Book it: best bets for board reading: from a roundup of new books, insights on CEO benchmarking, recruiting 'A' talent, speechmaking success, audit committees, manager-kings, and boardroom surprises.

• Author: Kristie, James
• Position: THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

Would your CEO make the cut?

From Reinvent by Fred Hassan. Copyright [c]2013 by the author. Published by Jossey-Bass (www.josseybass.com).

IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY, the role of boards has become even more important in overseeing management. Just as one of the most important personal decisions we make is who we marry, the most important decision a board makes is who it selects or reconfirms as CEO.

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Having had board experience at nine public companies, I have seen three CEO exit decisions. The following are some tough, simple questions to ask about a CEO:

* Is the CEO well grounded in reality, with a strategy that will develop traction?

* Is the CEO nurturing a team that can compete effectively against its best competitors?

* Is the CEO developing strong organizational health so that employees are encouraged to earn trust, to align and to give their best?

* If there was a benchmarking process today, would this CEO make the cut?

It is key to have quality board members and a board team that meshes well. The most important criteria for board member selection are attitude, behavior, fit and judgment ability. I was fortunate to have strong, supportive, questioning boards at the three large public companies where I served as CEO.

Fred Hassan is the former chairman and CEO of Schering-Plough Corp. He is nonexecutive chairman of Avon Products Inc. and a partner and managing director with the private equity firm Warburg Pincus (www.reinventbook.com).

A's hire A's ... but B's hire C's

From Rumsfeld's Rules by Donald Rumsfeld. Copyright [c]2013 by the author. Published by Broadside Books, an imprint of HarperCollins (www.broadsidebooks.net).

YOU CAN TELL A GREAT DEAL about the quality of a manager or leader by the people he brings in as members of his or her team. For whatever reason there seems to be a pattern. Effective leaders--A's--tend to attract other A's, smart and talented people, who in turn create a culture of excellence. By contrast, B's hire C's, and even some duds who could generously be termed D's. One reason for this is that B's are not comfortable hiring people who might outshine them. As a result they tend to recruit and retain people who are nonthreatening to their position. There is an old saying, "Follow the money!" In this case, follow the A's. If you want to find out which managers are A's and which are B's, take a hard look at the teams that surround them.

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When it comes time to fill...