Introduction

I

started to work with boards of companies in 1989, focusing on the role of the company director and the function of board of directors. The input had a legal emphasis. That was my background and the legal rules relating to company boards and their directors were broadly common to all companies, ranging from the listed company to the small family company. However, I soon realized that the need for development was far wider than the legal context. The sheer variety of companies that I came across at different stages of development was daunting. Any set of management tools or materials that I had encountered did not cater for this variety. What assistance there was related to listed companies and had little relevance to the wider range of companies, such as the family or entrepreneur company. This lack of supporting analysis and tools to help the needs of different companies at the top level of management is echoed by Krister Ahlstrom. He was CEO of the Finnish family-owned $3 billion holding company, A. Ahlstrom Corporation. When confronted by a difficult governance issue in his company,

I turned to the management literature for help. And what a revelation that was! I found miles of shelves with books on management. They all concerned strategy, how to compete in the marketplace, how to organize a company for maximum effectiveness.