This piece is part of a series of observations from our past Directors to Watch, encompassing the ways board service has changed since they received the honor and what they are doing to ensure they continue to thrive as board members amid an evolving landscape.
Craig Jimenez
Directors to Watch 2019
Air Tractor Inc.
There’s an old joke that “Directors are overpaid for what they do but underpaid for what they ought to do.” Thankfully, this joke is becoming less applicable as board composition and culture evolve. If you find a company and industry that you enjoy enough to actively research on your days off, board service will be satisfying and the risks will be manageable.
Top issues back in 2019 transitioned from developing new (largely international) markets and cost control (both emblematic of soft demand) to supply-chain resiliency and selection of capital expenditure projects that would keep us nimble and competitive over a range of future demand scenarios.
Today, I have two concerns:
• We’re moving from an environment where geopolitics were interesting and trade was easy to one where both are “interesting.” How will boards adapt if American politics shift in the long-term to inhibit our cultural, political and economic participation with the rest of the world?
• And then there’s AI’s impact on career progression. I got started by offering to do a senior trader’s grunt work in exchange for their tutoring me for a fraction of their time saved. AI in the hands of someone with domain knowledge can reduce the need for junior staff, whereas AI in the hands of someone without domain knowledge turns out mediocre dreck. Neither is good for career progression. We need to put more focus on how people learn and develop as our workplace evolves.
If I had it to do all over again, I would fail a bit more. It’s tempting, and often good for shareholders, to stick with what you’re very good at, but the set of people who’d recommend you for a board role expands when you’ve taken some personal risks and managed through a broader part of the fail/success spectrum.