1️⃣ The chair’s job ends short of running the company INSEAD’s latest governance note puts the chair in charge of the board’s process. Supporting the CEO should preserve independent judgement, without taking over executive work.
💡 Why it matters Review where the chair intervenes in operations. Advice can quietly become a second chain of command.
☕ Coffee talk Can the board assess the CEO fairly after the chair has been directing the management team?
2️⃣ Make the next funding decision before the money is gone Bain’s agile budgeting framework starts innovation investments small and reallocates funding as results emerge. Stable product teams can continue while low-value initiatives stop.
💡 Why it matters Set the next evidence review when approving funding. A delivery status report is not evidence that the investment still earns its place.
☕ Coffee talk Which initiative could lose funding at the next review, and does its sponsor know the criteria?
3️⃣ Put a limit on unfinished work Kanban guidance limits work already started but not finished, with new work pulled when capacity is available. Task-switching research also shows that moving between tasks costs time.
💡 Why it matters Cap concurrent work and track how long open items wait. Help clear blocked tasks before assigning another priority.
☕ Coffee talk How many more tasks will you start while the same items sit in the review queue?