
•    Continuous Re-Assessment – What cadence (monthly pulse calls? quarterly deep dives?) keeps strategy current against real-time disruptions?
•    Opportunity Lens – Which emerging threats could instead become game-changing innovations or M&A targets?
•    Board Champion Model – Have we assigned individual directors to own each critical risk-opportunity domain so nothing falls through the cracks?