Board perpetuation is a key task for directors, and actively pursuing it throughout the year (and every year) creates a powerful influence in the quality of board work. The first step is having a strong list of potential candidates before the election cycle. There are a variety of components to building a candidate pool, from board to member communications (newsletter articles, social media, email, [...]
Ozark Natural Foods Fayetteville, Arkansas Year founded: 1971 Member investment: $140 Number of members: 9,300 Number of staff: 97 Retail square feet: 9,000 Ozark Natural Foods had a legacy of internal conflict and high board turnover. Historically, people didn’t necessarily run for the board because they wanted to serve the membership, but wanted to use the board as a platform for promoting their own [...]
When boards and management make decisions with the long game of co-op impact in mind, a powerful relationship with owners can develop. Strategic decision-making can be an opportunity to build a strong, participatory co-op culture that understands that the leadership is obliged, by virtue of its fiduciary responsibility, to make decisions to benefit the co-op and accordingly, its owners. Owners typically have high expectations [...]
It is a well-known fact that those people who most want to rule people are, ipso facto, those least suited to do it… anyone who is capable of getting themselves made a [leader]… should on no account be allowed to do the job. - Douglas Adams, 1952-2001 The question who ought to be boss is like who ought to be the tenor in the [...]
Co-op employees will at least occasionally bring complaints and concerns to the board or individual directors, yet the board itself is ill-suited for the task of handling these concerns. Employees deserve to have their concerns addressed professionally. In addition, direct board involvement can interfere with the authority already delegated to the GM, or can exacerbate already sensitive issues by inserting even more personal relationships into [...]
By Michael Healy 189 March-April 2017 Boards of directors regularly struggle with the concept of “speaking with one voice”— primarily because the concept has a dual meaning. Within the context of Policy Governance, which many food co-op boards use, the principle of board holism is sometimes described as “speaking with one voice.” However, the same term is also used to describe or prescribe how [...]
What’s the difference between an excellent board president and a so-so one? Being an effective president requires a host of proficiencies, attributes and knowledge—it’s no easy job! A mix of people skills, the talent to manage and a curiosity and willingness to develop a keen understanding of your co-op’s business are key traits of any good board president. From facilitation savvy, the ability to [...]
An individual member-owner or customer or vendor could probably describe how the co-op impacts their life: This is where I get the food that feeds my family. Or, I see all my friends here. Or, this is the center of my community. Or, I make my living by selling my products here. But how can the co-op describe the collective impact it has on [...]
By Carolee Colter March-April 2017 View data by downloading attached PDF. Data from 104 co-ops with annual sales ranging from $1M to $74M In 2006 and 2011, this magazine published studies on general manager (GM) compensation. Continuing that tradition, here’s a look at the state of management compensation in food co-ops today. The 104 general managers in this study serve co-ops ranging in size [...]
As director of Food Systems Initiatives for the Self-Help Credit Union, Steve Saltzman has a unique perspective on the work that is being done by food co-op sin communities throughout the region. And from where Steve sits, food co-ops are on the leading edge! When it comes to transparency, social change, and social justice, Steve sees food co-ops as the local engines driving progress.
