In the world of corporate governance, slow and steady goes a lot further than flash. Take Colgate-Palmolive. For two decades, without much fanfare, the $12.2 billion maker of household, oral hygiene and personal products, has been evolving its governance practices, constantly making changes and updating policies in response to shareholder wishes and current trends. "Good governance is not static," says Andy Hendry, Colgate's senior vice president, general counsel and secretary. "It involves a systematic process, a long-term focus and a commitment to continuous improvement."

Those practices have helped the New York-based company grow at a steady clip, launch an ambitious restructuring plan and arrange for the smooth transfer of power from a CEO with more than 20 years in that position to a successor. Another payoff: a share price that has consistently trended upward over the past decade, with particular success since the end of 2004.

For governance experts, Colgate's tenacious belief in corporate citizenship makes it almost unique in the pantheon of good governance practitioners. Their ratings tell the tale. Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. gives Colgate a grade of 97.3 based on best-practices criteria. Since 2002, the company has never received less than a 90. GovernanceMetrics International has given it their highest rating of 10 every year since 2003. "We've seen the slow, steady progression of best practices," says Patrick McGurn, executive vice president of ISS. Agrees John Jarrett, research director for GMI, "It's the difference between the sprinter and the long-distance runner. They've been very consistent."