Podcasts about effective board

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Play Episode Listen Later Jun 17, 2022 40:34

In this episode, Brad Feld, Mahendra Ramsinghani and Matt Blumberg talk about their new book, it is an incredibly inciteful and comprehensive look at Startups and all boards. An instruction manual for CEOs who are building and leading a board and a valuable reference for existing board members, aspiring board members and venture investors. Thanks for listening! We love our listeners! Drop us a line or give us guest suggestions here. Links Startup Boards – Buy on Amazon Quotes Matt: It's never too early to build a board and, as a CEO, if you get good board dynamic, you have created a secret weapon for your business - a strategic sounding board that you couldn't go out and buy. Brad ¨Jeff Lawson said: “I view the board as another team that I get, and why wouldn't I take advantage of being able to create a great team at that level that can help me grow and develop both the business and me as a CEO?" That summarized it as well as I've ever heard it said by an entrepreneurial CEO The really interesting and important dynamic around board of directors are how they function as a team and how the individual participants engage with each other and how the CEO engages with the participant, and then how the management team fits into that, and that all of that is true if you're aspiring any of those things; board member, investor, entrepreneur, or experienced. Mahendra: The board can make it a safe place for the CEO to feel comfortable, feel confident and engaged as a team of equals. It's important for the CEO to build their inner self-confidence so that they can sit in the same table, to be in the same room with people who are 5 years, 10 years ahead in the journey and hold their hand or say, "I need help. How would you do this?" At the same time, being honest, and what they did in that time may not always be relevant, so there's a fine line, but having the sense of confidence to surround yourself with giants is extremely important. Matt: No Slides! When there are slides on the wall, two things happen. Whoever is presenting reads the slide out loud, which drives me crazy. It drives everybody crazy, because you should assume your board members can read. But the other thing that happens when you have a slide on the wall or a slide on the screen is that all eyes are on the slide. What you want to have in terms of a dynamic when you're trying to have a meaningful discussion among people on a team is you want eyes on each other, not eyes on the wall. Brad: The best boards: you fight, you argue, you challenge each other, you disagree, but you're friends and you have respect for each other, and you carry each other with some amusement. Those are the best boards. Big Ideas/Thoughts New in the 2nd Edition of Book Matt added a lot of new content from a CEO's perspective We made a very significant shift and replaced a lot of sidebars and quotes with new content specifically from women and from people of color, to allow the book to be more representative of what a board should look like for a startup in 2022 in terms both gender and racial equity. We've written this book in such a way that it addresses the full spectrum from someone who is an aspiring entrepreneur, investor, board member, to someone who is a very experienced entrepreneur, investor, board member. Lessons from the Boardroom If nobody does the work to develop the board as a team you have just a collection of people. I see that a lot among startup boards where the CEO does not put energy into building a highly functioning team or the CEO doesn't ask one of the board members to take a leadership role in helping her do that. There a benefit of having a lead director or a board chair who is not the CEO, because then that person can take the leadership when all of a sudden things are not being constructive and to try to shift the tone and the narrative and the discussion dynamic from one that's not constructive to one that is. In those situations, a strong, experienced, respected board member who might or might not be an investor can often play that role, and it's a very, very valuable position to have an outside director that's experienced, that's well respected who in those moments can step in and basically say some version of, "Hey guys and girls, cut the bullshit. Let's stop this. This is not being helpful. Let's step back. Let's calm down. Let's talk about what the issue is and try to solve the problem." It's important to have a lot of people that can play that role. More Important Board Meeting Practices Prepare and circulate material in advance. Then assume the board members can read, so start the board meeting and run the board meeting as though everybody has already read the material. Have a clear objective of what is this meeting about. The best board meetings I'm in have a board package that goes out in advance that is separate from the board meeting presentation, and the board meeting presentation for each section has some version of a preamble, which is, "Here's what we're going to cover and here's what I want to accomplish as CEO. A lot of people think of their board or a way of thinking about the board is, " I've got to have some investors in my board, and so anybody else I add to my board, I want to get the best networking I can from them because I want introductions." That's really limited thinking. Especially if your business is young, you don't really know what direction it's going to go in, and so people that have very different frames of reference from you but experienced in things that are additive to what you're doing can add another layer of diversity to the board. There has to be a conscious effort to search for board members outside your zones of comfort. That is not easy. It takes time. There are no easy paths to build bridges into other domains, but that is a very essential function every entrepreneur should try and build upon. No Slides! When there are slides on the wall, two things happen. Whoever is presenting reads the slide out loud, which drives me crazy. It drives everybody crazy, because you should assume your board members can read. But the other thing that happens when you have a slide on the wall or a slide on the screen is that all eyes are on the slide. What you want to have in terms of a dynamic when you're trying to have a meaningful discussion among people on a team is you want eyes on each other, not eyes on the wall.

