Artikler

– We’re rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic while China takes over the world

While Norwegian boardrooms are busy discussing historical accounting figures and ski wax recommendations for the cabin trip, China is churning out five-year plans on an assembly line. Inventor and serial entrepreneur Jon Bøhmer believes Norwegian business suffers from a fatal illusion, pointing to one main culprit: The board as a bottleneck.

The Transparency Act: A Due Diligence Guide

The core of the Transparency Act is the duty to conduct due diligence assessments. This may seem complex, but the process can be broken down into five simple steps. Here is the guide you need to get started with your compliance work.

Board Conflicts of Interest: A Practical Guide

Conflict of interest rules are designed to protect companies from board members making decisions based on personal interests. Understanding these boundaries is crucial to avoid invalid resolutions and personal liability.

Board Liability: Understanding Joint & Several Liability

On a board of directors, joint and several liability means 'one for all, and all for one.'

Is Your Board Legally Compliant? A Guide to a Legally Compliant Gender Balance

In 2024, historic rules came into effect that extended the requirement for gender representation to a large number of Norwegian companies. Do you know if your company is affected by the rules this year?

Boards Have a Moral Duty to Think Big

For Trygve Jacobsen, investors come second. He is passionate about supporting ambitious entrepreneurs to succeed by daring to raise their sights, especially if the company dreams of saving the world.

D&O Insurance: A Necessary Safeguard for Board Members?

Directors' and Officers' (D&O) liability insurance has gone from being for the few to a necessary safeguard for many.

Personal Board Liability: Avoid Costly Pitfalls

If the company you serve on the board of goes bankrupt, can creditors come after your house? For many, the answer is an uncomfortable 'maybe'.

Boards Must Build the Future, Not Control the Past

Many Norwegian boards are stuck in a backward-looking control culture, says Nikolai Fasting of 21st.ai. He argues this outdated approach is lethal for innovation in a rapidly changing world. Read his critique of the inertia in Norwegian boardrooms.

The Board's Annual Plan 2026: Stop Version Chaos & Cut Risk

Are you looking for a template for your board's annual plan? Before you download another Excel file that creates version chaos, know this: most templates are outdated the moment you save them. A downloadable template is often a graveyard for good intentions.

- Boardmembers Must Be Driven by Curiosity, Not Ego

Whether Marianne Bratt Ricketts has been building companies, lifestyle magazines, or ski schools in the Alps, she has been driven by curiosity. She has a stated aversion to board meetings that become tedious PowerPoint parades. That's where strategies go to die.

From Chaos to Control: The Digital Boardroom Guide

Far too many companies base their most critical work on an insecure and inefficient mix of email and Dropbox.

Many Norwegian Leaders Get Operational Tunnel Vision

Investor Johnny Rindahl has sat on both sides of the table. He believes the biggest challenge in Norwegian boardrooms is that too few chairs help leaders come up for air, which is especially important in an era of turmoil and artificial intelligence.

CEO vs. Board Responsibility: Where is the Line Drawn?

Blurred lines between the board and the CEO are a common source of conflict and poor corporate governance. A clear distinction between these roles is fundamental for effective management and a prerequisite for a well-functioning board.

The Board Portal for Builders of the Future

Big ambitions, less administration. 21st.ai is the board tool built for growth companies that demand professionalism without unnecessary complexity.

The Board: An Underrated Growth Engine

Henriette Thomsen realized her emotionally invested family business had become too bogged down in day-to-day operations. For family businesses, acknowledging that emotional ties to company history can stifle bold, future-oriented decisions is a difficult but necessary exercise.

The Chair of Board's Role: Facilitator to Strategic Architect

The modern board chairperson has evolved from an administrator to the company's strategic architect. This critical role now demands a focus on strategic value creation, CEO sparring, and building a constructive boardroom culture. Discover the key responsibilities that define today's most effective chairpersons.

