夏季对董事会为什么重要？
BBC露西·马库斯（Lucy Marcus）(2023年8月14日)
夏季是休假的季节。
时值夏日，似乎人人都在外出享受假日时光。那么，夏令时节，董事会成员们都在做些什么？他们是否能够完全置身事外？在夏天，董事们的很多职责依然和平日里一样——就如在看似平静的池塘水面之下，依然暗流涌动。
每家公司或机构的董事会每年召开会议的次数各不相同。一些公司每月都开董事会，夏季也不例外。其他一些公司的董事会除了夏季之外，每月一次例会。还有一些公司的董事会每年只有六次甚至只有四次会议。
对于开会的频次，并没有明文的硬性规定，主要取决于公司自身。但全世界的董事会都有一个共同点：那就是他们会尽量提前一年做好下一年的会议安排。这样做能让董事们成员们更容易安排日程，从而保证行程繁忙的董事能够如期参加董事会会议。
因为我们事先知道日程，因此一般来说就可以做到不缺席会议。对很多上市公司来说，董事会会议的出勤情况需要在公司年报中披露。如果缺席会议过多，那么大家对这个董事会成员的印象就会变的糟糕，而这可能意味着这个董事会成员在任期结束时将得不到连任。
我担任董事的一家公司每月都会召开例会，我刚刚参加了他们8月的会议。像其他董事会成员一样，我根据这次会议的时间计划我的夏季旅行，所以我利用会议前和会议后的时间分别休了一次短假。
不过，在南北半球“夏季”对应的时间是不同的。但无论公司位于何处，它们往往都会在夏季放慢步伐，利用这段时间重新梳理公司的优先事项。
董事会成员也在夏季讨论公司大事吗？
公司可能在任何时间召开临时股东大会。对于能够赶到现场的董事会成员，则会亲临会场，赶不到的，则要通过电话或视频会议参与大会。
有一次我在一座岛上，因为要参加一个非常重要并且不能耽误的管理问题的讨论，为了让手机收到信号，我只能走到岛的一头，参加电话会议，为此在雨中伫立了好几个小时。如果某项决定非常重要，必须经过董事会讨论和批准，那你就必须不惜代价参与。
比如，上个月我在阿尔卑斯山很高的一处地方徒步旅行，但有一天为了处理董事会的一些事务，我在电话上花了6小时！
在这个例子中，由于事件本身并没有需要我本人必须到场，所以我可以完全通过电话参与，但如果事情紧要或必须我本人在场，我就会乘缆车下山，跳上前往机场的列车，飞抵目的地赶到会议现场。
夏季度假时突然要搭乘计划外的航班花掉一天时间赶去开会——这样的情况我在过去遇到过好几次。作为董事会成员，这是我们工作的一部分，也是我们承诺要履行的义务，我的家人理解这一点。
虽然对许多企业来说夏季是一个较为平静的时节，但世界各地各种事件仍在不停上演。 希腊经济危机，加拿大提前选举、法国加莱移民危机——这些事件和其他外部因素都会影响公司的经营。
不仅如此，内部因素也会影响公司的业务，比如并购、继任计划的突然变化或业务重组等。如果需要董事会采取行动或批复，我们就需要有时间聆听汇报，并做出决策。
有些决策相当简单，董事会成员通过电子邮件就能进行批复，但还有一些决策在做出之前可能还需要进一步的讨论和行动。
即便是那些尽量避免在夏季月份安排董事会会议的公司，董事会成员也依然需要随时待命。例如，上市公司的董事会成员必须对公司发布季度财务报告进行批复。
查漏补缺
对于董事会成员个人来说，夏季是对最新公司信息查漏补缺的好时节。
我有一整个文件夹的剪报（以前是纸质的，如今是电子版的），是我收集的在一年中无暇阅读的资料，包括分析师报告、期刊文章和我认为有用的信息，我专门保存下来，为的是等到有安静闲暇时间再进行阅读。
并不是人人都喜欢在沙滩上阅读，但我觉得这样很有意思，也很有用，并且我可以真正阅读这些资料，反复咀嚼，而不是在忙碌的时节囫囵吞枣地过一遍。
此外，夏季时分，作为美好而恬静的时光，我们可以与其他董事会成员共进午餐或小酌几杯，对各自的信息查漏补缺。一年到头我们都忙碌不停，就算参加董事会会议也是来去匆忙。
对于住在同一城市或前往同一个地方度假的董事会成员来说，一次看似稀松平常的聊天可以斩获良多。
公司在夏季里可以悄无声息地达成很多事情，而无论好坏，结果往往会在秋季体现出来。2008年9月，雷曼兄弟宣布破产保护，2013年9月，柯达在经历了一年多的重组和资产出售后从破产边缘走出。可以肯定，在那些夏天，两家公司的董事会一定在忙于做出各种各样的决定。
夏季是自我充电、重新评估和为秋季做足准备的好时光。短暂的假期结束后，我带着新的想法回到董事会的会议室——此时的我思路清晰，斗志昂扬。
我发现，当其他董事会成员和公司高管在9月回来工作时，他们也和我一样振奋且充满斗志。似乎因为整个夏季都在缓慢的节奏中度过，我们常常发现，在最后一个季度到来之时，我们大家都很生机勃勃，精力充沛。
留意公司的新闻稿和重大公告——你就会知道它们源自何处。
露西·马库斯（Lucy Marcus）是一位屡获殊荣的作者，她在多个机构担任董事会主席和非执行董事，同时还担任马库斯创业咨询公司（Marcus Venture Consulting）的CEO。
（责编：郱书）
Why summer is so important for boards Lucy Marcus
Does the board meet?