Talking Startup Boards in a Downturn with Brad Feld

StrictlyVC Download

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 11, 2022 36:27 Very Popular

Connie & Alex go over this week in tech news, and then Connie talks to venture capitalist Brad Feld of Foundry Group about his new book, Startup Boards: A Field Guide to Building and Leading an Effective Board of Directors, and why startup boards are especially important when times are tough.Music: 1. "Inspired" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3918-inspired)2. "Blippy Trance" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5759-blippy-trance)3. "Dream Catcher" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4650-dream-catcher)4. "Pamgaea" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4193-pamgaea)5. "EDM Detection Mode" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3687-edm-detection-mode)License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

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Episode 23: Understanding the key elements of an effective Board with “the Board Architect”, Mark A. Pfister

The Governance Guys

Play Episode Listen Later May 19, 2022 51:44

Understanding how your Board can be effective begins with an assessment of your Board’s architecture. Author, consultant, and non-Executive Director Mark A. Pfister joins us to talk about what he means by the architecture of a Board and how individual Board members need to meet the demands of their roles in order to serve the … Continue reading Episode 23: Understanding the key elements of an effective Board with “the Board Architect”, Mark A. Pfister

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40. The many faceted challenge of creating and maintaining an effective board

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Play Episode Listen Later May 15, 2022 41:32

Anthony Goodman is the leader of the North American Board Effectiveness Practice for Korn Ferry, and he understands the challenges boards face meeting the challenge of becoming a high performing board – and maintaining excellence. In this episode we discuss some of those challenges. Thanks for listening! We love our listeners! Drop us a line or give us guest suggestions here. Links Anthony Bio Analyzing emerging trends in board evaluation practices How boards can adapt to support ESG efforts The 'Climate Change' Director Quotes Who is responsible for ESG? The idea that ESG is not going to impact the entire board and every committee is a mistake. If you think about ESG as it's supposed to be, it is about the company's strategy and its risk management. What you're really asking is, “what are the material risks and opportunities of ESG.” ESG Expertise Question: With the increasing emphasis on ESG, does that mean board need a new set of skills and tools and, if so, what are some of the skills and tools they should be considering? What boards need to do first is understand “what are the material risks and opportunities for our company, and when they have done that assessment, or management has done that assessment for them.” Then the next question they need to ask is, "As we look at the issues for which we need to provide oversight, do we have the skills and experiences on the board to do that? If there's something glaringly missing, how do we get that skill into the board? But maybe it's about the whole board upskilling. Maybe it's about the fact that everyone on the board actually needs to understand what the material risks to the business are. Michelle Edkins, who runs the stewardship team globally at BlackRock, has this wonderful saying: "A board made up of one trick ponies is a circus." Board Effectiveness How involved is the board in the strategy how involved has the board been in helping to develop the strategy and overseeing the strategy? How involved are they in risk management and identifying and making sure that risks are being dealt with? How effective have they been in hiring and firing CEOs The question is who can the board get feedback from? It's often just within the board itself, but you could, for instance, ask senior managers whether the board is actually adding any value to them. Is it providing guidance? Is it providing challenge? Do they feel stretched by this board or not? You could ask your investors. You could ask your audit firm. You could ask your law firm. There are a number of stakeholders that are in and around the boardroom that observe how the board is doing. Board meeting agenda It takes a certain amount of courage to ask for an outside-in view of the board. It's much easier to do than an inside-out view and just ask the other directors how you're doing. People have got a lot of choices these days. The idea that boards are the buyer, actually no, boards now have to sell themselves to candidates, particularly good candidates who are women - who are people of color, who are digital natives - because those are the people everyone want on their board, and the real question is, why should they want to come on your board? I think we've all got to be grownups about this, that sometimes it's just our time and we have to be willing to let go, but I think a lot of people's personal identity is tied up with being a board director, and if this is your last public company board, you're going to try and hang on to it as long as you can. Otherwise, what are you going to tell people down at the golf club that you do? You're a board director. I sometimes say collegiality is a mask that covers up a lot of problems underlying in the board, and one of them is the inability to let go and allow people to make a dignified exit from the board. Big Ideas/Thoughts Board Culture Culture problems cause issues for lots of companies, and it isn't just when there's a merger. It can be where you've got groups of employees that are fundamentally different from each other. How do you treat those employees? The question that comes to my mind here is accountability: how does a board hold management accountable for building the culture. I think it's very hard to draw a straight line between an effective board and an effective company, but I think when the board is ineffective, it starts to erode what the company can do, what kind of strategic opportunities it has, the quality of the people it can recruit into senior management. A bad board, I think, can create a lot of havoc inside a company, but a good board doesn't necessarily make for a good company. Boards are often lagging indicators around strategic change. They're not always leading indicators and we often see companies where the board is quite a way adrift of where the company has evolved to. I want to give you another C-word that boards should be thinking about and that's courage. If we had courageous conversations between board chairs and board directors, between non-gov chairs and board directors, this [off-boarding] would be so much easier. But collegiality often trumps courage, and I think that's a big problem for boards. Diversity Just to go back a little bit, so why is there this focus on diversity? A lot of it actually came via the investors, the investor community. Why did they want boards to become more diverse? What they're really trying to do, I think, is to make sure that boards are cognitively diverse, but that is something that is really hard to do from outside. You can't assess whether a board is cognitively diverse from the outside, and by the way, there's nobody trying to assess whether they're cognitively diverse on the inside either. What do investors say? They've said, "Okay, if we knew that the people on the board who definitely come from different backgrounds and different approaches to life, then we could imagine there might also be cognitive diversity.” Our own practice, our board practice over the last couple of years, has been running at about 55% of all the people we put on boards in the US are women or people of color, I think that's pretty consistent across all the search firms. A lot of first-time directors, women and people of color, are not perhaps being heard as much in the boardroom as they would have liked. I think a lot of board chairs probably think they're doing a good job trying to get everybody's voices to be heard, but I think that boards have to work quite hard to be inclusive and to make sure everyone feels comfortable in the boardroom. Board Succession Planning They ought to be looking at the strategy of the company, thinking about where it's heading over the next three to five years, and then looking at the skills and experiences that they have today and understanding the gaps. Let's say 10 years ago, the company might've been a purely domestic company. Now it's made a number of acquisitions globally, and there's nobody on the board with international experience. Think about what next three, four, five directors are going to look like, and wouldn't it be great if out of those five, at least two, maybe three were going to be women that a certain number would be people of color, a certain number of them would be under the age of 56. In that way, if we land on some fantastic former CEO today, happens to be a white male and doesn't check any of those other boxes, we can still have that person on our board because we know we've got four more slots to fill, and we're going to make sure that in that batch of five people that we've got all the skills, experiences, and backgrounds that we want as opposed to trying to load them all on one person.

