Ladies and Gentlemen of the Board,

Too many boards are still playing checkers when the game is chess. What game are you teaching your children? Your staff? Checkers or Chess???

Strategy gets discussed in one room, risk in another, and global disruption? That’s the awkward elephant no one wants to talk about. Yet, as Secretary Emeritus of the Institute of Corporate Governance, I have seen what happens when boards ignore these connections. It’s not pretty.

Take a page from a local NGO. In 2023, their governance was a cautionary tale. Fragmented oversight meant they weren’t ready for operational shocks like COVID-19. Donors raised the alarm about outdated risk frameworks and demanded reforms or else. It took a crisis to wake them up.

But wake up, they did. By mid-2024, the NGO’s board transformed its governance structure, tying risk management directly to strategic priorities. They didn’t just react to disruption; they built systems to anticipate it. And that’s the lesson here: boards can’t afford to treat global disruption as “external noise.” It’s not background chatter; it’s the market itself. Read more >>

"Do we scale innovation in a way that doesn’t jeopardize compliance?
"The role of the board isn’t to react to crises it’s to ensure they never become crises in the first place."

READ THIS OUT LOUD TO YOURSELF: generative AI isn’t coming, it’s already moved in, redecorated, and started hosting dinner parties. Yet, as I’ve observed in countless boardrooms, too many directors are treating it like a “tomorrow problem.” Spoiler alert: tomorrow is today. Whether it’s helping streamline customer service or enabling subtle algorithmic bias, generative AI is both an asset and a liability.

The hard truth is that most boards, at least those I have interacted with, aren’t ready. In the same way, many ignored cybersecurity ten years ago, boards are now sleepwalking into an AI-driven future without the governance structures to handle it. And we all know how that turned out for those who didn’t take cybersecurity seriously the breaches, lawsuits, and lost trust. When you lag and get hurt, the wounds take a long to heal. The best strategy, focus on proactive risk management. Read more >>

This thought-provoking book offers an incisive examination of corporate governance from both a historical and contemporary point of view…I highly recommend it for your useful and sustainable leadership benefit” – Michael Mugabi, Former President, Institute of Corporate Governance of Uganda.