Experience shows that growing, performance-challenged and just about any company derives greater benefit from those with direct business knowledge. The evaluation process will grow in importance and structure. This area has been a quiet but effective revolution. Most boards have a formal program for evaluating the CEO and nearly all regularly measure performance against a set of targets. Boards are showing concern about their own performance.
Directors are more active and independent in forming board structure and policies.
As directors assume a very active and accountable interest in company performance, the time available for multiple board seats, particularly among fully-employed directors, is incredibly minimal. The NACD recommends that today's directors budget at least four 40-hour weeks of service for each board on which they sit, including their own. This expectation of time commitment from today's directors certainly limits an active leader from serving on multiple boards. Experts still consider it good succession practice for a company president or senior manager to serve, for a period, on an outside board. This assures the company CEO and board that their No. 2, No. 3 and other officers are fully seasoned, broadly-experienced executives.