The Family Business Board, Volume 2

In brief:  Every family business board eventually reaches a turning point—an opportune time to achieve the next level of excellence. The Family Business Board, Volume 2: Governance for Agility and Growth, provides directions to such an achievement. Building on the series’ previous volume (The Family Business Board, Volume 1: Purpose and Structure), this handbook outlines a step-by-step approach to building the right board.

How boards can use this resource: 

• Use the report’s steps to chart a path toward an optimal board composition and culture.

• Learn how to overcome the most common objections to adding outside board members.

• Learn from real examples of family business boards that helped their companies evolve while maintaining the best elements of family culture. 

• Use the sample checklists, diagrams, and forms in the book to chart your path.

The focus on the board’s compensation committee has never been sharper. The components of compensation plans and the link between compensation and company performance are under intense scrutiny from shareholders, employees, policymakers, the media, and other stakeholders. The Report of the NACD Blue Ribbon Commission on the Compensation Committee revisits NACD’s 2003 Report of the NACD Blue Ribbon Commission on Executive Compensation to highlight the new environment in which compensation committees—and, more broadly, boards—are now operating. It recommends that the compensation committee and board work together to establish an executive compensation philosophy that supports the company in creating long-term, sustainable value.

The report includes ten specific recommendations for compensation committees to consider when evaluating their compensation philosophies. It also provides practical tools, such as sample compensation committee charters, a compensation committee assessment, and guidance on executive employment contracts.