A dashboard can help boards of directors pay attention monthly to key indicators of financial health. This dashboard review can occur in between the quarterly monitoring reports on the board’s "financial conditions" policy. A dashboard is intended to supplement, not replace, monitoring reports; those reports are the place for more detailed information about the key indicators and the longer-term trends.
Over the years I have worked with and served on governing boards, I have observed many director resignations, some sudden and unexpected, others more drawn-out and planned; some fiery and dramatic, and others typically routine. I myself resigned from a board I had served on for many years!
Shared challenges in board governance have perennially driven co-ops to establish shared resources and services. Consultants and collaboration around governance and leadership development have been key to building shared cooperative identity and local community impact. From the early days of the Cooperative Board Leadership Development (CBLD) program, consultants serving co-op boards and other mission-driven organizations have been asking the question, “What resources do [...]
Since its launch in the summer of 2021, the Columinate Compensation Database has gathered a wealth of data on management compensation in food co-ops.,The database covers not only general managers, but also managers on every level, from members of senior leadership teams to department managers in multi-store co-ops. As I hope this update will make clear, the more that co-ops participate and provide data, the more useful the database becomes to everyone.
As part of the grocery industry, we have all felt the pain of the recent inflation seen in our economy. Like many people, I have looked for the Biden administration’s response to the newest stage of these “unprecedented times.” Well, that response, at least in part, has happened. On August 16, 2022, the president signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The law itself is over 700 pages long, and practitioners from a variety of industries have now had some time to study it. While the bill’s effect on future inflation is indeed questionable, there is no doubt that it mandates the biggest climate-related investment made by the federal government in US history.
A meeting packet should help directors prepare for the meeting. After reading the packet, a director should know what the meeting will be about and should have all the information necessary to fully participate in all discussions and to make any decisions that the board will make at the meeting. Establishing a rhythm and discipline in creating, distributing and reading meeting packets can help make the board meetings themselves that much more productive and enjoyable.
Many cooperatives, social justice organizations, and businesses have begun to directly confront their own role in the social systems that perpetuate racism and inequity. Boards of directors who use Policy Governance® should feel empowered to use their policy document to clarify their expectations around the work of dismantling systems of racism and oppression.
In the wake of the pandemic, the customary way of doing many things has been upended. For co-ops, the list of adaptations extends to how we engage with members, including our approach to the time-honored (and legally required) tradition of the annual meeting.
Boards of Directors may find that they need to conduct a board meeting by phone or using some variation of video conferencing technology. As you consider how to make these virtual meetings as effective and enjoyable as possible, you can build on the same good practices that make for productive face-to-face meetings. You can find some good guidance in A Recipe for Good Board [...]
As co-op leaders recognize that reinvestment in their business is critical to long-term sustainability, they need some tools to help them assess whether any particular reinvestment makes sense. When business expansion is on the list of possibilities, the risks are higher and so the assessment needs to be more rigorous. Leaders must certainly undertake adequate due diligence before finalizing an expansion project, but how [...]
