It’s drawn from real events behind closed boardroom doors – including hostage situations, executive meltdowns, sabotage, suicide, moral stand-offs, and even a naked shareholder.
It doesn’t just reveal what happens when decisions go wrong – it shows the human cost of silence, the messiness of doing the right thing, and the emotional toll of holding power to account from the inside.
This book brings corporate culture and ethics to life – not the legal detail, but the leadership breakdowns, ignored truths, and quiet acts of courage that echo through every organisation. Told through anonymised, diary-style accounts from those who’ve sat in the company secretary’s seat at FTSE companies, it’s more Bridget Jones or ‘The Help’ than boardroom manual – candid, compelling, and unmistakably real.
The Company Secretary should be the conscience of the company. The person who speaks last, listens hardest, and holds leadership to account.
Erika surfaces the invaluable contribution of the Company Secretary. An easy to read desperately needed text.
It opens the field to public scrutiny and is full of very human insights into the problems of the current role, and the potential joys of the future role as directors are being forces to professionalise and face regular assessment and development.
is highly recommended for anyone looking to be on a board, or for those who are just curious what boardrooms are really like. Boardrooms are not what most people think they are, and the stories here beautifully illustrate the ‘truth can be stranger than fiction’ reality of being on a board, as well as the crucial role played by the company secretary in most boards. There are so many great lessons here for anyone looking to be a company director.
This book is for those who operate in the grey – where rules end and real judgement begins.
You may not be the one making the final call, but you’ve shaped the thinking behind it, asked the hard questions, or ensured the record tells the truth.
It’s a reflection of a profession that doesn’t rely on ego, but on quiet integrity – one that leads through clarity, not noise.
Erika Eliasson-Norris FCG LLM is redefining corporate governance across the UK, US and beyond—bridging the gap between boardrooms, policymakers, and the next generation of leaders. A trusted voice in governance, her influence spans high-profile corporate advisory, government inquiries, and industry-wide reform.
As Founder & CEO of Beyond Governance, Erika has built an award-winning firm reshaping governance best practice globally. Recognised for her expertise, she was appointed by Sir Wyn Williams as the sole Governance Assessor to the UK’s largest public inquiry—the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry. Her career is defined by a relentless drive to unlock outstanding governance as the engine of business resilience and sustainable growth.