A CEO once called me. He said, “Mr. Strategy, we want you to train our board on finance for non-finance directors.” I declined.
I told him straight: “That’s not training, it’s charity.”
A director who cannot read a balance sheet, interpret financial ratios, or understand the company’s financial heartbeat has no business being near the boardroom. Asking a blind man to guard the national treasury is like asking a blind man to guard the national treasury.
Serving on a board is not a decorative appointment. It’s a fiduciary duty. It’s about judgment. It’s about protecting shareholder value. And guess what? Numbers don’t lie. But people who don’t understand numbers will always be lied to. We must stop normalizing incompetence under the banner of diversity or loyalty.
Being a good person is not a board qualification. Many boards today are filled with nice people who can’t question a cash flow statement, don’t know what working capital means, and think EBITDA is a toothpaste brand.
We need business-literate boards. Not ceremonial boards. If you’re on a board and you struggle with finance, here’s my counsel:
a) Don’t wait to be trained, train yourself.
b) Ask questions—privately if you must. But never be passive in public.
c) Learn how to follow the money. Because every fraud, every failure, and every foolish decision has a financial trail.
Finance is not for finance people. It’s the language of power. So don’t ask me to train your board. Ask me to help you remove the dead weight. Let’s stop being polite about incompetence. You don’t build legacy boards by babysitting ignorance. You build them by insisting on clarity, competence, and courage.
And it all starts with understanding the numbers.
And this leads me to today’s special gift to you, a prospective director selection checklist.
A minority shareholder once asked me, “Mr. Strategy, how do we select a board member who adds value?” They were tired of ceremonial directors who show up late, talk in riddles, and rubberstamp everything like they’re signing off a church attendance sheet.
So I gave them a tool. A simple, brutal, no-fluff scoring checklist. Months later, they told me:
“Every time an old director leaves, we use your tool to find the next. It has changed how our board thinks, debates, and leads.”
Now I’m sharing it with you. If you’re serious about transforming your board, start here. Score each candidate honestly. Use evidence, not assumptions. Choose value, not loyalty.
Because a single weak director is all it takes to sink a great company.
Use this tool to raise your board’s standard and never lower it again.
Mr. Strategy
