Dilemmas, Dilemmas; Practical Case Studies for Company Directors
by Julie Garland McLellan

ISBN: 9781449921965 , Publisher: Create Space, USA, March 2010.
Reviewed by: Ralph Evans

 

What do boards of directors actually do?

In Anthony Trollope's Victorian masterpiece The Way We Live Now, they do precious little other than wave through whatever the boss of the company wants.

While this may have sufficed when Trollope was writing, in 1875, rather more is expected of directors in 2010. Yet the way they can really add value remains a mystery to many. In a new book, Dilemmas, Dilemmas, Julie Garland McLellan sheds fresh light on how boards of directors make a contribution. She sees it as largely a matter of resolving thorny issues that affect a company at its top level.

This is an interesting approach, and a refreshing change from the more conventional recitation of the various functions and duties of directors.

Drawing on the way Harvard has taught MBAs for many years, Ms. Garland McLellan presents a series of case studies, 22 in all. She sets out each situation simply, in clear English, free of jargon. In each case, she offers solutions suggested by two or three people who have considered the particular situation and then prompts the reader to think about what he or she would do in the circumstances.

The cases cover a wide range of issues, from doubtful solvency through conflicts of interest to what to do about a director who has stayed on long past the time when he added any value. They are real and practical issues like those that companies face at board level every day of the year.

A strength of the book is that Ms. Garland McLellan presents more than one solution to each conundrum. It is often the case that there is no one perfect course to follow, although there may be plenty of bad options.

While most of the companies seem to be at the smaller end of the spectrum, some are larger. The range includes listed companies, international companies, joint ventures, private firms, not-for-profit organisations and government enterprises - virtually every kind of organisation that is likely to have a board of directors.

Perhaps for brevity, or perhaps as a touch of political correctness, all the directors in the book only have first names - Brad, Suellen, Raj and so on. It is a folksy touch. However, you should not be misled: there is real substance in the issues the cases explore.

Dilemmas, Dilemmas is not a substitute for a formal course on directors' duties and responsibilities. Ms. Garland McLellan is a regular teacher on such courses with the Australian Institute of Company Directors. It is instead a book that will complement such courses and deepen directors' understanding of what they should do in the boards on which they serve.

Dilemmas, Dilemmas is a short book and easy to read. It will make a valuable addition to the briefcase of many a company director and is perfect for a quick dip on the flight to an interstate meeting.

Ralph Evans has been a director of several companies, venture funds, not-for profit organisations and government enterprises. He has been CEO of the Australian Institute of Company Directors 2003-7, Managing DIrector of Austrade and a Vice-President of the Boston Consulting Group.