Boards That Make a Difference: A New Design for Leadership in Nonprofit and Public Organizations (J-B Carver Board Governance Series)

By John Carver

Book Overview

In this revised and updated third edition, Carver continues to debunk the entrenched beliefs and habits that hobble boards and to replace them with his innovative approach to effective governance. This proven model offers an empowering and fundamental redesign of the board role and emphasizes values, vision, empowerment of both the board and staff, and strategic ability to lead leaders. Policy Governance gives board members and staff a new approach to board job design, board-staff relationships, the role of the chief executive, performance monitoring, and virtually every aspect of the board-management relationship. This latest edition has been updated and expanded to include explanatory diagrams that have been used by thousands of Carver's seminar participants. It also contains illustrative examples of Policy Governance model policies that have been created by real-world organizations. In addition, this third edition of Boards That Make a Difference includes a new chapter on model criticisms and the challenges of governance research.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0787976164
• ISBN13: 9780787976163
• Release Date: February 2006
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass
• Length: 448 Pages
• Weight: 1.52 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.6" x 6.1" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Essential Knowledge For CEOs

John Carver's book "boards that make a difference" constitute a formidable source of knowledge for CEOs efforts accompanying their Board's transformation to become more efficient and start making a difference

Boards That Make a Difference

An excellent book that is a serious must read for anyone who is a member of a board. The best how to and why book I have ever seen. Certainly worth the price.

John Carver - Books on Non-Profit Boards

This book is one of those books that has so much valuable material... that if you've checked it out of the library... you are likely to go out and purchase a copy so you'll have it around permanently to refer to. If you are interested in re-inventing your board, want to focus on vision and get away from administrivia.. this book offers the direction on how to do it. Carver is the major player is making boards effective contributors to organizations, of defining what governance is and how to get there.

John Carver

I am currently a newly appointed Board chairperson for a non-profit Christian school and we have been using John Carver's Policy Governance model for the last year. While we still have a long way to go to incorporate it completely into the fabric of our board processes, we have made great strides toward it in only a year. This book is excellent in helping us get there. I have also read several of John Carver's guides and although they are somewhat small for the money you have to pay for them, they also contain very good information. We hope to study these principles as part of our on-going board training during this board fiscal year.

Accessible, Codified Common Sense

Mr. Carver presents a very readable way of looking at how governing boards should work. His theories are logical and his arguments pursuasive. He offers board members an intellectual framework to consider how their organizations are running. The book is prescriptive, but not preachy. I was very surprised to find it sensible after hearing so much hype from "converts" to his method.