All Episodes

BONUS: Revealing "The Hidden World of Boardrooms"

BONUS: Board evaluations don't work...but they could!

New from Sound-Up Governance: Are design and good governance the same thing?

ANNOUNCEMENT: Sound-Up Governance is back on January 20th

252. Season 5 wrap-up

251. What is the point of the question I'm about to ask?

250. What, specifically, are we going to do better next time?

249. Are we compromising instead of being intentional?

248. Is the way we do things valuable for our owners/members?

247. Is the way we do things working for management?

246. Is the way we do things working for my fellow board members?

245. Is the way we do things working for me?

244. What are we excited about?

243. What are we afraid of?

242. Is the way we do things likely to make the world a better place?

241. How much should we obsess over our customers' needs and desires?

240. How well do we really know and trust each other?

239. What's one thing we do that's completely useless?

238. What are three things we wish management would explain to us in greater detail?

237. What are three things we wish management would explain to us in simpler language?

236. Are we sure we use our experts well?

235. What's at the top of our expertise wish list?

234. How might we empower our loudest directors to be better listeners?

233. How might we empower our quietest directors to make an impact?

232. How many of us wish our work were more spontaneous?

231. How many of us wish our work were more structured?

230. How many of us would benefit from an occasional change in scenery?

229. How many of us would like our board meetings to be more creative?

228. How might subtraction help to solve our stickiest problems?

227. Is our pain really necessary?

BONUS: Matt's Australia/New Zealand Roadshow

226. What are the most painful elements of our meetings?

225. What might *I* do to make things a bit better?

224. Is benchmarking a sensible way to set CEO pay?

223. How do we really know if our CEO is doing an awesome job?

222. What *really* motivates our CEO?

221. How, specifically, do our board evaluations make us better?

220. How do we hope to spend our time?

219. What information do we hope to receive?

218. What conversations do we hope to have at the next board meeting?

217. What do we actually know about AI?

216. When was the last time we asked management how we might do a better job? (Question #14)

215. To what extent does the stuff we do get in management's way? (Question #13)

214. To what extent does the stuff we do help management? (Question #12)

213. Why is our boardroom laid out the way it is? (Question #11)

212. What existential threats might the business face? (Question #10)

211. To what extent does every director really understand the business? (Question #9)

210. What do we even mean when we talk about "duty?" (Question #8)

209. To what extent do we agree on to whom we owe a duty? (Question #7)

208. Have we empowered our directors to do a great job? (Question #6)

207. What, specifically, makes a director great? (Question #5)

206. What does board effectiveness look like on a normal day? (Question #4)

205. What is our agreed-upon definition of good governance? (Question #3)

204. What is our agreed-upon definition of corporate governance? (Question #2)

203. Why do we do things the way we do? (Question #1)

TRAILER: OMG Season 5 launches July 8th

BONUS: Why do corporate governance consultants mostly suck?

BONUS: Good governance is woke - and that's good news for everyone

BONUS: Good corporate governance does not cause good corporate performance

BONUS: What corporate governance resources are *really* missing (plus, an analysis of the top 500 albums of all time)

BONUS: Good governance is basically about feelings (long story alert!)

202. Season 4 Finale

201. I’m so fancy (Condition #49: Formality)

200. None of your business (Condition #48: Side conversations)

199. Can we talk for a minute? (Condition #47: Facilitation)

198. Another brick (Condition #46: Education)

197. People, helping people (Condition #45: Consultants)

196. Stakes is high (Condition #44: Risk)

195. Talkin’ ’bout PRACTICE (Condition #43: Practice)

194. I’ve been everywhere (Condition #42: Geography)

193. Get on up (Condition #41: Physical movement)

192. No rest for the wicked (Condition #40: Taking breaks)

191. Silence is golden (Condition #39: Sound/Noise)

190. ”Did I do that?” (Condition #38: Catchphrases)

189. Too much of something is bad enough (Condition #37: Subtraction neglect)

188. I’m on the next flight to be by your side (Condition #36: People’s real lives)

187. The joy of repetition (Condition #35: Meeting frequency)

186. Time is not on our side (Condition #34: Agendas)

185. Do the Hustle (Condition #33: Urgency)

184. I just wanna break the rules (Condition #32: policies & by-laws)

183. I fought it, and it won (Condition #31: Laws)

182. Paid the cost to be the boss (Condition #30: hierarchy)

181. ...Except for all the others (Condition #29: democratic process)

