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Rating: 
Summary: An excellent book, very useful to boards of health care orga
Review: An excellent source for those who are interested in the governance of health care organizations. Relations of staff and CEO to boards are critical to the effective functioning of health organizations. This book provides the tools to more effectively understand how to harness and lead the power of boards to the best advantage of the organization. Pointer and Orlikoff are two of the best (actually unique) individuals in this important area. They have used the knowledge acquired through work with a large number of organizations to help understand how they work and how to work with them. Must reading for CEOs, board members and those who interact with boards.
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Summary: Board Work offers a simple yet powerful model for governance
Review: Board Work is as clear and practical a work on governance as I've ever read. I commend it to new and experienced board members, to the chairs of governance committees charged with board improvement, and to the executives who staff boards. As a trustee and governance consultant, I know these authors and have heard them speak -- and it was a pleasure to see how well the book transfers their years of experience into print. The book works so well because it is built on a straight-forward model that the authors carry throughout every chapter. The model suggests that healthcare boards (and most other boards, for that matter) have five central roles: defining organizational ends, ensuring management performance; overseeing financial performance; overseeing quality; and providing for the board's own structure, composition and effectiveness. Boards carry out these roles in three ways: by making policies, making decisions, and overseeing performance. One of the book's strongest components is explaining how - in order to define organizational ends - a board identifies the organization's stakeholders and their expectations. Few boards do this at all, much less do it well. Board Work joins books by John Carver, William Bowen, Cyril Houle and Richard Chaitt as an exceptional contribution to the emerging body of pragmatic governance literature. I recommend it highly.
Rating:
Summary: Board Work offers a simple yet powerful model for governance
Review: Board Work is as clear and practical a work on governance as I've ever read. I commend it to new and experienced board members, to the chairs of governance committees charged with board improvement, and to the executives who staff boards. As a trustee and governance consultant, I know these authors and have heard them speak -- and it was a pleasure to see how well the book transfers their years of experience into print. The book works so well because it is built on a straight-forward model that the authors carry throughout every chapter. The model suggests that healthcare boards (and most other boards, for that matter) have five central roles: defining organizational ends, ensuring management performance; overseeing financial performance; overseeing quality; and providing for the board's own structure, composition and effectiveness. Boards carry out these roles in three ways: by making policies, making decisions, and overseeing performance. One of the book's strongest components is explaining how - in order to define organizational ends - a board identifies the organization's stakeholders and their expectations. Few boards do this at all, much less do it well. Board Work joins books by John Carver, William Bowen, Cyril Houle and Richard Chaitt as an exceptional contribution to the emerging body of pragmatic governance literature. I recommend it highly.
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Summary: Outstanding! Great for all Boards!
Review: Outstanding! This book is great - not only for health care organizations, but boards at all levels - small business, corporate, even community and homeowner associations. It is practical and resourceful, providing me with an action list to make my board interactions more effective.
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Summary: the essential governance navigation tool
Review: Thanks for your interest in our book. Steve Shortell (Blue Cross Distinguished Professor, University of California - Berkeley) says, "This is the best book on health care organization governance I have ever read." We hope you agree! Precipitated by revolutionary changes ... in the industry, local markets and the very nature of healthcare organizations themselves ... boards are being asked to deal with an array of increasingly complex and significant issues. More than ever, the quality of governance matters. Yet, boards have been provided with few tools to do their work better. BOARD WORK lays out a practical set of strategies for significantly enhancing governance performance and contributions ... a comprehensive and precise road map that can help boards make the most difference (on behalf of stakeholders) and add the greatest value (to their organizations). This book is different: * derived from our 40 collective years of consulting experience and research, it is grounded on a solid model of those factors that most effect the quality of an organization's governance; * it includes a series of "check-ups" ... tools boards can employ to engage in focused and high leverage self-assessment; and * it forwards hundreds of "benchmark governance practices" ... concrete actionable ideas for redesigning board functioning, structure, composition and infrastructure. We hope that BOARD WORK will be an indispensable navigational aid for executives, board leaders and members who are serious about transforming how governance is practiced. Much of governance is generic. Thus, the ideas and tools forwarded here have applicability to other non-profit organizations, governmental agencies and commercial corporations.
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Summary: This book is an excellent practical guide to governance.
Review: This book provides excellent tools and guidleines to take governance into the 21st century. Dennis Pointer and James Orlikoff provide fresh ideas and insights into how boards can effectively and successfully enhance their organizations. This book should be read by every health care board who wants to make a difference in their organization.
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