‘What if …?’ – a key strategy and risk question We use hypothetical scenarios when considering the impact of driving forces and trends in our non-profit operating environment. Scenario planning is a systematic tool for thinking creatively about possible complex and uncertain futures (Wilson et al, 2000). Different types or styles of scenario can be… Continue reading Hypothetically – what if …?
Tag: risk management
Making sense
Decision-making and sense-making While much of our focus is on problem-solving and decision-making when we reflect on non-profit governance, without effective sense-making, boards will be likely to make poor decisions. Good decision-making could therefore be considered somewhat dependent on good sense-making. Individual or personal sensemaking When we engage in sense-making we are “structuring the unknown”… Continue reading Making sense
‘Dirty’ data in – ‘Dirty’ decisions out
Directors and managers in the non-profit and for-purpose sectors generally like to think of themselves as rational (evidence-based) decision-makers. As in most fields however, decision quality is often compromised due to unconscious (cognitive) biases, and other factors. Evidence and decision quality Data quality is a key determinant of evidence quality. In turn, evidence quality is… Continue reading ‘Dirty’ data in – ‘Dirty’ decisions out
Rely-ability, Re-liability, and Reliability
‘Reliability’, like ‘validity’, is a term with multiple meanings. In non-profit settings (amongst others) there are several contexts in which the concept of ‘reliability’ is expressed differently. This post reflects only some of these. A dictionary definition sounds straightforward enough – ‘that which can be relied upon, fit to be depended upon, trustworthy‘. When we… Continue reading Rely-ability, Re-liability, and Reliability
Foolosophy in the boardroom
Archetype lenses In systems thinking, we often use mental models, of which the archetype is one variety, to provide us with a lens that helps to simplify the ‘story’ of what’s happening in our work and social environment. Archetypes come in many shapes and sizes. At the macro level, system archetypes decompose the elements and… Continue reading Foolosophy in the boardroom
Strategic Causality
Delving beneath the surface In my reflective practice work with mentees from a wide variety of organisations, a good deal of our time is spent exploring ‘beneath the surface’ of events and circumstances. Our aim is to better understand the underlying drivers and factors at work, to inform the shaping of considered responses, and avoid… Continue reading Strategic Causality
The science of ‘worth’ – your Theory of Value
Non-profit directors and managers don’t need to be philosophers to consider issues of value in their work, but it may help them to recognise the many different forms of value they have a responsibility to promote and nurture. Every decision and action is, of course, an expression of value. What we consider important, or of… Continue reading The science of ‘worth’ – your Theory of Value
Measuring NFP Measures
Arguably, next to your non-profit board’s responsibility for setting directions for your organisation, the monitoring and evaluation of performance and conformance are the two next most significant board roles and activities. Central to these monitoring and evaluation activities is the use of metrics and indicators (see Locus Focus Vs Hocus Pocus for distinctions between these… Continue reading Measuring NFP Measures
With ‘respect’ …
Organisational Culture – Part 7 Respect is a value espoused by many non-profit organisations – as one would expect. I suggested reflection on how respect is expressed within your organisation in a recent blog post, partly because it is so often at the core of workplace conflicts. Under different circumstances and at different times, we… Continue reading With ‘respect’ …
Organisational ‘Health & Wellbeing’
Organisational Culture – Part 6 Organisational dis-eases and mood disorders In recent posts, various metaphors for organisational culture have been noted, with the ‘garden ecosystem’ and ‘human personality’ being relied upon to reflect the nature of the organisation as a complex adaptive system. The human metaphor for an organisation can be extended to think about… Continue reading Organisational ‘Health & Wellbeing’