38. Mark Pfister - Build an effective board and success will follow

Nonprofit Nuggets with Chyla Graham

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 2, 2022 32:59

In this episode, Mark A. Pfister, the “Board Architect,” talks about how to build a board, what that means and the powerful impact it has on any company or organization. Thanks for listening! We love our listeners! Drop us a line or give us guest suggestions here. Links Board education & certification: https://www.pfisterstrategy.com/exceptionalboarddirector Book on Board Architecture: https://www.pfisterstrategy.com/books Quotes The architecture component of a board forces the thought process that you are looking and planning earlier. Whether you're creating a new board, or you're looking to rebuild an existing board, put some discipline behind this, look at the design aspects of it, understand there is a successful formula and model for boards that work efficiently and effectively; hence, the terminology of “board architecture” over “board structure.” Three areas of focus in board architecture Sphere of influence. This relates to the vertical components of a properly built board. Core leadership competency, operations experience, and skillset competencies. Planes of Congruence. This looks at the character of the Board, essentially the horizontal components. These can include balance of personality types, mix of industry backgrounds, diversity, age ranges, and many other components. Coverage and Balance. This has to do with creating a depth of knowledge and somewhat of an overlap of knowledge on the board. It allows for at least one other person, if not more, to have that ability to question whether it's at a governance level, whether it's at a technical level, just to understand and bring that conversation to additional questions and elevate the outcome, which is what that board is there to do . “There's this interesting trend where placement and search organizations are being engaged to a certain degree, but the nominating committee has really taken an end-to-end process back into their purview and they're managing that process from end to end.” Testing of board members I use two tests, one is called the GPPI or Gordon Personal Profile Inventory, and that particular test allows me to assess what I correlate to the emotional intelligence and the mindfulness intelligence. It's not just about IQ anymore. Another one that I use is a Watson-Glaser test that allows as a comparison back to if someone's claiming to be an expert or a certain level of leadership, you can compare that back, and all of these tests are comparing back against big data so it's not that it's right or wrong answers. It's about are other people at that level successful and how is this person comparing with that? “I believe that 90-plus percent of most issues within any board of directors of any entity type relates back to its lack of architecture in the way the board is built, so that makes it even more important for an aspiring director to understand how they avoid engagements or even appointments where they're just simply not going to be happy, or their risk goes up.” “I am of the mindset that we are not just representing shareholders anymore that are only focused on the financial outcome of the organization. To me, and this is another observable, a board that is focused not just on the shareholder aspect, but also on the stakeholders, which are many - that's employees, that's vendors, that's consumers of the product and services - that viewpoint has to be an equal weighted consideration in the boardroom.” “Whatever failures happen in an organization. I don't look at the CEO. I look at the board first and foremost." The CEO is a direct representative at the operational level of the organization representing the board, period. “Every director should keep in the back of their mind ‘values equal culture equals organizational risk level' - all of it can be related back to that.” Big Ideas/Thoughts Question: What is the interrelationship between strategy and governance? Board directors cannot properly govern without a deep understanding of not just a theory of strategy, but what the strategy is of the organization. The diagram that I recommend, and I use in our board training is very simple. On one side sits the word goals, on the other side sits the word tasks, and in between that is a double-edged arrow or double-pointing arrow, that's strategy. Strategy is connecting the goals to the tasks of the organization - - it's the how. When you hear “strategy” you should think “how?.” We should be saying to ourselves as a director, "We need to fully understand the goals of this organization, and once they're set for a certain time period (the what and the why), the rest of our existence in the boardroom as it relates to governance is truly overseeing the strategy. It's the governance of the strategy, which is the how. You cannot govern something if you don't understand the strategy, they are inextricably linked and they're absolutely related, and this is a big miss for many senior level leaders today is that they don't understand where governance sits as it relates to strategy. Strategy today is an integrated pattern of decision-making, which in a leadership mindset, if you think about an integrated pattern of decision-making, it forces you to ask questions. Question: In a situation where the CEO and their senior team are responsible for developing the strategy, what is, in your view, the best way for the board to be involved to a point where they're not doing the job of the senior management, but are fully involved in understanding the strategy and are able to ask the questions they need to ask of the management? I am actually probably a little more hands-on in my belief of the board's involvement with the strategy, and I would even say with the goals of the organization, I view those two areas as a very close working relationship between the CEO and the board. I'm not saying that the CEO should not step away and work with their team on coming up with possibly a proposed strategy, but I am also a fan before the CEO does that, that the board has some sort of very high strategic planning session and goal-setting session with the CEO. I am an absolute fan of every single board having a strategic planning committee, and I would even like to see the naming of that change so it's not misconstrued and call it more so a strategy committee, because strategic planning is assuming that the board is doing the planning, so I think that should change. Risk Committee. Any clients that I work with in the board architecture realm, I'm laser focused on not just the strategic committee, but also the risk committee, and I think there's this misunderstanding or misnomer out there that, "Well, that's the responsibility of the audit committee." My comment typically on that is that I'm not disputing by any means risk as it relates to finance, but the number of risks that are being dealt with in every organization today that require a home, especially at the board level, I don't think any company can get away with that right now…..you have to separate out not just financial risks, but overall company and organization risks. Raza: I think as we've talked with our guests, including David Koenig, the audit committee is kind of focusing on what has happened, at the least it needs a separate time, separate mindset, a separate hat on to say, what is the future possibilities of risks, both positive and negative, in the sense that, are we taking enough risks, and hence, having a separate risk committee is likely the best way to drive that. Mark: Well, I would love to see more of a formal approach as it relates to education and certification or risk areas for a board. David Koenig has done that with the DCRO.