180. A structure which has no relation to reality (Condition #28: corporate model)

179. About as happy as they make up their minds to be (Condition #27: mood)

178. From Paris, naturally (Condition #26: smell)

177. I’m brain-dead, virtually (Condition #25: caffeine)

176. Think well, love well, sleep well (Condition #24: food)

175. Vibe check: Season 4 half-way point

174. Here, there and everywhere (Condition #23: blended meetings)

173. Don’t stand so close to me (Condition #22: virtual meetings)

172. I’ll be there for you (Condition #21: in-person)

ANNOUNCEMENT: Sound-Up Governance, now available wherever you get your podcasts

171. VHS or Betamax? (Condition #20: technology)

170. Sectional, loveseat or modular? (Condition #19: furniture)

169. Everything in its place (Condition #18: room layout)

168. Don’t forget to layer (Condition #17: temperature)

167. Set the mood (Condition #16: lighting)

166. OK, maybe *do* just go with the flow (Condition #15: flexibility)

165. Cinderella at midnight (Condition #14: scheduling)

164. Don’t ever go with the flow. Be the flow. (Condition #13: cadence)

Ground-Up Governance Definition #7 - Company

163. Fool me once (Condition #12: trust)

162. Agreeing to disagree (Condition #11: Conflict)

Ground-Up Governance Definition #6 - Business

161. Comfortable with the uncomfortable (Condition #10: psychological safety)

160. Express yourself (Condition #9: personal style)

Ground-Up Governance Definition #5 - Duty

159. Everyday People (Condition #8: Demographics)

158. More and more about less and less (Condition #7: Expertise)

Ground-Up Governance Definition #4 - Delegate

157. Skills to pay the bills (Condition #6: technical aptitude)

156. ...and also with you (Condition #5: information style)

Ground-Up Governance Definition #3 - Accountability

155. Here’s a little story that must be told (Condition #4: information content)

154. ...to rock a rhyme that’s right on time (Condition #3: information scheduling)

