Colleen Birdnow Brown’s view from the US

1. How can a board know when it is time to change strategic direction?

This is a tough question. As individuals, you can listen to your intuition, but as a board the argument to change direction must be sound in order to gain support from the board. The environment is constantly throwing up all kinds of flags that need to be evaluated. Comprehensive, regular external and internal surveillance,

real-time discussions with thought leaders and decision makers, controlled experimentation and analytic analysis will allow you to cut through the noise and, more often than not, make informed, sound decisions.

2. Is the internet a threat of an opportunity?

Well it’s both. The ability to reach and engage your audience is unprecedented. But the anonymous viral nature, intense volume and immediacy challenges even the best of us. The potential of AI and blockchain will add increasing complexity to this question.

3. How can a board build a strong relationship with a CEO?

Strong relationships are built from clear expectations and extraordinary respect for each other. My best experience was when my board committed to my success; they believed if I was successful, the company was successful, and it worked. That commitment created a healthy boardroom and kept everyone on the same page. It’s a great disappointment when a director acts as if they are the smartest person in the room, effectively shutting off productive dialogue.

One pet peeve … when a director acts differently with a CEO than they do in the boardroom. I think the gaslighting approach is one of the most devious ways of undermining a CEO.

4. What is the role of business in addressing social justice issues in society?

I believe doing good things is good for business and for society. The challenge becomes how to address social issues that are often politicised, and satisfy the vast range of values and expectations held by your stakeholders, while at the same time recruiting and retaining talent.

5. Has the #metoo movement changed American corporate culture?

American corporate culture has changed due to the #metoo movement. The change is primarily driven by concern for risk exposure and, in part, as a movement to retain and attract talent to the company.

I’d like to believe there are more high-minded reasons to embrace the #metoo movement in the boardroom, but change in a boardroom is usually driven by pragmatism rather than a social movement.

As a result, we are seeing the beginnings of more accountability, fairness, transparency and tone as the top considerations for company culture.

Colleen Birdnow Brown

Colleen Birdnow Brown is an award-winning American CEO and corporate board director. She is an adviser and public speaker in the areas of disruption, technology, culture and media, and founder of Marca Global – a marketing and privacy technology company. She currently serves on a number of boards, including those of True Blue, Spark Networks, privately held Port Blakely and Delta Dental of Washington, a non-profit organisation.

Brown was named Director of the Year by the Pacific Northwest Chapter of the US National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) in 2017, and has won numerous industry awards. She is active in the NACD, Women Corporate Directors (WCD) and Committee of 200 (C200), and was president of the PNW chapter of the International Women’s Forum (IWF).

Brown will be speaking at the IoD’s Beyond Now Leadership conference, 2–3 April, Sky City, Auckland.

Published in Boardroom Feb Mar 2019 issue