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An Engaged and Effective Board with Christal M Cherry

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 1, 2022 15:10

Hi there! If you are a nonprofit leader who is ready to become comfortable talking about money, you are in good company! I am so excited for today's episode because we get to chat with Christal M. Cherry who is a nationally recognized nonprofit executive and professionally trained fundraiser. She has over 20 years in the nonprofit sector and has supported human services organizations, faith-based missions, and higher education institutions. Christal has collaborated, interfaced, and guided diverse boards made up of college presidents, bishops and ministers, corporate CEOs, politicians, and more. Highlights from our conversation include: How Christal serves in her role (1:04) Christal's 23-year nonprofit journey (2:41) Stepping out to help other nonprofits (4:09) What you should be prioritizing in your board governance (5:10) Tracking and maintaining information in your board and donors (7:46) Other ways Christal is changing the world (10:45) I hope today's episode helped you understand the importance of engaging and interacting with your donors as well as your board members. If you have any questions or want to connect with Christal, you can visit her website and on LinkedIn. You can also learn more about Christal's children's book Mac and Cheez: Being Different is Okay on Amazon. Sign up for the webinar on Thursday - Discover How You Can Boost Your Income And Reach As A Nonprofit Organization Through Being More Open About Your Finances....Without Losing Sight of Your Mission! Also, don't forget about Accounting for Your Goals: IRS Form 990 which will be held on February 22nd. If you want to continue the conversation, be sure to find me on Instagram and send me a DM! I would love to hear more about you and your nonprofit! Are you enjoying the show? Be sure to head over to Apple Podcasts and leave a rate and review of the show! I'd love to hear from you.

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#156: Exploring Strategies for Effective Board Leadership, with Raza Shaikh & Joe Ayoub

Boardroom Bound with Alexander Lowry

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 22, 2021 36:16

Self-development in preparation for breaking into the boardroom.

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40: What Makes an Effective Board Member?

The Gary Bisbee Show

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 16, 2021 9:27

Meet the Guests:This episode features three healthcare leaders. John Glaser, Ph.D. is an Executive in Residence at Harvard Medical School, and currently serves on multiple boards including HL7, the Scottsdale Institute, Wellsheet, Relatient, and NCQA. Kevin Sharer is a senior lecturer at Harvard University Business School and is the former Chairman and CEO of Amgen. He currently serves on the board for Allied Minds and the US Naval Academy Foundation. Kevin previously sat on the boards of directors for Chevron, 3M, and Northrop Grumman. Mindy Mount is a board member of The Learning Care Group, Cerner Corporation, Zayo Group, Group Nine Acquisition Corporation, and Technicolor, where she is also Vice Chairman.Key Insights:Each leader gave slightly different answers; however, there are two key takeaways:Relationships. It is important for board members to have a good relationship among themselves and with the CEO. Teamwork facilitates many of the boards functions such as upholding a company's vision, reaching consensus on strategy decisions, and monitoring and evaluating the CEO.Advisors Rather Than Managers. Board members advise rather than execute. This separation allows board members to act as outside observers and grants management flexibility in decision making and implementation.

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Lessons Learned on How to Be an Effective Board Chair

The CEO EDGE Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 25, 2021 22:55

Nancy MacKay interviews Peter Mogan, Nexii Board Chair, on how to be an effective board Chair. They discuss why private companies should have boards and lessons learned on his journey to becoming a board Chair of 5 companies.

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Attributes of an Effective Board Chairman

TSBA: Your Education Source Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 29, 2021 39:29

In today's episode, I'm speaking with Keys Fillauer, 2021 President-Elect and Board Chairman of the Oak Ridge Board of Education, as he discusses the top attributes needed to be an effective board chairman. The chairman carries a heavy responsibility, and certain skills and actions are required in order for the chairman to conduct his/her duties in an efficient manner.

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Playbook: How to build an effective board with John Dowson, English Institute of Sport chair

SportsPro Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 24, 2021 40:34

SportsPro senior contributor Matt Rogan speaks with John Dowson, chair at the English Institute of Sport to discuss the role of the board. They talk about how the bi-monthly board meeting is just the start and how the very best not only support the organisations they are a part of but challenge them in their entirety. John outlines the importance of role clarity at the highest level and how cognitive diversity is fundamental to good decision making. The SportsPro Playbook is the place to go for agenda-free, pragmatic advice to understand how to navigate your organisation through change. Head to sportspromedia.com/playbook to catch up on our library of articles and podcasts, and learn more about how our new Playbook Labs programme can help you lead your organisation to success in 2021 and beyond.

