Guidance on the Role of Directors for Not-For-Profit Companies.

This paper is intended to be a brief guide for Directors, specifically in not-for-profit companies, though much of it is equally relevant to for-profit organisations also. Most issues are not fully elaborated on, but discussed only in sufficient depth to give broad guidelines for actions and behaviours which will facilitate the smooth operation of an organisation over many years. The material is kept brief so that it may easily find a place in a Policy Manual for Directors... Read more...

Ten Reasons why CEOs get out of step with Boards  

Going to Board meetings can be a pleasurable and worthwhile activity – especially in the NFP sector. Many people find the task of being a Board Director a richly rewarding experience. But when the CEO and the Board get out of step with each other, trouble looms for the entire organisation... Read more...

Understanding the Difference between Leadership and Management – and why Boards have to do both

Leaders are often exhorted to make sure that they don’t waste their time doing management tasks. They are supposed to be spending all their time leading their people to be better managers, so they don’t need to manage themselves. I’ve never been convinced that this is even half true in most organisations... Read more...

Board Culture is not the same as Organisational Culture

Everyone has probably heard Peter Drucker’s oft-quoted comment that “Culture eats strategy for breakfast”. In my view, this statement is generally true in the life of organisations – all organisations stand or fall by their culture, regardless of how effective their strategic management plans are. But in the Board Room, my view is that vision and strategy eat culture for breakfast, lunch and dinner... Read more...

Seven important things that NFPs need to ensure that Boards, CEOs and CFOs understand about money.

Nothing can start a fight more quickly than money. If that’s true between husband and wife, and in families generally, it’s just as true within the world of Not-For-Profit organisations... Read more... 

Seven Ways That NFP’s (and For-Profits, too) Leak Money

It’s often in the nature of NFPs that they don't have a lot of money. They operate on the proverbial smell of an oily rag. They try to distribute their surplus to the activities identified in their Objects. They encourage lots of volunteer hours. For all of these reasons, it is imperative that they don't waste the sparse cash resources that they have available to them. This paper outlines some of the common ways that money can go down the corporate plughole, and offers some advice for fixing the leaks... Read more...

The Consent Agenda: The Most Critical Efficiency Tool for Boards to Manage Well

Have you ever looked at your watch as the Board meeting dragged on and on and on… It’s now 10.30 p.m. and you haven't even got to the main issue yet. And there’s still that item at the bottom of the agenda, Any Other Business! And you know that Sandy McTavish, that fierce defender of regulations will have something to say, no matter how late it is!... Read more...

Here is a sample Consent Agenda for schools ...            Here is a sample General Use Consent Agenda ...