Board Transformational Situations
Crisis Prevention Versus Crisis Management
The best way to manage a crisis is to prevent it in the first place. Drawing on our experience as directors, senior corporate officers, general counsel and corporate secretaries, and as advisers to CEOs, boards, and corporate staff, we can help boards and management formulate and implement policies and procedures designed to decrease the chances of the company being blindsided by unwelcome events. Our expertise includes the ability to:
- Evaluate the companys current state of corporate governance and its potential for causing or exacerbating serious problems
- Help prevent problems of compliance, financial reporting, and regulatory intervention by advising CEOs, boards, and corporate staff about the relevant governance structures and best practices
- Assist in implementing such practices
- Decrease the chances of legal jeopardy and exposure to damaging lawsuits by ensuring that boards are meeting and documenting their responsibilities under the business judgment rule
- Create a culture of integrity, convincingly discourage misconduct, and preserve the companys reputation by creating and implementing codes of ethics
- Develop action plans for board mobilization in the event of a crisis, including unanticipated CEO succession In addition, we can draw on our network of affiliated experts and specialists to assist with technical, legal, and other issues to address particular concerns if the situation warrants.
Our approach to preventing corporate crises is grounded in our approach to good corporate governance generally: the practical integration of the legal, the operational, and the interpersonal. By developing and smoothly implementing corporate governance, law, practices, structures and procedures that increase the effectiveness of the CEO, the board, and the enterprise, the organization is far less likely to find itself in the headlines for any reason other than excellent performance.