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The Architecture of a Board with Mark A. Pfister of M. A. Pfister Strategy Group

Measure Success Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 28, 2021 34:13

Mark A. Pfister is the CEO and Chief Board Consultant at M. A. Pfister Strategy Group, a strategic advisory and “Board Architecture” firm for executives, boards, and board advisors in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors. Known as “The Board Architect,” Mark is also the best-selling author of Across The Board: The Modern Architecture Behind an Effective Board of Directors. His monthly board letter reaches over 27,000 board leaders in over 70 countries. Mark is a certified Executive Masters Professional Director, and Cyber Intelligence Professional. He completed Harvard Business School's Executive Education Program for board directors and previously served as an Engineering Officer in the U.S. Merchant Marines. In this episode… How do you oversee a mechanism that is rapidly changing? Keeping a balance between governance and strategy is essential for growth, both for the organization's team and the board. So, how can your board weather a supply chain disruption and still grow? Mark A. Pfister, CEO and Chief Board Consultant at M. A. Pfister Strategy Group, is laser-focused on the executive leadership and board space. He has experience across multiple facets of the industry and knows how to integrate governance and strategy within your board — like the fact that your board needs to be savvy to new processes and different technologies in order to thrive during accelerated times. Mark knows a board is not just about bureaucracy; it's about having the ability from a governance standpoint to be directly integrated into the strategy. In this episode of the Measure Success Podcast, Carl J. Cox talks with Mark A. Pfister, CEO and Chief Board Consultant at the M. A. Pfister Strategy Group, about the insight and governance of a board. Mark explains the ways the architecture and efficacy of a board links with an organization's team, how the pandemic accelerated the digital transformation in the executive space, and the direct correlation of governance to strategy simultaneity. Stay tuned!

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Mark Pfister: How to Build your Board

Working Capital Conversations

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 13, 2021 62:20

In this episode of Nonprofit Architect, Travis talks with Mark Pfister. His popular book, 'Across The Board: The Modern Architecture Behind an Effective Board of Directors,' an Amazon best-seller with circulation in over 70 countries, has influenced a whole new generation of Board Directors. Travis and Mark talk about setting up a Board, finding the perfect Board Members, and structuring a Board that will be successful. Conversation Highlights: {00:48} About Mark Pfister. {02:47} Background on Mark's Board and what it looks like. {06:48} The size and structure of a modern Board without wasting bureaucracy. {12:05} Being a Chief Executive Officer, and what Mark's organization looks like. {17:34} When you have top-level guys, especially on boards, working on something they have no business spending time on? {25:02} Being challenged to ask uncomfortable questions, not being compliant. {28:24} What happens when you are stuck with a sudden emergency that knocks you off your feet. {31:19} Be open to feedback. Once you have your mission have you checked your impact on the community? Are you meeting your goal? Do you have goals? {35:15} How do you structure awards intentionally, and make sure you are starting your board or recreating your board with the success that you want to have sure? {40:58} Why having a marketing expert on the board is essential. {42:03} Where do you find the perfect board members? {46:49} Planning for the future and picking board members that will spread your message. {49:42} Why Mark has worked on over 800 Boards. {55:18} Advice for Board of Directors, preparing for the eventual changing of the guard. Remarkable quotes: 90 plus percent of their problems or inefficiencies are due to the fact they were not structured properly from the beginning. You must know where you came from to know where you are going. I think this is one of the biggest misses right now that a board is viewed as a hindrance. 20% of the time, as a CEO or Executive Director, I'm going to now put on a different hat and I'm going to ask questions 80% of the time and give my opinion or my input 20% of the time. The maturity of that decision-maker's ability to allow for discourse, but not take it as an example as a personal attack on them. A board director is not going to be comfortable going out and representing a program, that is not as impactful as it should be. Three components create the depth of the board. The vertical component creates your expertise Influence. The horizontal component is your planes of congruence that create your character and then your coverage and balance create the depth of the board. If you can get those three areas balanced in some way, these boards are unstoppable. Resources: Mark@PfisterStrategy.com Bio: Mark A. Pfister With a strong focus in Strategy, Governance, and Technology / Cybersecurity, Mark A. Pfister is CEO & Chief Board Consultant of M. A. Pfister Strategy Group, an executive advisory firm that serves as a strategic advisory council for executives and Boards in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. He is also Chairman & CEO of Integral Board Group, a specialized Board services and consulting company. Mr. Pfister is a 'Board Macro-Influencer' and his success has been repeated across a wide range of business situations and environments. He prides himself on being a coach and mentor to senior executives and directors. In Board Director circles, Mr. Pfister has earned the nickname 'The Board Architect.' The overarching theme throughout his career has been his aptitude in leadership positions, passionate focus on people, unique governance models, and ability to create value for stakeholders through innovative business strategies and operational excellence. Michael Lorelli, Executive Chairman of Rita's Franchise Company, has said, “Mark's unusual combination of excelling at a macro and micro grasp of business, genuine interest in Governance, and ability to coach and mentor a Management Team make him a terrific Independent Director.” Mr. Pfister is a certified project management professional and frequently serves as an expert Project Executive, consulting on global projects in their initiation and operational phases, as well as programs requiring remedial focus to bring them back on track. He has deep knowledge and experience in Board design & operations, strategic planning, business transformation, technology implementations, decisioning processes, continuing education programs, executive coaching, and governance models. Previously, Mr. Pfister was CEO of Pro4ia, Inc., an international consulting and professional services company specializing in a wide range of technology solutions utilizing formal Project Management as a proven and repeatable delivery method. With a Fortune 50 client list, Pro4ia was Citibank's Nominee for Crain's Magazine 'Entrepreneurship of the Year' Award in 2005. He simultaneously served as CEO of Onit, Inc., a national sourcing company specializing in placements for all levels of technology skill sets. Mr. Pfister was also the National Program Office Leader for American Express leading some of the largest technology transformation initiatives in the company's history. He served as a Licensed Engineering Officer in the U.S. Merchant Marine, holds a B.S. from the State University of New York Maritime College in Facilities Engineering, and completed Harvard Business School's Executive Education Program for Board Directors. Mr. Pfister is the creator of the ‘Board as a Service' (BaaS) engagement model, an industry he is credited with inventing. He is a Master Speaker and conducts national speaking tours, lectures, and seminars focused on effective leadership, strategy, Board architecture, becoming an exceptional Board Director candidate, professional project/program management, and entrepreneurship. His popular book, 'Across The Board: The Modern Architecture Behind an Effective Board of Directors,' an Amazon best-seller with circulation in over 70 countries, has influenced a whole new generation of Board Directors. Mr. Pfister is a proficient Board Director and CEO with experience across multiple industry verticals. He is typically the Chair, or a member of the Strategic Planning Committee, Governance Committee, Technology & Cybersecurity Committee, and Nominating Committee. Mr. Pfister's experience as a renowned Board Consultant, having guided and coached hundreds of Boards, Board Committees, and Board Members, additionally offers up unique and informed viewpoints to the companies he serves. He holds an Executive Masters Professional Board Certification through the American College of Corporate Directors (ACCD), is a member of the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD), is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) through the Project Management Institute (PMI), holds a Global ESG Certification through Competent Boards, and holds a Certified Cyber Intelligence Professional Board Certification (CCIP) through the McAfee Institute. Nonprofit Architect Podcast Links Website: http://nonprofitarchitect.org Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/NonprofitArchitect Ultimate Podcast Guide https://www.fatfreecartpro.com/ecom/gb.php?&i=1698463&cl=377219&c=cart&ejc=2&custom=card Subscribe and leave a review https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/nonprofit-architect-podcast/id1481292481 Patreon https://www.patreon.com/NonprofitArchitect Watch on YOUTUBE https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQm8fnR2sHyrmLpV2jKYajA Listen to these other great podcasts from Veterans. https://nonprofitarchitect.org/veteran-podcast-network/ Want help getting your podcast started? https://nonprofitarchitect.org/podcast-production-services/

