Library
The history, science, and evidence of boards
Three long-form essays for directors, chairs, investors, and the agents that help them. Each one cites its sources in full (105 distinct sources across the library), says where the research is mixed or silent, and labels Prepared Board's own views as opinion. Not legal advice. Product claims stay within Facts; Prepared Board computes no board, decision, or outcome score.
- Pillar 1 · HistoryA Short History of Boards: From Guild Councils to the AI EraWhere boards came from and why they look the way they do: medieval councils of twenty-four, the East India companies, the Bank of England, general incorporation, the independent-director shift, Cadbury, Sarbanes-Oxley, Dodd-Frank, the UK Code, the stakeholder debate, nonprofit boards, and where AI oversight fits now. Dated and sourced.~18 minutes · Demo: Acme Robotics, Inc.
- Pillar 2 · Theory, math & practiceThe Science of Board Decisions: Theory, Math, and PracticeDecision theory for directors — expected value, decision trees, base rates, Bayesian updating, calibration — plus the group science of boards (Condorcet's jury theorem and its assumptions, wisdom of crowds vs. groupthink, hidden profiles, information cascades, anchoring) and the practical methods that follow: pre-mortems, red teams, independent first views, decision journals, separating fact from judgment, and recusal. Mapped to what Prepared Board does today.~22 minutes · Demo: Northlight Robotics
- Pillar 3 · EvidenceDo Boards Matter? What the Evidence Does and Doesn't ShowA balanced, sourced review of the research on boards and outcomes — independence, board size, busy directors, gender diversity and quotas, CEO turnover and succession, staggered boards, and nonprofit boards — including null and mixed findings and the endogeneity problem that makes causal claims hard.~20 minutes · Demo: Piscataqua Harbor Trust
How this library is written
- Every historical fact and empirical finding links to a source (author, year, title, and DOI or URL) listed at the end of each essay.
- Null and mixed findings are reported alongside positive ones.
- Prepared Board's own views are marked “Prepared's view (opinion).”
- Product features are linked only where they are live; limits are stated on /facts.
Shorter reading: Insights (essays) and Guides (how-tos). See it live: try a demo board.