Many people have analyzed the meltdown of platinum-branded financial institutions, amazed at how quickly they went from supposedly sound and powerful to being taken over or filing for bankruptcy. The lessons to be learned, and hopefully not forgotten, are far-reaching at several levels.
Boards of directors can look to recent words of Jim Kristie, editor and associate publisher of Directors & Boards, whom I respect as knowledgeable about governance matters. His words: “Frankly, boards have let down the nation and its capital markets. Boards have not had the right leaders in place; they have not adequately analyzed risk; they have not had the depth of knowledge of their company’s operations that they should have had; they have not done a sufficient job of helping management see the big picture in front of them and in seeing around corners as to what lies ahead, and they have not acted smartly and speedily as conditions deteriorated and management faltered.”