Roberto Quarta: What Makes an Effective Board of Directors

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 13, 2021 33:18

In the time of an unprecedented global pandemic, boards – private and public – have been forced to re-examine priorities. And it's not just trying to manage through Covid. ESG, diversity & inclusion, an evolving remote-work dynamic, a growing expectation that corporations will engage with social issues around race, gender and more.As companies face new challenges, what makes an effective board of directors? And how are companies with strong board compositions and engagement better equipped for turbulent times?To find answers, I spoke with Roberto Quarta. Roberto is Chairman of CD&R Europe, in addition to being Board Chair of WPP and Smith & Nephew. He is a former CEO and serves on both private and public boards. And as you'll hear, to drive success, there's one agenda in particular that has captured his attention – it's what he calls the “human agenda.”

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Mark Pfister: How to Build your Board

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 13, 2021 62:20

In this episode of Nonprofit Architect, Travis talks with Mark Pfister. His popular book, 'Across The Board: The Modern Architecture Behind an Effective Board of Directors,' an Amazon best-seller with circulation in over 70 countries, has influenced a whole new generation of Board Directors. Travis and Mark talk about setting up a Board, finding the perfect Board Members, and structuring a Board that will be successful. Conversation Highlights: {00:48} About Mark Pfister. {02:47} Background on Mark's Board and what it looks like. {06:48} The size and structure of a modern Board without wasting bureaucracy. {12:05} Being a Chief Executive Officer, and what Mark's organization looks like. {17:34} When you have top-level guys, especially on boards, working on something they have no business spending time on? {25:02} Being challenged to ask uncomfortable questions, not being compliant. {28:24} What happens when you are stuck with a sudden emergency that knocks you off your feet. {31:19} Be open to feedback. Once you have your mission have you checked your impact on the community? Are you meeting your goal? Do you have goals? {35:15} How do you structure awards intentionally, and make sure you are starting your board or recreating your board with the success that you want to have sure? {40:58} Why having a marketing expert on the board is essential. {42:03} Where do you find the perfect board members? {46:49} Planning for the future and picking board members that will spread your message. {49:42} Why Mark has worked on over 800 Boards. {55:18} Advice for Board of Directors, preparing for the eventual changing of the guard. Remarkable quotes: 90 plus percent of their problems or inefficiencies are due to the fact they were not structured properly from the beginning. You must know where you came from to know where you are going. I think this is one of the biggest misses right now that a board is viewed as a hindrance. 20% of the time, as a CEO or Executive Director, I'm going to now put on a different hat and I'm going to ask questions 80% of the time and give my opinion or my input 20% of the time. The maturity of that decision-maker's ability to allow for discourse, but not take it as an example as a personal attack on them. A board director is not going to be comfortable going out and representing a program, that is not as impactful as it should be. Three components create the depth of the board. The vertical component creates your expertise Influence. The horizontal component is your planes of congruence that create your character and then your coverage and balance create the depth of the board. If you can get those three areas balanced in some way, these boards are unstoppable. Resources: Mark@PfisterStrategy.com Bio: Mark A. Pfister With a strong focus in Strategy, Governance, and Technology / Cybersecurity, Mark A. Pfister is CEO & Chief Board Consultant of M. A. Pfister Strategy Group, an executive advisory firm that serves as a strategic advisory council for executives and Boards in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. He is also Chairman & CEO of Integral Board Group, a specialized Board services and consulting company. Mr. Pfister is a 'Board Macro-Influencer' and his success has been repeated across a wide range of business situations and environments. He prides himself on being a coach and mentor to senior executives and directors. In Board Director circles, Mr. Pfister has earned the nickname 'The Board Architect.' The overarching theme throughout his career has been his aptitude in leadership positions, passionate focus on people, unique governance models, and ability to create value for stakeholders through innovative business strategies and operational excellence. Michael Lorelli, Executive Chairman of Rita's Franchise Company, has said, “Mark's unusual combination of excelling at a macro and micro grasp of business, genuine interest in Governance, and ability to coach and mentor a Management Team make him a terrific Independent Director.” Mr. Pfister is a certified project management professional and frequently serves as an expert Project Executive, consulting on global projects in their initiation and operational phases, as well as programs requiring remedial focus to bring them back on track. He