Directors' Dilemmas

Contents......Page 6
Foreword......Page 10
About the author......Page 12
Acknowledgements......Page 14
Introduction......Page 16
Part 1 The Nature of Dilemmas......Page 20
What’s a dilemma?......Page 22
‘Shall we look in the dictionary, Daddy?’......Page 23
The role of the board......Page 24
Of course it’s bloody personal......Page 25
Are you the cause?......Page 27
Do you want to be the resolver?......Page 29
Growing at different rates......Page 31
Ageing and Einstein with e-mail......Page 32
‘I’m doing fine’......Page 36
Experimenting......Page 37
The transition rollercoaster......Page 38
Teenage boards......Page 40
Festering and fostering......Page 43
Vive la différence......Page 44
Situations change......Page 46
A kick in the stomach is better than cancer......Page 47
How can heavy-hitter boards lose the plot?......Page 48
‘Oh, oh, here’s one of them paradigm shift thingies’......Page 49
Whip-up, whiplash and tailspin......Page 51
‘You’re not the person I married’......Page 52
It’s a personal thing......Page 53
The pay dilemma......Page 55
The stock option dilemma......Page 57
Hurt money......Page 58
Part 2 General Principles for Dealing with Dilemmas......Page 60
How has it arisen?......Page 62
Observing rather than participating......Page 63
Issues and consequences......Page 64
How am I going to decide what to do?......Page 65
And the feelings?......Page 66
Natural preferences......Page 67
The dangers of mass debating......Page 69
Be cool......Page 70
Getting a mandate......Page 72
Working through the board......Page 73
How good are you at chess?......Page 75
Money and success versus sleep......Page 76
How will I communicate what I have decided to do?......Page 77
Get yourself connected......Page 78
Is what you’ve said what has been heard? Is what you’ve heard what they think?......Page 80
Painting pictures......Page 81
Good signalling......Page 82
Removing directors......Page 83
Conclusion......Page 89
Part 3 Some Dilemmas......Page 90
DAVE’S DREAMING IS DISTURBED......Page 92
THE DEPARTING DIRECTOR......Page 100
WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT?......Page 106
MUCH ADO ABOUT STRATEGY......Page 114
BONE & SONS......Page 124
THE BID CONFLICT......Page 134
CHALLENGE PLC......Page 140
ANOTHER FINE MESS, STANLEY......Page 148
FALLING IN THE STRID......Page 154
MONEY, MONEY, MONEY......Page 162
JOURNALISTIC LICENCE......Page 192
SOFTFIN......Page 198
QUESTIONS AT THE AGM......Page 204
MR INVINCIBLE......Page 212
THE RADIO-CONTROLLED ACCOUNTANT......Page 218
‘I’VE BEEN ROBBED’......Page 224
SWEAT EQUITY......Page 232
CONVO......Page 240
A CHEMICAL REACTION......Page 252
THE REVOLUTION......Page 264
‘I WISH WE’D TOLD THEM EARLIER’......Page 272
THE AFTERLIFE......Page 278
References......Page 284
Index......Page 286