Early in his career, Carver searched for a reliable guide to managing the work of a board.
It is a common misunderstanding that in Policy Governance the board's job is to decide the goals and the chief executive officer's job to determine the means to achieve the board's ends.
The Policy Governance model has universal meaning, and can be adopted in very different company settings, profit and nonprofit, although complex local legislation can make it difficult to recognize the underlying logic of the model.
Carver has written several books, including Boards That Make a Difference, probably the best known of his works.
His book Reinventing Your Board, published in a new edition in 2006, is probably the easiest for a beginner to understand.