Book excerpt: For board members and executives, a clear path to organizational improvement. Within every organization is an “ecosystem” of influencers. In organizations with boards of directors and executives, that ecosystem is even more complex, and it is even more important to understand it for the benefit of everyone, including investors and donors. To date, governance models have provided little to no understanding of this ecosystem of influence, leaving this as an ongoing problem in organizations with the complexity of a board and executive. Governance experts have applied a number of inadequate solutions to a problem they still do not grasp. In Aligned Influence®, Ken Schuetz presents the Aligned Influence® model, which offers a unique perspective on this central problem—and a solution that addresses organizational alignment as a necessary prerequisite to effectiveness.