Ground-Up Governance Definition #2 - Power

153. Flip the script (Condition #2: information format)

152. It *is* the message (Condition #1: information medium)

Ground-Up Governance Definition #1: Authority

151. The latest and greatest definition of ”good governance”

Season 4 Trailer

150. Pro Tip: Use OMG in your boardroom

149. Great board chairs are like great dinner hosts

148. Do big companies just run themselves?

147. Do boards have any impact on organizational culture

146. Can good governance overcome ”bad” people?

145. What is excellent leadership worth?

144. Is your boardROOM an impediment to good governance?

143. So much about boards hasn’t changed

142. Can we PLEASE stop burdening boards with compliance obligations?

141. Why do boards like Robert’s Rules so much?

140. I’ve already changed my mind about good governance

139. Shamelessly Promoting OMG

138. Plain vanilla skills matrices are basically useless

137. Is the world really more VUCA than ever?

136. Are we accidentally keeping all the best people out of boardrooms?

135. Is everyone in an organization ”doing” corporate governance?

134. It is *really* important to change your mind...frequently!

133. Obsession with rules can be a superpower

132. Hockey Canada: What the f*ck? (TW Sexual Assault)

131. Am I ignoring all the rules?

130. You can’t understand corporate governance without understanding power and authority

129. Is ”Thing Explainer” the Best Management Book?

128. Corporate Governance is Broken (but it’s not that bad...)

127. Sound-Up Governance Episode 3 featuring Lisa Oldridge

126. Sound-Up Governance Episode 2 with Lieutenant Colonel Jamahl Evans

125. Sound-Up Governance Episode 1 featuring Tiziana Casciaro

124. Introducing Ground-Up Governance

123. Building a fit-for-purpose association board (feat. Jeff de Cagna)

122. Didn’t I say I’d write a book or something?

121. Nobody is entitled to a board seat

120. Making good decisions: You’ll never be perfect

119. Making good decisions: Overconfidence

118. Making good decisions: Short-term emotion

117. Making good decisions: Narrow framing

116. Making good decisions: Confirmation bias

115. Making good decisions: Intro

114. Who’s responsible for good governance?

113. Is ED&I the same as good governance? (Equity, Diversity & Inclusion)

112. Board effectiveness is not the same as good governance

111. Survival is not the same as good governance

110. Good shareholder value is not the same as good governance

109. Good financial performance is not the same as good governance

108. Hiring a CEO is not the same as good governance

107. Purpose is not the same as good governance

106. Strategic oversight is not the same as good governance

105. ESG is not the same as good governance

104. Compliance is not the same as good governance

103. What is BAD Corporate Governance?

102. What is GOOD Governance?

OMG Season 3 Intro

101. Season 2 Finale

100. Why do corporate governance experts think so small??

99. I think I might write a book...

98. Learning about corporate governance can be embarrassing

97. Some organizations that do really cool stuff

96. Why “where were the directors?” is still a good question

95. Why does every little new governance idea feel like a BIG DEAL?

94. Helping founders buy in to “governance”

93. Subsidiary governance

92. A new (to me) take on the board skills matrix

91. Are great board chairs really like orchestra conductors?

90. The thing about Carver...

89. What is a decision?

88. Directors have no authority

87. Help me bring new talent into the governance arena

86. What questions should you ask if you‘re new to this whole governance thing?

85. Can regulations make corporate governance better?

84. Is it time to re-think dual-class share structures?

83. Executives can make or break board effectiveness

82. Governing the boundaries of corporate culture

81. Can boards impact corporate culture?

80. Misinformation in the Boardroom

79. Do You Need a Governance Consultant?

78. Governance Education: Make sure your whole board benefits

77. Do You Need Governance Education?

76. Mission Clarity Makes Good Governance Possible (feat. Jamahl K. Evans Sr.)

75. What Questions Would You Ask If You Were on the Facebook Board?

74. Is Stakeholder Capitalism Even Possible?

73. Barriers to Exit (feat. Paul Smith)

72. ”Corporate” is a Good Word

71. Friction Isn‘t Fun; It‘s Functional (feat. Jamahl K. Evans Sr.)

70. Strategic Discussion Takes PRACTICE!

69. Ask Big Questions in Advance

68. The Biggest Favour You Can Do for Your Board (probably)

67. Corporate Governance Science vs. Practice

66. Post-Pandemic Boards

65. Make Friends With Your Regulators

64. Don’t Fall for the Governance ”Hierarchy”!

63. Is ”Good” Board Renewal Even a Thing?

62. Does ”Representation” in the Boardroom Matter?

61. Do we Need to Force Board Turnover to Achieve Board Diversity?

60. Why do Young People Want to be on Boards so Badly?

59. Diversity Superpower: Learn to Use the Words "White Supremacy"

58. Who Should be on Compensation Committees?

57. Does Your Board Really Understand Your CEO's Pay?

56. Is compensation the key to stakeholder capitalism?

55. Executive Compensation: Are we focusing too much on the amount?

54. What would happen if we paid CEOs less?

53. What is the deal with executive compensation?

52. What does the "board of the future" look like?

51. Season 2 Intro

50. Season 1 Finale

49. Managing the Information Gap - Netflix

48. Real-World Example of Failing to Consider Stakeholders

47. Policies that Impede Board Diversity

46. Want to Get on A Board? Build a Community!

45. Family Enterprise Governance: Beware the Three Circle Model

44. Family Enterprise: Beware of Governing by ”Gut”

43. When Does A Family Business Need a Board?

42. Family Enterprise Governance Deserves More Attention

41. Your skills matrix could be a lot more useful to shareholders (feat. Meron Tecle)

40. Finding Great Directors

39. Who‘s Going to be Your Next Board Chair?

38. Are Board Chairs Supposed to Build Consensus?

37. Where Can You Learn to be a Great Board Chair?

36. Should the Chair and CEO Positions Always be Split?

35. What Should You Do With an Under-Performing Director?

34. Not-for-Profit Board Experience Won‘t Get You a Paid Board Seat

33. Should *YOU* be a Director?

32. The Futility of Connecting Good Governance and Performance

31. Shareholders Have a Conflict of Interest in the Boardroom

30. Whose Job is it to Measure a Director‘s Performance?

29. Does Share Ownership Increase Independence?

28. Voice Your Dissent - On the Record

27. Learning New Things Is REALLY Hard

26. The One Box I Think You Should Tick

25. Is Good Governance Different for Different Sectors?

24. Is Your Board Evaluation Any Good?

23. What Are Tenure Limits Good For?

22. CEOs Don‘t Always Make Good Directors

21. Board Diversity And Board Composition Are Different Things

20. Is Board Diversity Just a Box to Tick?

19. Why is it so Hard to Talk About Board Diversity?

18. Group Think is Like a Cozy Sweater

17. Unconscious Bias Really is *Unconscious*

16. Governance as Box Ticking

15. Never Ask ”Does Anyone Have Any Questions?”

14. When Should Directors Dive In?

13. Noses In, Fingers Out

12. Is Widely Held and Publicly Listed Really the Best Model?

11. Is Overboarding Really That Bad?

10. More Weird Questions About Director Independence

9. Why Don‘t We Pay Directors?

8. Why Do We Pay Directors?

7. Executives in the Boardroom

6. Who Is Independent?

5. Shareholders vs. Stakeholders

4. Building Alignment on Duty

3. What‘s the Point of a Board of Directors?

2. What is Corporate Governance?

1. What is One Minute Governance?