Serial Board Members: A Threat to Value Creation

Investor Bjørn Kristian Stadheim has spent his entire adult life in finance. His dedication is total, but his patience for poorly structured boardrooms is wearing thin. Too often, he has left meetings wondering: What did we actually accomplish?

Boardroom Security: Protect Sensitive Information

The boardroom handles the company's most sensitive and business-critical information. The biggest security threat to this work is the continued use of email for document distribution, a practice that poses an unacceptable risk.

Why 'Free' Board Tools, email and Dropbox Are Your Most Expensive Mistake

The idea that email and Dropbox are simple, free solutions for board work is a dangerous misconception. The real costs are hidden in wasted time, increased security risks, and the catastrophic consequences of a data breach or liability issue.

AI in the Boardroom: Hype or Real Help?

Artificial intelligence is now knocking on the boardroom door, but it's easy to be skeptical in a world full of big promises. Its most immediate value lies in automating time-consuming tasks, acting as a super-efficient assistant to free up valuable time from administration to analysis.

The Ten Best Board Members Are Not Enough

NHH Professor Inger G. Stensaker has researched strategic change for two decades and sees a clear shift: from a supervisory body to a strategic partner. However, many boards fall back on old habits, looking in the rearview mirror instead of charting a course for the future.

The Complete Guide to Board Work in Norway (2025)

Board work is more than a formality; it is the very backbone of any healthy and successful business. This guide covers everything from legal requirements in the Norwegian Companies Act to building a value-creating board for the future.

CSRD for SMBs: What Sustainability Reporting Means for You

The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) will impact nearly the entire business landscape—including your company. Even if you are not directly required to report, you'll feel the 'ripple effect' from customers, banks, and partners. Understand what this means for you and how you can prepare.

Board Member Onboarding: Success from Day One

New board members are often thrown into a black hole of missing information and context. Poor onboarding is a lost investment that undermines the value of a new perspective and leads to inefficient meetings.

How to Write Valid Board Minutes (+ Free Template)

Board minutes are not just a summary; they are the company's legal proof that the board has fulfilled its duties. Understanding the absolute minimum legal requirements is the foundation of proper minute-keeping.

Documentation: Your Shield Against Board Liability

In any discussion about personal board liability, you always end up in the same place: documentation. But proper documentation is more than just meeting minutes; it's the proof of a diligent and informed process.

The Hidden Costs of Inefficient Board Work

The greatest costs of board work are often hidden, buried in inefficient processes and wasted time. From hours spent on unnecessary administration to the expensive consequences of poor decisions, the real expenses pile up. A professional board tool is not a cost, but an investment in efficiency and value creation.

Why No One Talks About the Innovation Crisis in the Boardroom

At Arendalsuka 2025, 21st hosted a powerful conversation about one of the most under-examined obstacles to innovation in Norway: the boardroom. In a country known for its stability and resource-based economy, what happens when we need fast, strategic, market-driven innovation — and our governance structures aren't built for it?

Why and how we rebuild the 21st board app

21st was initially created as a simple tool to support board meetings. However, the application has undergone significant changes since then. Today, the 21st app is a modern solution that combines several functionalities - including a stakeholders registry, end-to-end support for board meetings and shareholder assemblies, documentation of these meetings, and management of related documents.

Hassle free general assembly with 21st

21st is designed to improve company management. One of its main features is the shareholders' module, which allows you to easily keep a register of shareholders and conduct hassle-free general assembly meetings. By facilitating and accelerating administrative activities, 21st improves the quality of the decision-making processes in your company.

Appifying valuable company governance

21st is a solution that has been around for some time. What was originally a simple mechanism to help managing the company's board has been transformed into a tool that is the central element of the "company's operating system". Our concept is to build modules that the user can turn on as needed. The stakeholder graph, the board app, and the general assembly and shareholders app are currently available.

Compliance starts with well documented and organised decisions

A company's success depends on a combination of many factors. However, one of the main elements determining the success of business ventures is the quality of decisions made. 21st supports this process by supporting best practice, building and documenting processes, deliverables, and distribution of duties.