The number of times a board meets during the year varies by organisation. Some boards meet monthly, and simply carry on as usual over the summer. Other organisations meet every month except the summer months. Still others meet just six, or even just four times a year. There is no hard and fast rule, as it depends upon the personality of the company. But there is one thing that boards around the world try to do: They give the schedule for the whole year a year in advance. That makes it easier to plan around the meetings to ensure that busy board members can attend.
Because we know in advance, the expectation is that meetings aren’t missed. For many public companies, attendance is reported in the annual report. Too many missed meetings reflects poorly on the board member, and increasingly this can mean individual board members are not re-elected to the board when their term is up.
I've just finished an August board meeting for a board that meets monthly. Like the other board members, I planned my summer travels around it, so I had a little holiday before the meeting and a little holiday after.
To be sure, ‘summer’ is different in different hemispheres. But wherever companies are located, they tend to slow down a bit and re-establish their priorities during the summer period.
Do they talk?
Board members are always on call and if something happens we need to be reachable. Extraordinary general meetings (EGMs) can be called at any time. Anyone who can make it attends in person and the rest of the board participates via phone or video. I once stood out in the rain for several hours after walking to the far end of an island so I could get mobile phone reception to take part in a discussion about a serious management issue that couldn’t wait. If a decision is important enough to require board discussion and approval, you’ve got to do whatever it takes.
Six hours on the phone during a hiking holiday in the Alps. (Credit: Lucy Marcus)
In the last month, for instance, I was high up in the Alps for a hiking holiday but spent about six hours on the phone one day dealing with some board issues.
In this case it was not something that required my physical presence and I was able to participate fully by phone, but if it had been urgent or required that I be there in person, I'd have taken a cable car down the mountain, hopped on a train to the airport and flown to the meeting.
There have been several times in the past where I’ve taken an unexpected plane trip for a day during the summer. That is part of what we are paid for and what we sign up to as part of our obligation as board members and my family understand that.
The world keeps turning
Even though things may be quieter for many businesses over the summer, there’s still a lot going on around the world. The Greek economic crisis, snap elections in Canada, the migrant situation in Calais, France: events like these and other external factors can impact businesses. There can also be internal factors, such as mergers and acquisitions, a sudden succession change or a business restructuring. If board action or approval is required, we need to be available to be briefed and to make decisions. Some decisions are fairly straightforward and board members can simply email their approval, but others may require further discussion and action.
Life on the road. (Credit: Thinkstock)
Even for companies that try to avoid scheduling board meetings over the summer months, we are always required to be on call. Board members of publicly traded companies, for example, must approve the release of the company's quarterly financial results.
Catch-up
For individual board members, summer is a great time to brush up on the latest issues. I have an entire folder of clippings (they used to be paper, but now they are digital) I simply haven’t had time to read during the year. It is filled with analyst reports, magazine articles and information that I thought would be helpful to know, and I saved it up for quieter times. It might not be everyone’s idea of compelling beach reading, but I’m finding it interesting and useful and I can read these things and mull them over, rather than skim them as I might during busier times.
Also, it is a nice, quiet time to catch up with other board members over lunch or a drink. Often during the year we are all so busy, we rush into the meeting and rush out once it is over. For those in the same city or who are holidaying in the same place, a discreet chat can accomplish a lot.
Gearing up for the autumn
A lot of quiet business is done over the summer and often the results manifest in the autumn, good or bad. Lehman Brothers declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September, 2008, and Kodak emerged from bankruptcy in September, 2013, after more than a year of restructuring and selling business units. You can bet their boards were busy making decisions over the summer.
The summer is a great time to recharge, reassess and prepare for autumn. With a bit of a break, I get back to the boardroom with new ideas, refreshed and ready to go. I find, come September, my fellow board members and company executives come back refreshed and ready to go as well. As a result of the seeming summer slowdown, we often see renewed vim and vigour in the run up to the last quarter of the year. Keep an eye out for press releases and big announcements – you’ll know where a lot of it comes from.