Orchestrating Your Board

Orchestra as metaphor: those of us in the orchestra business get that. To make an orchestra work takes a willingness to follow leadership, be responsible for one’s own part, to listen and respond to others, and to cooperate for the sake of the final result.

Apply those concepts to the big wide world, and it’s pretty obvious how the metaphor can be made to suit the business sphere. David Beatty gets that, as does Robert Kapilow (above, left).

David Beatty serves on McKinsey's Senior Advisory globally on both corporate governance and joint ventures. He is Conway Chair of the Clarkson Center for Business Ethics and Board Effectiveness at the Rotman School of Management. Currently, he serves as the Director of Colliers International, FirstService Corporation, Walter Energy, City Financial(London), and Canada Steamships Lines. Over his career, he has served on over 39 board of directors and been Chair of 9 publicly traded companies. All this is Wikipedia speak for he knows what he’s doing. He recently published a blog post titled, “The Role of the Chair Orchestrating the Board,” in which he drew parallels between a successful orchestra conductor and an effective Board Chair.

I got to know Rob Kapilow a few years ago, and he has been in Edmonton a couple of times, leading fun and innovative sessions called Conducting Your Business, in which he combines his knack for breaking down and explaining classical music, and applies it to corporate employees, demonstrating how small parts fit together to create the greater whole. Rob is the man behind What Makes It Great, books and concert presentations in which he disassembles musical masterpieces to shine a light on all the minute details which, when put back together, create great music. robkapilow.com

We’re pleased to present both gentlemen in a unique and informative day-long presentation at the Winspear Centre. Orchestrating Your Board is a joint presentation of the Tommy Banks Centre for Musical Creativity and the U of A’s Alberta School of Business. Explore leading practices in governance and the role of the Board Chair; sit on stage among ESO members to witness leadership and teamwork firsthand; build a board chair succession plan that aligns with your organization; learn to effectively identify what skills an effective board needs around the table; and develop expertise in creating an effective tone at board meetings, and the importance of building trust and tension.

Orchestrating Your Board is anything but your usual corporate retreat. For more information, click here (link will open in a new window).

D.T. Baker