Self-renewal.

• Author: Rock, Robert H.
• Position: LETTER FROM THE CHAIRMAN

JOHN W. GARDNER died three years ago, but his wisdom lives on through his books. His On Leadership is the centerpiece of general management courses at many top business schools. This classic is rightfully held in high esteem, though I find myself returning to his lesser-known book Self-Renewal, published 35 years ago. In this book he posits that the inevitability of change requires leaders to remain open to new experiences and challenges, which in turn enables their organizations to grow and self-renew.

A year ago, as chairman of a nominating and governance committee, I oversaw an evaluation of the board that reminded me of the continuing relevance of Prof. Gardner's Self-Renewal. The board evaluation, based largely on a survey of the individual members, indicated that the directors were very satisfied with how the board was operating. However, several directors questioned whether they and their colleagues were sufficiently aware of changes taking place in the company's markets, technologies, and competitors. The CEO agreed with this assessment and asked me to put together "a director development program that would assure that the board stayed up to date."

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Over the next year, the program took shape. First, the directors were given a three day, in-depth review of the businesses, including plant tours, strategy sessions, and top executive presentations. In addition, we visited stores and sat in on a sales training session. Second, the directors began to regularly receive information about the company and its markets, technologies, and competitors. This included trade publications...