has deep knowledge and experience in Board design & operations, strategic planning, business transformation, technology implementations, decisioning processes, continuing education programs, executive coaching, and governance models. Previously, Mr. Pfister was CEO of Pro4ia, Inc., an international consulting and professional services company specializing in a wide range of technology solutions utilizing formal Project Management as a proven and repeatable delivery method. With a Fortune 50 client list, Pro4ia was Citibank's Nominee for Crain's Magazine 'Entrepreneurship of the Year' Award in 2005. He simultaneously served as CEO of Onit, Inc., a national sourcing company specializing in placements for all levels of technology skill sets. Mr. Pfister was also the National Program Office Leader for American Express leading some of the largest technology transformation initiatives in the company's history. He served as a Licensed Engineering Officer in the U.S. Merchant Marine, holds a B.S. from the State University of New York Maritime College in Facilities Engineering, and completed Harvard Business School's Executive Education Program for Board Directors. Mr. Pfister is the creator of the ‘Board as a Service' (BaaS) engagement model, an industry he is credited with inventing. He is a Master Speaker and conducts national speaking tours, lectures, and seminars focused on effective leadership, strategy, Board architecture, becoming an exceptional Board Director candidate, professional project/program management, and entrepreneurship. His popular book, 'Across The Board: The Modern Architecture Behind an Effective Board of Directors,' an Amazon best-seller with circulation in over 70 countries, has influenced a whole new generation of Board Directors. Mr. Pfister is a proficient Board Director and CEO with experience across multiple industry verticals. He is typically the Chair, or a member of the Strategic Planning Committee, Governance Committee, Technology & Cybersecurity Committee, and Nominating Committee. Mr. Pfister's experience as a renowned Board Consultant, having guided and coached hundreds of Boards, Board Committees, and Board Members, additionally offers up unique and informed viewpoints to the companies he serves. He holds an Executive Masters Professional Board Certification through the American College of Corporate Directors (ACCD), is a member of the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD), is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) through the Project Management Institute (PMI), holds a Global ESG Certification through Competent Boards, and holds a Certified Cyber Intelligence Professional Board Certification (CCIP) through the McAfee Institute. Nonprofit Architect Podcast Links Website: http://nonprofitarchitect.org Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/NonprofitArchitect Ultimate Podcast Guide https://www.fatfreecartpro.com/ecom/gb.php?&i=1698463&cl=377219&c=cart&ejc=2&custom=card Subscribe and leave a review https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/nonprofit-architect-podcast/id1481292481 Patreon https://www.patreon.com/NonprofitArchitect Watch on YOUTUBE https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQm8fnR2sHyrmLpV2jKYajA Listen to these other great podcasts from Veterans. https://nonprofitarchitect.org/veteran-podcast-network/ Want help getting your podcast started? https://nonprofitarchitect.org/podcast-production-services/

Mark Pfister: Preview

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 9, 2021 2:35

Check out this video preview of The Nonprofit Architect Podcast where Travis interviews Mark Pfister. His popular book, 'Across The Board: The Modern Architecture Behind an Effective Board of Directors,' an Amazon best-seller with circulation in over 70 countries, has influenced a whole new generation of Board Directors. Travis and Mark talk about setting up a board, finding the perfect Board Members, and structuring a board that will be successful. You don't want to miss the full episode, which will be released Tuesday, July 13th, 2021! Be sure to subscribe to the podcast using your favorite podcast player!  i.e. Apple Podcast, Google Play, or Spotify Excited to announce we made Feedspot's Top 45 Nonprofit Podcasts! Check out the full list at https://blog.feedspot.com/nonprofit_podcasts/

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Mark Pfister: Preview

Inspired Nonprofit Leadership

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 9, 2021 2:35

Check out this video preview of The Nonprofit Architect Podcast where Travis interviews Mark Pfister. His popular book, 'Across The Board: The Modern Architecture Behind an Effective Board of Directors,' an Amazon best-seller with circulation in over 70 countries, has influenced a whole new generation of Board Directors. Travis and Mark talk about setting up a board, finding the perfect Board Members, and structuring a board that will be successful. You don't want to miss the full episode, which will be released Tuesday, July 13th, 2021! Be sure to subscribe to the podcast using your favorite podcast player!  i.e. Apple Podcast, Google Play, or Spotify Excited to announce we made Feedspot's Top 45 Nonprofit Podcasts! Check out the full list at https://blog.feedspot.com/nonprofit_podcasts/

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122: Exploring Nonprofit Board Models and Structure

