Maxim Poklonsky, a strategist with over 18 years of experience and participation in more than 280 strategic projects, highlights that corporate instability often stems from misaligned shareholder expectations rather than management quality. When owners hold conflicting goals—such as prioritizing dividends versus long-term asset growth—the CEO receives incompatible directives, forcing them to navigate political processes instead of executing a unified strategy.
To resolve this, the author proposes a structured approach where shareholders first establish a clear 'governance framework' before involving the top management team. This process involves individual interviews to identify shareholder positions, followed by focused discussions on strategy, investment, and roles. The goal is not to force identical personal views, but to agree on operational rules, such as reinvestment percentages or investment thresholds.
The final output of this process should be a documented mandate for the CEO, clearly defining the boundaries of their autonomy. By separating shareholder-level decision-making from management-level execution, companies can avoid the pitfalls of ad-hoc conflict resolution and ensure that the management team operates within a stable, pre-defined strategic scope.
