Robyn Weatherley - Eyes Wide Open: A First-Timers Guide to the Real World of Boards and Company Directorship

The author can be contacted at

First published in 2015 by Major Street Publishing Pty Ltd

Contact: or ph: +61 421 707 983

Robyn Weatherley 2015

The moral rights of the author have been asserted

National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication data: Creator: Weatherley, Robyn, author.

Title: Eyes wide open: a first-timers guide to the real world of boards and company directorship/Robyn Weatherley.

ISBN: 9781925280739 (eBook)

Notes: Includes index.

Subjects: Boards of directors, Directors of corporations., Corporate governance.

Dewey Number: 658.422

All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the Australian Copyright Act 1968 (for example, a fair dealing for the purposes of study, research, criticism or review), no part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, communicated or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission. All inquiries should be made to the publisher.

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ISBN: 9781925280739 (eBook)

Digital edition distributed by

Port Campbell Press

www.portcampbellpress.com.au

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Disclaimer and small print

The content of this book comes from the life experience and education of the author, culminating in many years of corporate governance experience and hundreds of hours spent around Australian boardroom tables with every type of company director.

The personal insights shared by the author represent her own opinion solely. If anyone believes they have featured somewhere in the content it will be due to co-incidence or an honest recognition of their own behaviours (good, bad or otherwise). The book has been sensitively written so as not to identify anyone by name or any other characteristic which could make them obviously recognisable to the public.

The fact that an incident, experience or personal reflection has been included is because the author has seen it with her own eyes at least once but possibly more often and its quite likely shes seen it across more than one board or industry.

Where the author has shared the ideas or work of others, this has been acknowledged in the text and further reference of the source has been included where possible.

For Dottie, Steve and Rupert

Praise for Eyes Wide Open

I have had the pleasure of observing Robyn in action and working with her a few times over the last eight years. She has also taken the minutes of some board meetings I have chaired. Robyn is a consummate professional. She has used her extensive knowledge of governance and secretarial matters from inside numerous boardrooms of substantial organisations to produce a very comprehensive and insight full book that is full of wisdom and practical advice. This book is a must-read for first-timers and those wanting to learn more about the important intricacies and nuances of becoming a great company director.

NICHOLAS S. BARNETT

Chairman & corporate governance expert, Chairman Ansvar Insurance and Director of Mission Australia.

The first taste of lifes great experiences is always memorable, but seldom the best. Experience usually pays for itself, many times over. Many of my adult friends have often lusted after and propelled them - selves into their first board directorship, only to discover a bitter taste in the mouth later because they have stepped in where angels fear to tread. Women especially have been blindsided about the reality of becoming a director because, until recently, that professional career has been secret mens business.

Robyn Weatherlys book Eyes Wide Open is an excellent resource for aspiring directors with little or no experience that can be used to test them selves on the hard facts of board life, what they need to know before consent is given, and also the complex relationships they must manage. Finding a board is a significant piece of detective work. There is hard data and also actual personalities and key relationships to be researched up front and these are often available only from the outside looking in. Even when you have been made an offer, the smarter detective candidates complete their final validations before they grant consent. Arriving at the board table the new directors behaviour, questions and relationships all need to be managed in distinct and professional ways. The reader will find all these stages and challenges well analysed by Robyn, together with research points, issues and data to be probed before that final clinch is embraced! And no matter how excited you might get.

Looking back on my own twenty-five years experience on public and private boards, I have found Robyns advice and suggestions to be right on the money. In fact, I wished that I had this book to read when I was starting out. There are many boards out there with no sense of direction, no fear of flying and a willingness to bank you and your reputation into their own mostly futile attempts to cash out an unknown future. Dont get caught amongst their number.

Read Robyns Eyes Wide Open, so yours are. Keep this book close by in your early years as a director and you will undoubtedly make more successful choices and not find yourself having just boarded the next disaster express.

PETER WILSON AM

Chairman of AHRI Ltd and Yarra Valley Water

In Eyes Wide Open, Robyn Weatherley sets out to de-mystify the topic of how boards work and what company directors actually do. And she succeeds brilliantly! This book is written in a conversational style, packed with practical advice and real anecdotes that shine a light into the boardroom in a unique way which informs, explains, amuses and enlightens. If you have ever thought you might like to become a company director, this book is for you!

ANNE WARD

Chairman Zoos Victoria, Colonial First State, Qantas Superannuation, CIE; Director, MYOB, Flexigroup Ltd, Foundation for Imaging Research Council; Member Advisory Council, RMIT

As the author notes Dont be overwhelmed just be proactive, educated and informed this is exactly what Eyes Wide Open does from a unique perspective. I thoroughly enjoyed being part of a conversation, just like catching up with a friend over coffee, hearing about the ins and outs, dos and donts of directorships. A must-read for aspiring directors and those relatively new to the boardroom and as such, is now part of the curriculum for Pathway to Your Potential program for directors.

DR JESS MURPHY

Founder of Pathway to Your Potential programs and Director of Outside-In Business Advisory Services Pty Ltd

I wish this book had been available before I joined my first board. It provides fantastic insight into the working mechanisms of the board, the challenges and opportunities, and what you need to do to be an effective director. A must-read for every first-time board director.

MICHELLE GIBBINGS

Founder and Director, Change Meridian

CONTENTS

Part One | Pre-Appointment

Part Two | Invitation Accepted

Part Three | In the Boardroom and Beyond

pre- and post-appointment directorship checklist

IT IS NOT often that you gain an insight into the company boardroom. How it works. What it means to be a non-executive director and why key relationships do matter.