Fighting Blustery Winds in D.C.

This just in on Oct. 12, 2025

It’s quite blustery in Washington, D.C. right now. Hey–I’m talking about the weather! That said, I am here for a conference on Good Governance. Speaking at it in fact. What’s “Good” Governance?

Like so many things, it’s easier to define Good Governance by what it is not. And let’s face it, examples of ‘bad’ Governance abound these days.

At its simplest, Good Governance comprises a set of best practices and processes that ensure an entity is directed and managed effectively and ethically so that problems are solved and opportunities are captured in a timely way.

Good Governance prioritizes the creation of long-term value (both financial and reputational) for stakeholders, including employees, customers, investors, and the community.

How to govern strategically, honestly, responsibly, transparently, and effectively is so important to society and the economy that the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) has a four-day annual conference devoted to it. It’s why I’m in D.C. right now.

Thousands of board directors and C-Suites have come from around the world to learn how to elevate their individual and collective performance. My message to them? Focus on the customer more than you ever have before. For future viability, profitable growth, and competitive advantage it’s essential the voice of the customer be ever-more present in the boardroom.

As Peter Drucker famously said: “The purpose of a business is to get and keep a customer.” But getting and keeping customers is going to get more difficult over the next few years. Just a few of the reasons:

• With declining birth rates and aging baby boomers, all organizations will have to find ways to continue to grow and profit from a smaller customer base.

• Enabled by social media, unhappy customers can damn a company overnight, dramatically hurting sales and even threatening a company’s viability.

• Already, customers are asking artificial intelligence WHAT to buy.

• With Agentic AI, autonomously acting algorithms will be among the “customers” organizations serve.

What it means for a C-Suite and Board to have “customer focus” is changing. And with it, how to govern strategically, honestly, responsibly, transparently, and effectively is changing, too.

I’m delighted to be at the NACD conference to learn the latest on Good Governance. I’m honored to have a role–very small though it may be–in presenting insights for the all-important cause of Good Governance.

We all seem to take Good Governance for granted. And it’s a shame. Because when Governance goes bad, it’s hard to get back to good. Things get blustery! And everyone must work incredibly hard to restore the best practices and processes that ensure an entity is directed and managed effectively and ethically so that problems can be solved and opportunities can be captured in a timely way.

Here's hoping the wind dies down, and the sun comes out tomorrow for the NACD conference, and for all of D.C.