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Owning Up

Your role as a director has changed dramatically. Boards that failed during crises like Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns showed that leadership goes beyond management, it extends to governance. In Owning Up, Ram Charan offers invaluable insights into how boards must evolve to address the complexities of liquidity, CEO performance, and strategy in times of uncertainty. This book provides actionable strategies for modern boards to navigate the pressures of the current business climate, with practical advice on everything from compensation to board composition.

Themes
Board Leadership in Crisis
Corporate Governance Evolution
Leading Through Uncertainty
Owning Up
  • Jack Krol
    Former Chairman and CEO, DuPont

    “What Ram Charan has found, and catalogues so well in this book, is a number of cutting edge practices that are exactly right for the times.”

  • Ralph Whitworth
    Founder, Relational Investors LLC

    “If Corporate America’s board members had answered these questions, the crisis of ’08 would have been avoided. The book is that powerful. It should be required reading in every boardroom, executive suite, and business school on the planet. This book with its singular wisdom could change the face of corporate governance—with huge dividends to shareholders and society.”

  • Thomas J. Neff
    Chairman, Spencer Stuart US

    “This book is a most important contribution for both new and experienced directors, addressing contemporary corporate governance. The 14 practical questions represent the most vital issues that boards need to proactively address and are particularly crucial now as boards deal with the aftermath of the global financial tsunami.”

  • James M. Kilts
    Former Chairman and CEO, The Gillette Company

    “Ram Charan always seems to get it right. Owning Up not only asks the right questions, it gives answers that can make a real difference for improving board performance.”

  • Professor Charles M. Elson
    Director, John L. Weinberg Center

    “As always, well-reasoned, insightful, and thought-provoking. A work that every director will find of value, particularly given the intense pressure of these unprecedented economic times.”

  • Geoff Colvin
    Editor, Fortune

    “Here is the book that every corporate director needs today. With his decades of insider experience, Ram Charan brings more wisdom and insight to this subject than anyone else I know.”

Owning Up

"It is your job as a leader to steer the company through inflation, whether or not you have practice at it. That means fully understanding how inflation touches every part of the business and enlisting the help of others in the company to combat it. Hunkering down until the Federal Reserve fixes things is not a viable plan..."

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