DAVID R. KOENIG
Reviews of The Board Member's Guide to Risk
“Excellent - a testimony to the author's deep understanding of risk and the role of governance" "Entire boards should read the book concurrently" "Well-written, fresh, engaging, timeless and timely" "A great resource with a brilliant distillation of risk"
Reviews
“This book is excellent. It’s exactly the right length, tone, and, content. To cover a subject as broad as risk in such a succinct manner is testimony to the author’s deep understanding of both the subject of risk and the role of corporate governance. While reading the book, it triggered my thinking on how the Boards on which I serve should be considering risk in a post-COVID virus environment. Building resilience, through Empowerment, Speed, and Trust was the biggest takeaway for me from the book. I look forward to sharing copies with my fellow Directors.”
Board members should read this book if they care even the tiniest little bit about how well they are doing at asking the right questions, making good decisions, and offering appropriate strategic guidance to their organizations when it comes to risk. David writes clearly, shares important insights, recounts anecdotes that bring these issues to life, and offers practical suggestions to use in the real world.
— Michele Wucker, Author, The Gray Rhino
Excellent - a testimony to the author's deep understanding of risk and the role of governance
Must read in the next frontier in corporate governance
— Carol Gray, Board Member, IFM Investors, Board of Governors, Trent University, Board Member, Amex Bank of Canada
The Board members' "go-to" guidebook about risk
"This book is exceptionally well-crafted and genuinely insightful. I believe it will become the "go-to" guidebook about risk for board members."
— Bartley J. Madden, Author, Value Creation Principles
Entire boards should read this book concurrently
“The re-framing of risk in this book is really useful. Entire boards should read the book concurrently – so all are working from the same paradigm (or experience the same paradigm shift).”
— Sarah Oquist, Chair of the Board of Directors, Woodlands National Bank, Board Member, Walker Arts Center, Adjunct Faculty Member, Mitchell Hamline School of Law
The Things You Shouldn't Miss on Your Risk-Taking Journey
“Reading this book was like drinking a fine bottle of wine. I finished it in one sitting! And yes, the book is like a good travel guide—it informs you of what you shouldn’t miss on your risk-taking journey.”
— David X Martin, Cyber Risk Management Expert, Special Counselor, Center for Financial Stability, former Chief Risk Officer, Alliance Bernstein, former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Knightsbridge Capital, Adjunct Professor, NYU Stern School of Business, and Author, The Nature of Risk and Risk and the Smart Investor
An Excellent Overview and a Must-Read for Board Members
"An excellent overview of how board members can improve their governance of the organization’s risk-taking. The book is written in an engaging style with lots of useful examples and anecdotes. It provides several practical governance models to help guide decision-making and also has many helpful references for more in-depth research. It’s a must read for board members looking to strengthen their organization’s strategic decision making!"
— Jean Hinrichs, former Chief Risk Officer, Barclays Global Investors and former Lecturer, Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley
Relevant, useful and practical
"Books about risk normally make me feel like I’m drowning in an endless litany of risks, each one of which can pull me under. This book, by contrast, throws a lifeline. Several, in fact. It's written specifically to help Board Members, not to scare them into buying consultancy services. It’s relevant, useful and practical."
— Jon Lukomnik, Managing Partner, Sinclair Capital, past Deputy Comptroller, City of New York, and Co-author, The New Capitalists and What They Do with Your Money
Another Must Read
“It is already on my must read list.”
— David Finnie, co-Author, Strategy, Risk, and Governance, Board Member and Chair, Governance Committee, The Charles H. Best Diabetes Centre, former Chief Risk Officer, Central 1 Credit Union, and former Managing Director, the Global Risk Institute
A Great Resource with a Brilliant Distillation of Risk
"This is a great resource for board members, prospective board members, and organizations looking to add board members and structure to their boards. The writing is entertaining and clear and includes a brilliant distillation of your company’s risk down to one key element that I will leave for readers to discover.”
— Art Monaghan, co-Founder, Granite Equity Partners
Particularly Strong around Future Courses of Action - It Does What it Sets Out to Do
“This book does what it sets out to do – provide boards and individual board members with a framework for strengthening governance of their organization’s risk taking and for pursuing their strategic goals successfully. The layout of the book holds together well, and chapters logically build on each other. The final chapter is particularly strong in summarizing, synthesizing, and suggesting future courses of action. It's a great resource."
— Sarah Forster, non-profit board member and Director of Milestone Reunions, Carleton College
Rare example of a book about risk for Board level in correct terms
"There are many books on risk in general and on specific applications and subjects of risk management. Good and not so. If you're on a Board but for some reason you are not familiar with the concept, the book is the right choice! It is likely you will not find [as] good [a] summary [as] David gave specifically for the Board members."
— Mikhail Fedorov, “Risk Manager of the Year” in 2018 by Russian Risk Management Society
Well-written, fresh, engaging; both timeless and timely
“This is well-written, concise, fresh, and engaging. The two key refrains – risk is necessary, trust is essential – left me thinking about those two themes in relation to church and college settings where I spent my career. It seems to me, they are just as applicable there as in the world of business. The principles outlined in this book are timeless. The book is also timely. I hope it gets read widely and is adopted broadly. Well done!”
— W. Bruce Benson, Host of Sing for Joy, and retired Senior Pastor, St. Olaf College
Powerful guidebook for enhancing organizational value
"For many years, directors have focused on maintaining cordial peer relationships with other directors and protecting the established operating norms of the underlying organization. In his timely book, Koenig shows us how such a narrow, status quo focus can lead to an organization's undoing. Through cogent and timely examples, we come to understand where directors truly need to place their focus: on the myriad factors that drive an organization’s value — including the firm’s reputation, management’s integrity, access to capital markets, stakeholder feedback, and the agility of the organization’s digital platform. Koenig’s research convincingly demonstrates why directors are well served by identifying, understanding, and leveraging the sources of value creation within their organizations, and how the long-term success of the very organizations directors are entrusted with serving might actually hinge on directors’ abilities to do so."
— Maureen Ryan Healy, Board Governance and Leadership Consultant (Amazon Review)
Unputdownable
"Superb book for understanding a board member’s risk responsibilities…must read for those with such ambitions."
— "Triathlete franz" (Amazon Review)
The opening of the introductory chapter is so apt! Businesses exist to take risk. Full stop.
"The Board Member’s Guide to Risk by David R. Koenig is my daily manual … so simply written but of immense impact. Written from a place of passion and experience. I have adopted it as my personal framework as a Board member.
It gives a full circle understanding of risk, bringing to fore the knowledge of risk as that which brings value if not handled arbitrarily."
— Ochanya Dan-Ugo, Board Member (Amazon Review)
Brilliantly put...
"David has produced a really great read that is vital for newer board membership read, enabling understanding of the term RISK and dangers of GROUP THINK, great book worth reading."
— "Sandi" (Amazon Review)