Topic of Your ChoiceSteve Drake, Facilitator
Association & Nonprofit Boards
Focus on Board Development Content based on your choices Select from my list or add your own topic
This session
Topics of Your Choice
Manage vs Lead
KodakMoment
BigBoards
CurateContent
Don’t eatToner
Socks onOctopus
2 KeyQuestions
Com-mittees
AdventureWindow
NarrowMinded
From “great photo op” to …◦Great organization fails.
Kodak: failed to see emerging markets correctly.
Fujifilm: diversified more successfully. Perfect vs Make it. Launch it. Fix it. What’s your culture for adaption?
Associations’ Kodak Moment
Key questions for associations: What will it take to thrive? How build future share rather than
attempt to protect current? What capabilities needed to thrive? How learn from our failures? Recognize the tidal wave of change is
already here; discover how to disrupt the status quo.
Associations’ Kodak Moment
Strategic IntentPlanning Model
INTERIMCONDITION
CURRENTCONDITION
INTERIMCONDITION
DESIREDCONDITION
2012 2013 2014 2015
Target Audience: ____________________________
1. What is the purpose of the organization?
2. Who do we serve? (define personas) 3. Who do we want to serve? 4. What are we trying to accomplish?5. What path will we use to accomplish
those things?6. How will we know if it’s working?
6 Key Questions for Associations
Committees = miniature boards Create fractures within board Committees that work beyond scope Continue after purpose has passed “Challenge” for Board: rubber stamp or
rehash Cost $ to “manage” Become ingrained; keep on long after
the need expired
The Problem with Committees
Suggestions from Race for Relevance: Staff should chair committees Determine # of committees needed Define role & skills of chair Define committee’s work Identify potential road blocks
The Problem with Committees
1. How serious is the “challenge?”2. Do you do “board orientation”
annually?3. Coaching from a past president?4. Bring in consultant (Bob Harris,
Glenn Tecker) to guide board5. Other???
Volunteers: manage vs lead?
The Leadership Partnership
Dealing with Difficult Board Members
Us
Him
What Behaviors Frustrate?1) Negative attitude re new ideas2) Absenteeism3) Lack of active participation4) “Handling” opposing views 5) Don’t do homework6) Don’t give feedback7) Little trust: they are competitors8) Fail to engage non-members
Dealing with Difficult Board Members
Him
• Poor “board skills”?• Poor “people skills”?• “Misfit”?
“Solution” depends on “Problem”
In General:
• Recruit, orient, intervene• Review & revise governance & policies
• Governance is board’s job (staff can support) • Create board job descriptions
NOTE: 1 person turns 65 every 8 secs! Willingness to try new things◦Diminishes with age.
How can “old” board create “new” ideas for millenials?
What about “old” staff?
Boards Past Adventure Window
“Blue-ribbon” leaders Meet at least twice a year Ask two questions:
1) Where is changed coming from?2) What are the pressures or
opportunities that need our response?
Futures Task Group
Why are so many smart people ineffective?
Unwilling to make changes. Failure to look at issues from member
P.O.V. Lack of diversity on board. Fail to understand Curse of Knowledge. Don’t let what you know limit what
you can imagine.
Narrow-minded Board Members
Ensuring adequate debate Yet, making decisions Finding harmony Managing dissent … after a vote Overcoming Curse of Knowledge
Putting Socks on an Octopus
Coever/Byers say 5; others say 15. How big is your board? How effective is big board? What is cost of a big board (staff
time!)? How can we change size?
Boards Too Big?
Save member time to add value Create and find great content Curate it Share it
Curating Content to Add Value
On ink cartridge: don’t eat the toner On blanket: not to be used to protect
from a tornado On contractor’s electric drill: not
intended for us as a dental drill On a hair dryer: do not use in the shower What “gobbledygook” are we using? What we say vs what they hear
Don’t Eat the Toner
1. Start with your audience2. Have a purpose for your writing3. Write from your readers’ viewpoint:
WII-FM (What’s In It For Me?)4. Consider getting outside opinions5. Make your writing “short, sweet and
easy to repeat” 6. Tell a compelling story7. Review and edit (when in doubt, cut it
out)
Don’t Eat the Toner – 7 Tips