88. Global board leadership with Linda McGoldrick
On Boards Podcast
In this episode of On Boards, hosts Joe Ayoub and Raza Shaikh speak with Dr. Linda McGoldrick, an international board director, strategy leader, and policy expert in healthcare and life sciences. With 30 years of global experience across the U.S., U.K., and European boards, Linda shares what defines high-performing boards, the importance of trust and diversity of thought, and how geopolitical and technological shifts are transforming governance today. Key takeaways Traits of high performing boards Regardless of size or geography, effective boards are well-prepared, prioritize...
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87. The Boardroom Blind Spot with John Rose
On Boards Podcast
In this episode of On Boards, hosts Joe Ayoub and Raza Shaikh speak with John Rose, an international marketing executive, entrepreneur, and board advisor who has led businesses across the U.S., Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East. John discusses his global career—from founding the first ad agency in Russia to relocating his company to Dubai and his recent research project, “The Boardroom Blindspot," a global survey exploring why marketing expertise is underrepresented on boards. He also shares insights from his work with the Virtual Advisory Board and Board Brothers,...
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86. The imperfect path to better boards with Jim Brown
On Boards Podcast
In this episode of On Boards, hosts Joe Ayoub and Raza Shaikh welcome Jim Brown, co-founder of OrgHealth and author of the global bestseller “The Imperfect Board Member.” With 30 years of experience advising boards and CEOs, Jim shares how embracing imperfection leads to stronger leadership, healthier organizations, and better board performance. He dives into the evolution of governance over the last two decades and the cultural challenges boards face today. Jim also previews his forthcoming book arriving in 2026, “The Imperfect CEO,” set 20 years after his first...
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85. Pioneering augmented directorship with Jamie Green
On Boards Podcast
In this episode of On Boards, hosts Joe Ayoub and Raza Shaikh welcome Jamie Green, co-founder and CEO of Tutaki, an AI-powered workbench designed to make board directors significantly more effective. Drawing from his background in consulting at McKinsey, Green created a technological solution to solve a widespread challenge in board rooms across the U.S. and abroad: information overload and limited time to prepare. Tutaki is an AI system that acts as an expert co-pilot to help directors surface context, identify risk and deliver impact. Jamie also shares how AI is reshaping...
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84. Optimal Diversity in the Boardroom with Dr. Keith Dorsey
On Boards Podcast
In this episode of On Boards, Dr. Keith Dorsey an executive coach, author, active board member, and expert in leadership development and corporate governance. joins hosts Joe Ayoub and Raza Shaikh His book, The Boardroom Journey: Practical Guidance for Women to Secure a Seat at the Table, provides insights and strategies for women aspiring to become board members. Keith holds a doctorate in Organizational Change and Leadership from the University of Southern California and serves on multiple boards including Vimly Benefit Solutions, Pacific Crest Trail Association and Pepperdine...
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83. Matching Board Members with Public Company Boards with Suzanne Brown
On Boards Podcast
In this episode of On Boards, hosts Joe Ayoub and Raza Shaik welcome Suzanne Brown, Director of New York Stock Exchange Board Services. She shares her unique career journey from law and the nonprofit world to board placement leadership at the New York Stock Exchange. Suzanne unpacks how NYSE Board Services was created to bridge the gap between talented board-ready individuals and the NYSE companies that need them. Suzanne also explains their unique “CEO-vetted” approach, the powerful influence of the NYSE brand, and the structural components that make their board placement program...
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82. Reimagining AI Board Intelligence with Raffaela Rein
On Boards Podcast
In this episode of On Boards, hosts Joe Ayoub and Raza Shaikh welcome Raffaela Rein, a seasoned entrepreneur and board member with expertise in frontier technology and innovation-driven leadership. Raffaela began her career as an analyst at BlackRock, and launched three companies for the world's largest incubator, Rocket Internet, across China, Australia, and Taiwan before becoming an entrepreneur. She serves on multiple corporate and private equity-backed boards, including Porsche, Mutares and International University IU. As the founder of WildWildVentures and CareerFoundry, she has...
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81. Building a High-Performing Board with Lynn Clarke
On Boards Podcast
In this episode of On Boards, hosts Joe Ayoub and Raza Shaikh welcome Lynn Clarke, an experienced leader in family board governance who has served on more than a dozen family and private equity-backed boards including as an independent chair and lead director. Lynn is also a strategic advisor and mentor and has served on boards spanning from beverage and food services to e-commerce and manufacturing. Lynn has mentored next generation board members and leaders throughout her career and was named the Private Company Director of the Year by National Association of Corporate Directors in...
