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????近年來商界轟動一時的大事件給我們的一個主要教訓是，公司擁有頂尖高管幾乎就足夠了，但也只是幾乎。如果董事會行事有誤，那么所有事情都會出問題。想想貝爾斯登（Bear Stearns）和雷曼兄弟（Lehman Brothers）這些廣為人知的破產案，或者新聞集團（News Corp.）代價高昂的電話竊聽丑聞，在這些事件中，公司董事會都忽視了他們本該留意的重大風險。因此，我們在推出夢之隊專題之際，專門探討了所有頂尖公司的根基所在：一個夢幻般的董事會。 ????偉大的董事會需要兼備多種能力，而精挑細選的董事通常能夠貢獻不止一種專長。其中最重要的能力如下： 全球視野 ????許多公司在引進真正的全球化董事方面進展遲緩，令人嘆為觀止。僅僅持有外國護照或者去國外度過假并不能說明問題。 財務專長 ????薩班斯-奧克斯利法案（Sarbanes-Oxley）要求每一家上市公司的董事會都要有一名專職“財務專家”，審計委員會已經成為對董事能力要求最高的任務。 深刻理解信息技術 ????信息技術可以說是塑造全球商業格局最重要的一股力量。董事會需要的董事必須能夠抓住信息技術會給公司戰略和商業模式帶來的改變。 睿智、富有經驗和勇氣 ????董事會長期面臨兩大問題是：董事要么大氣都不敢出，要么口無遮攔，但卻根本不知道自己在說些什么。頗有年資、眼光獨到、自信果斷的董事堪比黃金（即便是以目前的黃金價格來計算也不為過）。 |
????A major lesson in the business dramas of recent years is that great executives are almost -- but not quite -- enough. If the board of directors isn't right, then nothing's right. Consider famous failures like Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers, or costly scandals like News Corp.'s (NSWA) phone-hacking debacle, in which the boards missed major risks they should have caught. So as we wind up our Dream Team series, we focus on the foundation of any top company: a dream board. ????A great board combines several competencies, and well-chosen directors often bring more than one of them. Top of the list now: Global perspective ????It's amazing how slowly many companies have added genuinely global directors. A foreign passport or a history of exotic vacations doesn't cut it. Financial expertise ????Sarbanes-Oxley requires that every public company's board include a designated "financial expert," and the audit committee has become a director's most demanding assignment. Deep understanding of infotech ????It's arguably the largest force shaping global business. Boards need directors who grasp how infotech will change every company's strategies and business models. Wisdom, experience, and courage ????Two enduring problems on boards are directors who don't speak up and directors who speak up but don't know what they're talking about. The right mix of gray hair, perspective, and assertiveness is worth its weight in gold (even at today's price). |
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