Effective Boards Discipline Themselves to Think More Like Activist Outsiders

“Activists aren’t practicing black magic,” he wrote, “they are performing effective due diligence and smart analytics on their holdings. Boards need to think like activists and anticipate the issues these investors may raise.” NACD research director Friso van der Oord here discusses the NACD’s recent report “Director Essentials: Preparing the Board for Shareholder Activism,” which concerns the role of corporate boards in dealing with the rising tide of shareholder activism. His remarks have been edited for length and style