Augustine's Travels.

• Author: Allen, W.W.

Published by AMACOM (a division of American Management Association), New York, 240 pages, $24.95

Norman Augustine has hit a home run with his latest book, Augustine's Travels. He is a proven corporate leader with experience and personal beliefs in what it takes to be successful in business as well as in life. Augustine's special combination of "words of wisdom" spiced with his unique humor gives the reader a real sense of the man behind the book.

Those in management will recognize immediately that the subjects addressed in the book are the critical issues for today's organizations. Many will agree that leadership, ethics, and values are fundamental for long-term success. As Augustine points out, "Nine times out of ten, doing the right thing also turns out to be the smart thing."

He then moves on to discuss competitiveness, M&A activities, crisis management, and reengineering. The crisis management discussion is particularly worthwhile. The fundamental idea is to avoid the crisis while being prepared to manage the situation if avoidance fails. First, contain the situation, then take action to resolve the crisis. Augustine emphasizes that it is important to recognize that you actually have a crisis before it becomes serious.

Another discussion involves corporate governance, giving his very clear ideas on the subject. These ideas are in the mainstream, and many companies will want to give serious consideration to including them in their own rules of corporate governance. Although there is not necessarily one model of governance which fits all companies, Augustine's description of the makeup of boards for the 21st Century has merit

His model board would be slightly smaller than today's average board size, with only one or two inside directors. The board would be independent of management but would understand the difference between governance and management. Board committees would be important and there would be a coordinating outside director for the total board rather than a lead director. The makeup of the board would include more women, minorities, and members with international experience. Communications using the latest technology to access shareholders and board members would replace annual meetings and would facilitate fewer face-to-face board meetings. Board compensation would be primarily via stock ownership. In my view, this is not a bad model for today's board as well as for those of the next century.

Education is one of the more...