Category Archives: Board of Directors

11/4/19

McDonalds CEO And His Consensual Romantic Relationship

This guy, this divorced Steve Easterbrook guy, was the Chief Executive Officer of McDonalds, by all accounts a good one.

So, he admits to having a “consensual romantic relationship” with an employee who is below him in the food chain at McDonalds. [Get it. The food chain. At McDonalds.]

Everybody is below the CEO in the food chain at McDonalds — well, except for Mickey. Mickey is above the CEO. Maybe the Hamburglar?

Easterbrook was a good CEO at McDonalds and is credited with having introduced a number of initiatives (all day breakfast, delivery, tech innovations) that had the stock solidly in the win column, but he exercised poor judgment and managed to get himself fired from a job that paid him $21.8MM in 2017. Ouch.

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03/28/17

Board of Directors

Big Red Car here waiting for Saturday and the Final Four contests. OK, but I am getting a lot of questions about all things pertinent to a Board of Directors and how to run board meetings and how to deal with board members.

We’ve talked about this before, so let me give you some frames of reference.

Know that I’ve stolen all of this from The Boss who had a lot of boards, board members, and board meetings in thirty-three years of CEOing.

Here it is for your use.

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08/10/16

Board Meeting Agenda

Board Meeting Agenda? What is that Big Red Car?

Big Red Car here in the sunny ATX with the sun beaming down and making it hot, very hot. Like Gen Wm Tecumseh Sherman (America’s first home grown war criminal) said, “If I owned Hell and Texas, I’d live in Hell and rent out Texas!”

So, today, we continue talking shop about the board meeting.

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08/9/16

Decision Memorandum

Decision Memorandum, Big Red Car?

Big Red Car here in the Olympic heat of Texas’ beautiful summer. The sun is shining. The heat is rising. The bougainvillea is blooming. The pool is calling. Today, we go swimming at Barton Springs and start swimming laps to rehab a painful Achilles Tendon — but I digress.

The Decision Memorandum is what, exactly, Big Red Car?

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02/4/16

Shop Talk — Boards, A Pragmatic Checklist

Big Red Car here, y’all. Oh, it’s cool and sunny here in the ATX. [Shut up, Big Red Car. We’re getting tired of it.]

So, today we start a new thrust that is going to be called “Shop Talk” for all of you in the trenches.

Today’s chat is about Boards of Directors. It is a checklist in the spirit of The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande. Remember him?

So, read it already.

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12/18/14

The Imperfect Board

Big Red Car here. So The Boss is back in Steamboat for some skiing. It is cold and snowy in the ‘Boat which is apparently why The Boss goes there in the first place. Me and the housekeeper, well, we don’t like cold. We like top down Texas weather.

We just have to make it to Monday when it’s going to be 75F again. Please, God, move the sun faster, please. Continue reading →

10/31/13

Board Duties — Handle With Care II

Big Red Car here.  Wow, we had a very nice rain last night replete with lightning, thunder and wind.  Ahhh, it was the best.  We desperately need water to fill the area lakes.  The lakes have been down a bit since 2011 but they are building back with the recent rains.  In the last month, water levels are up almost four feet.

So today we finish up our discussion on the nature of Board duties.  We began the discussion here <<<link, so check that prior post before launching into this one.

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