What I Know Now
Notes from 35 years in the Boardroom
Most board directors arrive in the role without a manual. Most of us spend years doing the job by feel, never quite sure whether we’re getting it right.
I was 35 when I got my first board seat. This is the book I needed then – I just didn’t know it. What a good mentor would have told me if I’d had one.
I’ve spent four decades at board level – as director, MD, CEO, chair, NED, and investor across fifteen businesses in manufacturing, food, retail, and engineering. This book covers the things I’ve come to believe actually determine whether a board makes a business better or lets it stagnate: purpose, leadership, culture, performance, people, strategy, growth, exit, family-business dynamics, reputation, and what the role eventually teaches you about yourself.
It’s experience-based, and deliberately short on theory. If I haven’t lived it, it isn’t in the book. Each chapter ends with a single question I’d ask you to answer for yourself.
This isn’t a governance textbook. It’s an honest and direct working guide for owners, MDs, and directors who are already doing the job and want to do it better – and for aspiring directors getting ready to step into it.
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Every penny of proceeds from the book is donated to Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice.
About the author
An engineer by training. Thirty-five years at board level across manufacturing, food, retail, and engineering.
I’ve worked at board level for over 35 years – as director, MD, CEO, chair, NED, and investor across fifteen businesses. This book is drawn from what I learned along the way.