Prof. Klepper on "The CEO's Boss"

I am posting the following on behalf of Prof. William Klepper.

SJP

Time for a Social Contract and Tough Love in the Boardroom

 It is time to go beyond the employment agreement between a CEO and the Board in Corporate America. Every CEO and his/her board should have a social contract. The first element of that contract is a common commitment to "what they stand for as an organization." In my book, The CEO's Boss: Tough Love in the Boardroom (Columbia University Press, 2010) I provide examples of companies with clear credos, such as the revitalized Tyco which has risen from the ashes as a result of following its social contract.

 But contracts alone are not enough to guarantee satisfactory performance; tough love is needed for a CEO and a Board to be an effective team. The CEO's Boss lays out how tough love in the boardroom may have prevented Lehman's ultimate collapse in the fall of 2008. My Integrated Leadership Model, based on my teachings as a Professor of Management at Columbia Business School, synthesizes the research on an effective CEO's agenda, practices, and style at each phase of the business cycle.

 Finally, the current recession and business failures have brought renewed attention to corporate governance practices. In The CEO’s Boss I tell you how I foresee the relationship between boards and CEO's to be different in the future.