The phrase ‘time is of the essence‘ is usually employed to indicate that timely performance is an essential obligation under a contract. In the context of our thinking about temporal factors in nonprofit governance and management though, we can apply the phrase more broadly to productivity, efficiency, and effectiveness concerns.

Temporal language pervades our discourse. For nonprofits, time and timing references and considerations are integral to our governance and management deliberations, and to every kind of activity we can undertake.

Time factors at work

While many activities may take time, we may not be consciously aware of the time factors at work. Directors and managers employ various approaches and activities, however, (some of which were canvassed in my previous post) in which time plays a more visible role. Here is a small selection of several key areas in which time is a critical factor, impacting efficiency, productivity, and the overall success of our projects and organisations:

Sequential processes, clock-time, deadlines, due dates, review dates, response times, workflow timing, strategic timing, cyclic timing (e.g. policy and election cycles), asset lifecycles, meeting and event calendars, diary management, succession planning, seasonal events, terms of office, simultaneous events, synchronised activities, timetables, reporting timeframes, honouring legacy, futures (scenario) mapping, incident chronologies, project plans, time/cost/quality analysis of consulting projects, time-zones, annual operational plans, quality time.

Doing things … at the right time

Governing boards are encouraged to address their performance and conformance obligations by ‘doing the right things the right way’. Indeed many include a commitment to these values in their code of conduct or policy framework.

Doing things ‘at the right time‘ is perhaps only one aspect of doing things the right way, but one worthy of some reflection.

What do we mean when we refer to “the right time“?

• Some will mean meeting deadlines, whether set by regulators (e.g. annual return lodgement dates) or by the board (e.g. strategic timing milestones)
• Some will mean when the opportunity presents itself. Too early, and the action is premature, and so likely to falter. Too late, and the ‘window of opportunity’ has closed

As with situational leadership, our thinking about what constitutes the right time needs to be framed contextually. The role we are performing makes a difference to our perspective. An ‘Agile’ project manager will have a different sense of timeliness (think sprints, and now/next/later/never charts like the one below) than a policy officer engaging with stakeholders over the position to be taken in response to an emerging issue. A board director is likely to view timely action somewhat differently than a risk manager, and so forth.

The header chart above offers a few examples of ways directors may think about what constitutes the right time when performing their governance role. Strategic, compliance, performance, and risk perspectives offer just some of the deliberative contexts in which time and timing considerations are important.

Productivity and Efficiency – conceptual twins

Productivity and efficiency are common and related concerns for nonprofit boards, as they are for governments seeking to enhance economic circumstances. Time and timing issues are key elements of any attempts to improve these ‘conceptual twins’. The three charts which follow explore some of the temporal factors involved in each, and offer further insights into the relationship between the quality and quantity of outcomes.

Numerous means are available to better manage time and timing factors, and so achieve greater productivity and efficiency. These will differ according to the nature of the work we do, the setting in which we work, and the scale of operation involved. The examples of productivity enhancements and ‘temporal tools’ offered in the following charts should offer something useful for most readers, even if only a small selection can be adapted to your circumstances.

Temporal conditionality

Temporal factors also underpin our logical thought processes and process engineering. Temporal conditionality embeds past, present, and future perspectives into our inductive and deductive reasoning methods, as illustrated in the chart below, describing some of the ways in which ‘time is of the essence‘ in decision-making by nonprofit directors and managers.

Judging the right time

The right time is not always dictated by the clock or the calendar, but rather when circumstances are ‘ripe’, and the opportunity presents. Being agile enough to take advantage of opportunities is a precondition of success in many aspects of our work.

See also:
Fusing experience and expectation in decision-making
The shared purpose mirror: Ideal decision and execution triangles
Aspirational governance – Inspiring great outcomes
Temperament and Temporality