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80. Mastering Robert’s Rules of Orders with Susan Leahy
On Boards Podcast
In this episode hosts Joe Ayoub and Raza Shaikh welcome Susan Leahy, the founder of Robert’s Rules Made Simple. Susan has trained and advised thousands of board members, board chairs and others on how to master Robert’s Rules of Order, to help lead and participate in productive meetings. Key Takeaways 1. History of Robert’s Rules of Order Robert’s Rules of Order is a decision making process developed in the 1800s by General Henry M. Robert, who was frustrated by disorganized meetings. Roberts created a guide, first published in 1876, which summarized and simplify...
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79. Enhancing Board Composition and Strategies for Board Leadership
On Boards Podcast
In this episode of On Boards, hosts Joe Ayoub and Raza Shaikh welcome Tom Rosedale, a partner at the law firm of Nutter McClennen & Fish. Tom serves as chair of the firm’s Corporate and Transactions Department and is a member its Executive Committee. Tom has 27+ years of experience as a corporate attorney and regularly advises public and private company boards of directors in tech, life sciences and more. He has also served on the board of directors of multiple companies including Caring Cross, Vector BioMed, and AMD Global Telemedicine. The discussion with Tom...
info_outlineIn this episode, Rick Williams, a seasoned executive, advisor, board director, prolific writer - - and the author of the new book, Create the Future, shares his journey writing the book and key leadership takeaways.
Rick’s core idea in Create the Future is that leaders create the future by the decisions they make Impactful leaders believe they can create the future, and they change uncertainty into hope and possibility.
Rick discusses the CTF process of making great decisions for companies and individuals including the importance of board dynamics and how to harness the collective wisdom of a diverse group to make impactful decisions.
We love our listeners! Drop us a line or give us guest suggestions here.
Big Ideas/Thoughts/Quotes
1. Journey of Writing Create the Future
· Initial book concept during travels in North Africa while sitting in a café in Casablanca
· Wrote the book and refined it with the help of a professional editor.
· It took more time than I expected to choose the right publisher, Amplify, to bring the book to market.
2. Overview of Create the Future
Create the Future outlines the process and the tools successful leaders use when they must make an important decision - when they must get it right. Rick profiles the Five Step decision making process major consulting firms recommend for making important decisions and brings the tools and techniques to organizations off all sizes.
Create the Future is a guidebook for leaders who want to turn their leadership team into a powerful creative engine for defining the challenge, imagining success, creating realistic options, evaluating execution barriers, and finally choosing the path forward.
3. The Five-Step Decision-Making Process
“I spent quite a bit of time on how do you as a leadership team - a board of directors for example - how do you actually go about deciding what you're really going to do.”
“This book outlines the five steps that we all either instinctively use, or should be using, when we have an important decision to make.”
· Define the real opportunity or threat.
· Identify what success looks like
· Be creative about the options.
· Evaluate execution barriers.
· Make the final decision.
4. Factors to be Considered in Decision Making
· How close do the decisions come to achieving the goals you set?
· Where are they in the risk profile in terms of acceptable risk to you or unacceptable risk to you?
· How do they express the values that you may have as a company owner or your board may have.
5. Examples and Applications
The CTF process makes sure that everybody on the board participates in the conversation, their point of view is heard, and they hear each other talk about it. They hear each other say what they really are trying to accomplish.
“We talk about success, which sounds like a simple idea, but the notion of what are we really trying to achieve is one that often we don't spend enough time on.”
“Value is not created by the ideas we come up with - value is created through execution on the decisions we make.”
“Often we as board members either don't have time or haven't fully thought through what are the values that we bring to the decisions we make, what are our risk preferences, and also what are the values and goals of other people on our board and how do they factor into this?”
In the end, the board will make a decision, and the people who participate in this will say: “You know, I may not fully agree with where we're going to go, but my voice was heard, and I now understand what other people are trying to do and where they're coming from.”
Joe: If you have the people in the room, whoever they may be board or otherwise, feeling at the end of the process like their voice has been heard, their ideas have been heard, and at least considered - - that alone is success.
Links
Here is the link to CTF’s website: https://rickwilliamsleadership.com/books/
Here is the link to the book on Amazon
Rick’s LinkedIn Profile: www.LinkedIn.com/in/RickWilliams100
Bio
Rick Williams is an experienced technology company board of directors’ member and board chair. He has chaired the board of a medical device company and a bank/VC firm. Williams is a company founder and CEO and was a management consultant advising clients in a wide variety of industries.
He is an internationally published thought leader on board of directors as a value accelerator for the company. His new book, Create the Future, is a leadership guidebook for being more creative and making better decisions for your company and yourself when you must get it right.
Rick is past President of the Harvard Business School Association of Boston. He was a management consultant with the global consulting firm Arthur D. Little, Inc. He is a physics graduate of the University of Pennsylvania.