# The Director Series - Board Topics of Today - Insights from Professional Board Member Sven Wehrwein - YouTube

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w61Ck7akqCs&t=378s>

- Host: [youtube.com](https://links.thingelstad.xyz/hosts/youtube.com/)
- Saved: March 22, 2021 (2021-03-22T20:06:49Z)
- Record: https://links.thingelstad.xyz/links/699ff3668989/
- JSON: https://links.thingelstad.xyz/links/699ff3668989.json

## What Jamie wrote

This [Club E](https://www.clube.com) interview with [Sven Wehrwein](https://www.linkedin.com/in/sven-wehrwein-b86aa88/) provides some great insight on how he approaches his board work. Sven is on the [SPS Commerce](https://www.spscommerce.com) board and I have had the great privilege of working with him and getting to know him a bit. Sven has been on **9 public boards**, **5 private boards**. He has over **70 years on public boards**. He's an expert.

Some great highlights Sven shared:

1. He kept track for a year to see how much time it takes to be on a board. He averaged it out to **225 hours** a year per board.
2. It is interesting to hear the dialogue between Sven and [Jim Zuehlke](https://www.linkedin.com/in/jim-zuehlke/), [Rick Brimacomb](https://www.linkedin.com/in/rickbrimacomb/) sharing some of the board committee structures they have experienced.
2. Approach board work with **Nose-in, Fingers-out (NIFO)** strategy. Get your nose into things, but keep your fingers out. **Socratic Method**: Ask questions to drive to better understanding. Don't give orders. **Effectiveness**: Are you helping move the company forward?
3. Sven has a mantra, **No Surprises.** Audit committees cannot have surprises. He knows this is effective when he sees it affecting the things that he is brought in on, and when. 
4. General leadership comment "All good leaders have a message that will **resonant**, are **clear**, and **repeat**."

They also shared that there will be a part two of this conversation!

## Facts

- Kind: [Video](https://links.thingelstad.xyz/kinds/video/)
- Video: "The Director Series- Board Topics of Today - Insights from Professional Board Member |Sven Wehrwein", by Club E, YouTube (id w61Ck7akqCs)

## Appears in

- [WT179: Weekly Thing #179 / Nemawashi, Transformation, Geldingadalur](https://weekly.thingelstad.com/archive/179/), Must Read

## Same host

- [Poet Amanda Gorman Speaks at the Biden-Harris Inauguration 2021 - YouTube](https://links.thingelstad.xyz/links/bcf2140dbe44/) (youtube.com, January 21, 2021)
- [MOON in Real Time I - YouTube](https://links.thingelstad.xyz/links/3e1db611ea57/) (youtube.com, February 4, 2021)
- [The Director Series- Board Topics of Today - Insights from a Professional Board Member Part 2 - YouTube](https://links.thingelstad.xyz/links/4e813c37283d/) (youtube.com, March 30, 2021)
- [NFTs - SNL - YouTube](https://links.thingelstad.xyz/links/9d6f4e39b6dc/) (youtube.com, March 30, 2021)
- [Privacy on iPhone | Tracked | Apple - YouTube](https://links.thingelstad.xyz/links/b95d8300b560/) (youtube.com, May 27, 2021)

## Saved the same week

- [Live feed from Iceland volcano | RÚV](https://links.thingelstad.xyz/links/7420eea1a97c/) (ruv.is, March 22, 2021)
- [Imagine Your Flexible Office Work Future - Culture Study](https://links.thingelstad.xyz/links/67102ebaee3f/) (annehelen.substack.com, March 25, 2021)
- [We're Never Going Back - Not Boring by Packy McCormick](https://links.thingelstad.xyz/links/7dc63612670b/) (notboring.co, March 25, 2021)
- [Moore's Law for Everything](https://links.thingelstad.xyz/links/0b6c47af5374/) (moores.samaltman.com, March 25, 2021)
- [Tally forms](https://links.thingelstad.xyz/links/5889533b32f3/) (tally.so, March 25, 2021)

## Elsewhere

- Wayback Machine: https://web.archive.org/web/*/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w61Ck7akqCs&t=378s