What Directors Think 2009: This Job' s Not What It Used to Be - Fourth Quarter 2009

Cover Story

What Directors Think 2009: This Job's Not What It Used to Be

The ravaged economy, a hands-on administration, and activist shareholders are producing big changes in how board members go about their job, as the annual survey by Corporate Board Member and PricewaterhouseCoopers makes clear. There’s good news, too, among the findings.

Fourth Quarter 2009

Features

It's Guess What, Stupid
What will be Topic A in 2010? Tell us about your toughest decision in the past 12 months. To what extent are boards responsible for the economic collapse?

Memo to Uncle Sam: Thnx But No Thnx

Will the government rescue packages save the economy? What’s the worst thing the feds could do?

It Ain't Over Till It's Over
Are you finished with cost- cutting? Have you been cutting fat, flesh, or bone? What are the big risks ahead for the U.S. and your company? Do you discuss risk and liability sufficiently at your board meetings?

We Know We Work for You. But...
What’s next in the way of shareholder demands? What do you dread most?

CEO Pay: The Elephant Still Looms in the Room
Does your CEO understand the days of profligate pay are over? How do you persuade a good CEO to stay if you can’t pay more?

Managing the Managers
Are you as involved in forming strategy as you’d like to be? Do you regularly discuss CEO succession? What’s the hardest message to get across to management? How do you measure your CEO’s talent?

Taking Hard Hits—And Loving It
How has your job as a director changed in the past 18 months? What have you learned? Are you having as much fun as a director as you once did? What keeps you awake at night?

Departments

Letter from the Editor
The Buck Moves Into the Boardroom

On Board
Go Ahead and Pay a Dividend If You Possibly Can

Coach Inc. Opens Its Purse

One More for the C-Suite

How to Make Sure Your D&O Protects You During Chapter 11

Before We Adjourn
Think You Think Straight? Think Again