Strategic Governance: Enabling Financial, Environmental and Social Sustainability.

• Author: Marshall, Jeffrey
• Position: Book review

By Hank Boerner and Mark W. Sickles. Governance & Accountability Institute, 125 pages. $14.95

Right in the preface, authors Boerner and Sickles concede that this "is a short book that will not take long to read." That's deliberate, they say, and a recognition that for executives, time is a precious commodity. But they urge readers to "take ownership" of the book and its ideas, "using the book as a source of continuous improvement."

The authors, fellows at the Governance & Accountability Institute in New York, draw from many years of work advising boards and companies about a broad range of governance issues, including values, goals and corporate responsibility.

Even in a book like this, which tends to deal with subjects in outline form and bold-faced aphorisms, they manage to bring in a number of concise case studies from companies like 3M Co., Pfizer Corp. and Florida Power & Light.

Strategic Governance races through a host of relevant topics: corporate culture...