These directors have decided that their shareholders and other constituencies deserve an informed and committed set of voices at the table, using effective work processes, to reach the best outcomes for those they represent. In other words, the board and directors involve themselves in examining and choosing to use governance best practices and effective self management to obtain strong long-term and short-term results. They do not abdicate those decisions to their counsel and auditors; instead, they take responsibility for their own development and performance.

Furr Resources deals with the boardroom issues that heighten the board’s performance quotient. If you are ready for more than just compliance, Furr Resources can support your board and its leadership in taking appropriate actions to strengthen the performance and return on investment in the board.

Furr Resources focuses on board practices that make a positive difference for the performance of the organization. Furr has researched the best practices of effective boards of directors and their leadership and integrated those into several services not commonly offered by attorneys or accountants. Each service is customized, not boilerplate, conducted by highly experienced facilitators and results in needed movement on the part of the board.

Selected Services...

1. The Board and Director Best Practices Update is a two-hour presentation designed to keep your board up-to-date on the most recent practices to attend to that lead to high performance. Based on extensive and ongoing research, experience and pragmatic observation, your board will be able to quickly and easily learn what other boards and directors do – AND what they avoid. Great value for a two-hour investment.
2. The Board of Directors Evaluation Process evaluates the effectiveness of the governance processes of the board as a whole. It measures how well the board does those things that the best boards do. Typically initiated by governance or executive committees of the board or by the Chairman or CEO, the process can be tailored to the organization's own criteria. The feedback becomes the foundation and motivation for goal setting and development at the board retreat. This process includes a six-month follow-up with the board to support directors with their follow through on goals set at the retreat.
3. Individual Director Evaluation Process is increasingly used as a tool for attracting the best and brightest director talent to an organization. The feedback from this process can be managed in several ways, and the implementation of this process can be spread over time in order to build commitment to its value. 80% of directors surveyed believe that individual directors should be evaluated.
4. The Committee Evaluation Process provide members of each a committee an opportunity to express how well their respective committee operates and a chance to comment on how to make it optimally effective. This feedback is invaluable to the committee and its leader in eliminating obstacles to doing their work and to ensuring that their work meets the board's needs.
5. Chairman Review and Committee Chair Review Process is offered to the leadership of the most progressive boards who want to ensure effective leadership for the board, and its committees, now and in the future. This review process helps the board and its committees become more aware of what is needed from its leaders and to begin to plan for developing future board leadership in a deliberate and thoughtful way.
6. The Board Retreat is a planned developmental experience for boards during which the board receives the reports from their evaluation processes. Furr Resources facilitates the board’s discussions about their results and sets up processes for the board to set development goals resulting from reviewing their feedback and small group discussions. The result will be that the board takes responsibility for its own development, makes tremendous progress in how it accomplishes its work and takes major steps toward improving governance of the organization.
7. Issue-Centered Retreats provide a venue for boards to get away from their usual setting to deal with a strategic or other high stakes issue. Examples include decisions to sell the company, move corporate headquarters, reconstitute the board membership or other major and emotionally-charged decisions.
8. Strategic Planning Facilitation is a strength of Furr Resources. Furr focuses on helping boards think strategically and creatively first, so that the process does not degenerate into mere routine business planning and the outcome will not result in a “me too” approach to the organizations’ marketplace. Guided by provocative questions, the board can more easily discern innovative opportunities, do a reality check on the proposed strategic intent and vision and devise meaningful differentiation for the organization.
9. Succession Planning Support is appreciated by boards when the directors have not previously been through a leadership transition with that particular organization. They want to work with an objective party to discuss options prior to launching a CEO search or engaging a recruiting firm so they can construct their process the way they want it and remain in control of it. Furr can also help the board design a professional and objective process to use during succession of the chairman.
10. CEO Appraisal is the process most widely implemented, and unfortunately, is usually done in a way that has minimal impact. It is sometimes a cursory process, done by a few people, using a few financial or even arbitrarily selected criteria, with no useful feedback or developmental process. Furr works with the organization to incorporate feedback and development into the process in order to get the best return from the investment in CEO talent and compensation.
11. Executive Appraisal is a logical addition to the above service since many directors worry about their organization's succession management procedures. Using the same leadership criteria that are developed for the CEO, Furr Resources conducts an appraisal, complete with feedback and development opportunity planning, to assure shareholders of attention to the talent and bench strength needed for the future.
12. The Board-Management Alignment Retreat is an opportunity customized to your situation to ensure that your board and management team have the same understanding of their relative roles and the boundaries between them, the same expectations of each other in their efforts on behalf of the organization, the same vision and understanding of long-term and short-term strategy and culture for the organization, and a healthy, open process for working together. Furr’s experience allows boards to develop this joint working plan for how you create the future of the organization in a unified way without any unintended consequences or unpleasant surprises.
13. Board Education Retreat can be beneficial whether you have a new board, new members or simply want to revisit some basics of good boards, Furr Resources can customize and facilitate a session to meet your needs. This can involve reviewing the role of the board, refocusing the board to function at a more strategic level, clarifying the boundary between the board and management, improving meetings and agendas, or elevating the way the board works together.
14. Written Governance Policy provides a roadmap for boards to follow to ensure that they operate in ways in which they intend and that their practices are consistent over time. Furr works with the board to establish the policy areas the board would like to cover, discusses multiple options with the board about how other progressive organizations approach those areas, and then writes the governance policy to reflect the board's wishes.
15. Establishing Director Recruiting Competencies is a process that Furr can facilitate with the board in order to ensure that the next director(s) recruited bring the competency sets to the table most needed, based on the strategy and culture of the organization. Furr works with management and the board to discern the competencies most likely to need consideration, then provides the process for the board to reach an agreed-upon collective profile of the next candidate(s).

Furr Resources invites you to read the Testimonials from CEOs and Chairman about our board work. Or, read some of our articles posted on this site, and ask yourself if you see some the signs and symptoms discussed in the articles in your boardroom. Then, CALL US. We will take the time to discuss the needs, questions or issues you see and also how easy and painless it can be to address those concerns.