“It’s not that we have little time, but more that we waste a good deal of it.” (Seneca) Good governance is often described as being a balance between efficiency and effectiveness in setting strategy, overseeing operations, and monitoring performance and conformance. As meetings are the chief means by which the board formally addresses its duties,… Continue reading Efficient ‘time governance’
Month: April 2020
It’s not ‘catastrophising’ when the catastrophe is real !
So often, risk is narrowly defined as the “effect of uncertainty on objectives” (ISO 3100 2009), and ‘risk management’ as a collection of steps by which to reduce the likelihood and/or impact of a hypothetical future adverse event. Risk avoidance and risk transfer measures, such as insurance, are instituted before the event as preventive or… Continue reading It’s not ‘catastrophising’ when the catastrophe is real !
Caring about the ‘duty of care’
(Part 1 – ‘Duty of Care, Skill and Diligence’ series) There are four main duties of Australian directors, all of which apply whether they are members of commercial or not-for-profit boards. As illustrated in the header image above, these are the: Duty to act with reasonable care, skill and diligence Duty to act in good… Continue reading Caring about the ‘duty of care’
The solvency question: Should we continue to exist?
The not-for-profit sector is facing the same existential questions as the corporate sector at present due to COVID-19. Association members are wondering whether they will have jobs or businesses that they can keep viable, and so renewal of membership subscriptions is not necessarily a priority right now, while attendance at conferences and educational events is… Continue reading The solvency question: Should we continue to exist?
Governance guardrails and guiderails
The comparative schematics below illustrate the ways in which two related governance tools operate to achieve efficient and effective outcomes for organisations governed by a board of directors. Policies and procedures are usually created to set controls over an organisation’s activities and behaviour. While they are usually two parts of the one process, there are… Continue reading Governance guardrails and guiderails
Steampunk Thesaurus: Duty of care, skill and diligence
We usually check the meaning of a word by referring to a dictionary, however it can also be informative to use a thesaurus to gain insights into the nuances of meaning that could be read into a word or phrase by different audiences. The phrase in focus here is the ‘duty of care, skill, and… Continue reading Steampunk Thesaurus: Duty of care, skill and diligence
Circles of Control: personal, group and organisational
Since my previous post, I have been discussing with some of my clients the ways in which the ‘circle of control’ concept can be applied at the personal, business unit and organisational levels. This short post arises from those reflections, and can therefore be considered a postscript to the previous one. While the visual metaphor… Continue reading Circles of Control: personal, group and organisational