As a general practice, boards should avoid making decisions between regular meetings. A large part of the value of having a board in a leadership position is that good decisions can come from incorporating many peoples’ perspectives; making decisions without meeting deprives the board of the opportunity to glean the wisdom of all directors. Secondly, it can take a lot more time and energy [...]
As a new co-op project progresses through the 3 stages of the development process and the workload and complexity of the co-op development process increases, founding team and board members often wonder when to hire help, and for what roles.Though the size, skills and situation of each startup group vary, there are points along the 4 Cornerstones in 3 Stages development model where hiring [...]
Use the Four Pillars of Cooperative Governance to increase effectiveness of the board’s work.
Further explanation of the cycle of empowerment and accountability and how it functions on behalf of co-op owners.
An effective orientation for new directors can help your board quickly integrate and benefit from the contributions of its newest members – shortening and decreasing the intensity of the naturally occurring “storming” phase that occurs when integrating new members into your team. While there will still be plenty of “on the job” learning during the first several board meetings, a good orientation process can [...]
Tips to intensify board and organizational impact and how to achieve it.
In a world where smart, fast, moves are a marketplace necessity, strategic leadership creates shared agreement regarding the future vision.
The “Patronage Dividends for Food Co-ops” Toolbox (available as a free download in the Columinate library) describes the power of patronage dividends as a tool for building strong cooperatives and outlines the steps needed to implement this system. One of the key moments in a co-op’s business cycle comes at the end of a fiscal year when it becomes clear how much profit the [...]
