Business Plan Outline
SYNOPSIS Executive summary. Write this last. Highlight key information from the plan-who you are, what you are going to do, why and how it will be financed. (Not in detail, that comes in the plan [...]
How to cultivate a positive workplace culture
What are the hallmarks of a positive and productive workplace culture? I would include engagement, smart work habits, having the right people in the right positions, healthy communication and fun. By fostering these attributes in [...]
You Are Not Alone: Human Resources at Small Co-ops
By Melanie Reid 164 Jan-Feb 2013 Is your co-op too small to have a human resources manager on staff? Is the HR function in your co-op divided up among different people? Have your HR systems [...]
Unacceptable Monitoring Reports
Boards monitor policy to find out whether their expectations are being met. A board needs to respond to an unacceptable monitoring report appropriately in order to fulfill its fiduciary responsibility to the co-op's owners. When [...]
Agile and Efficient: Board Committees and Structures that Work
By Todd Wallace 164 Jan-Feb 2013 The use of committees by boards is ubiquitous—as it should be, considering a small group’s agility when compared to a whole board. Unfortunately, boards often end up with unwieldy committee structures, groups that [...]
How to be a flexible yet practical employer
By Jeanie Wells Have individuals' preferences trumped your organization's needs? For example, is there inappropriate store support and coverage? Or, are there structural weaknesses that hurt team effectiveness and clear accountability? Here are two ways [...]
Minute Taking Essentials
Keeping good records is one part of a board’s legal Duty of Care; as the record of what happens at meetings, the minutes are an important tool for fulfilling this duty. In practice, minutes primarily [...]
How to Use Committees to Help the Board to do Board Work
Properly structured and monitored board committees can be a good way for a board to accomplish specific board tasks and to ensure that ongoing, repeating processes are carried out. Small groups of people working together [...]
New in the CBLD Library: Ends to Ends Strategic Process – an Online Recorded Workshop
In a democratic organization like a cooperative, it is vital that the owners’ voices come through to the co-op leadership. In the Ends to Ends Strategic Process ORW, board members can learn how to effectively [...]