Introductory Thoughts on Artificial Intelligence Technology for Boards of Directors
Hether Jonna Frayer interviewed Todd Wallace, Columinate's board president, about AI. Hether: Thanks for agreeing to do this interview on AI technology and how it could be used to support the work of governance! I'm getting the sense from the conversations that I've been having that it is a wide-ranging topic. Where would you like to start? Todd: Thanks for asking me to have the conversation. As you know, it is a topic that I've been interested in since last year, especially as applications like ChatGPT have garnered more attention and scrutiny in the mainstream media.
Providing Management Leadership When Help Is Needed: Supporting store startups and turnarounds
Urban Greens Food Co-op in Providence, Rhode Island, which opened in 2019, had low sales and was running out of cash. In 2022 the board of directors contracted with Luke Schell as Turnaround Manager to assess needs, lead in creating a turnaround plan, and implement the plan. During just three months of on-site leadership, his work had an excellent impact.
Providing Management Leadership When Help Is Needed: Dennis Hanley Brings Deep Experience
Dennis Hanley, Manager on Contract—and more Dennis Hanley may have opened and managed more stores of various retail formats than anyone in the food co-op system. He has worked in most states in the U.S. and abroad. His grocery career of over forty years began in a family meat business as a youngster and never stopped.
Agency and Stewardship: Understanding the board’s dual roles
Why do boards of directors exist? We take a lot for granted when we think about serving on the board of an organization. If asked, we might describe the role as being one of a fiduciary, entrusted with its care, and we might be aware that being a member of a board confers responsibilities for the success of the organization in some fashion or another.
Marketing in the Co-op Matrix
The board and general manager need to become literate around the quantitative as well as the qualitative aspects of the marketing field. Marketing is often at the top of the list of operational tasks that become part of the discussion at meetings of the board of directors. Topics can range from the quality of the marketing to the board feeling it’s not plugged in enough when engaging with owners through marketing channels. Marketing issues are often of concern—whether warranted or not—to boards and individual directors.
Providing Management Leadership When Help is Needed: Supporting store startups and turnarounds
Columinate's Manager on Contract and Interim General Manager services can be a game-changer for food co-ops and community-focused independent grocery retailers. In this report and in following weeks, we will highlight Columinate consultants working as managers on contract. After an introduction, here we highlight Wynston Estis and her work at Ocean Beach People's Organic Food Market in San Diego.
Providing Management Leadership When Help is Needed: Supporting store startups and turnarounds
Columinate's Manager on Contract and Interim General Manager services can be a game-changer for food co-ops and community-focused independent grocery retailers. In this report and in following weeks, we will highlight Columinate consultants working as managers on contract. Featured here, following our summary of these programs, is Garland McQueen at Lovettsville Cooperative Market, which is planning to open in late August 2023.
Welcome, Sarah Lebherz! Sharing pro formas, feasibility, and fun with numbers
Sarah Lebherz passionately stewards the cooperative business model as a seasoned cooperator with deep roots in her home town. Equipped with years of financial management and expansion project expertise, she has found fresh purpose in pro forma and budget development with colleagues at Columinate.
Need an Internal Investigation? Sarah Dahl brings professional guidance
Early in the movie Argo, Ben Affleck’s character Tony Mendez describes the dangers of rescuing the American hostages. He tells the assembled government decision-makers: You don’t want to be in a position of needing to sneak people out of a hostile country, but if you are, you use a professional.
Customer Service for Board Members: Strengthening the co-op’s public face
Even though board members are elected by the co-op’s members, how often do they interact personally with owners, shoppers, and future owners? For many board members, the answer is, “Not often enough.” Providing basic customer service training to board members is a simple way to increase the quality and frequency of those interactions.