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 1, 2021 37:25

My guest for this episode is Mark Pfister. With a strong focus in Strategy, Governance, and Technology / Cybersecurity, Mark is CEO & Chief Board Consultant of M.A. Pfister Strategy Group, an executive advisory firm that serves as a strategic advisory council for executives and Boards in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. He is also Chairman & CEO of Integral Board Group, a specialized Board services and consulting company. He prides himself on being a coach and mentor to senior executives and directors. Mark is a certified project management professional and frequently serves as an expert Project Executive, consulting on global programs/projects in their initiation and operational phases, as well as programs requiring remedial focus to bring them back on track. He has deep knowledge and experience in Board design & operations, strategic planning, business transformation, technology implementations, decisioning processes, certification & continuing education programs, executive coaching, and governance models. Mark was CEO of Pro4ia, Inc., an international consulting and professional services company specializing in a wide range of technology solutions utilizing formal Project Management as a proven and repeatable delivery method. He simultaneously served as CEO of Onit, Inc., a national sourcing company specializing in placements for all levels of technology skill sets. Mark was also the National Program Office Leader for American Express leading some of the largest technology transformation initiatives in the company's history. He served as a Licensed Engineering Officer in the U.S. Merchant Marine, holds a B.S. from the State University of New York Maritime College in Facilities Engineering, and completed Harvard Business School's Executive Education Program for Board Directors. He holds multiple professional certifications. Mark is the creator of the ‘Board as a Service' (BaaS) engagement model. He is a Master Speaker and conducts international speaking tours, lectures, and seminars focused on effective leadership, strategy, Board architecture, becoming an exceptional Board Director candidate, professional project/program management, and entrepreneurship. His popular book, 'Across The Board: The Modern Architecture Behind an Effective Board of Directors,' an Amazon best-seller with circulation in over 70 countries, has influenced an entire new generation of Board Directors. Here's what to expect during the episode: The differences and nuances between a for-profit board and a nonprofit board. What then can nonprofits boards do to improve? Mark's service engagement model – how does it work, and does it apply to nonprofit boards? Applying a governance model to a nonprofit board. It's essential to be able to relate each action of the organization to its goals and strategies. The immense value of cooperation among the program, communication, and development committees to a nonprofit board. It might be better to expect more from your board directors. Why is that? ~ You can see Mark on his website https://www.pfisterstrategy.com/ His LinkedIn page is https://www.linkedin.com/in/markapfister/ You can get Mark's book, Across The Board: The Modern Architecture Behind an Effective Board of Directors, here: https://www.amazon.com/Across-Board-Architecture-Effective-Directors/dp/0692064265 Get Mary's free guide: Six Steps You Must Know to Unleash the Potential of Your Board, by going to https://www.hilandconsulting.org/6stepsreport Be sure to subscribe to Inspired Nonprofit Leadership so that you don't miss a single episode, and while you're at it, won't you take a moment to write a short review and rate our show? It would be greatly appreciated! Let us know the topics or questions you would like to hear about in a future episode. You can do that, and follow us, on Facebook. Connect with Mary! LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maryhiland Inspired Nonprofit Leadership Facebook Group: https://tinyurl.com/inspirednonprofitleadership Company Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hilandconsulting Website: https://www.hilandconsulting.org

Being an Effective Board member with Olympic medalist Margot Foster

Take on Board

Play Episode Listen Later May 18, 2021 28:26

Today on the Take on Board podcast, Helga is speaking to Margot Foster about being an effective board member and just check out this list of experience.Margot is on the boards of:Motorsport Australia,Sports Environment Alliance,Sports Integrity Australia Advisory Council and theOlympians Club of VictoriaShe’s previously been on the boards ofVicsport,Gymnastics Australia,PLC School Council,VicHealth,Australian Sports Commission,Sport New Zealand,Rowing Australia,Rowing Victoria,Melbourne Major Events,Melbourne & Olympic Parks Trust,Melbourne 1996 Olympic Bid Boardand many othersMargot is a lapsed lawyer having run her own practice for more than 30 years. She’s also an Olympic and Commonwealth Games medallist in rowing – it’s not every day we have an Olympian on the pod!Margot has always been interested in governance and helping to make organisations the best they can be. She now runs her own board leadership and governance training program and consult to boards. She’s also an advisor to sport leaders and also hosts quarterly lunches for women who work in sport.Margot enjoys writing, reading, golf, dining and – as you can tell from what you’ve heard - solving problems.Contact Margot or find out more about her:https://www.linkedin.com/in/margotfosteram/Resources mentioned in this episode:https://www.linkedin.com/in/margotfosteram/FOR MORE TAKE ON BOARD INFORMATION:Next Take on Board event: Developing strategy: From global to local organisations - 25 May 2021https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing?eid=736768&Join the Take on Board community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/TakeOnBoard/Follow along on Twitter: @TakeOnBoardFor more information about Helga Svendsen: https://www.helgasvendsen.com.au/Interested in working with Helga? https://www.helgasvendsen.com.au/workwithmeContact Helga: helga@helgasvendsen.com.au

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Four Roles Of Effective Board Members

The Discovery Pod

Play Episode Listen Later May 12, 2021 15:12

Douglas Nelson, the Founder of The Discovery Group, lists down the essential roles of effective board members that help keep them aligned, engaged, and satisfied with their involvement in organizations. He notes that these roles make or break organizations as they ensure the success and alignment of the boards across the sector. Douglas also explains how these roles affect the whole organization and why they are important elements that make up a successful board as a not-for-profit social profit leader in Canada.

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Mark Buzan on Effective Board Leadership

Fundraising Superheroes

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 10, 2021 28:07

Mark Buzan joins Sabrina on Donor Engine's fundraising superheroes podcast to discuss effective board leadership and building a good relationship between your nonprofit and its board. We Discuss How involved should your Executive Director be in your Board's activities? Mark's advice on building trust with your boardHow do nonprofit leaders keep their boards engaged and "buying-in"?What qualities make a good board member? How involved should your board be in the organization's day to day? Watch The Video Interview https://youtu.be/EOumYoAIjOc Read the Transcript More About Donor Engine donorengine.com Mark's book https://diagnose.nonprofitboarddirectors.org/upsell-sales-page Sign up for the Nonprofit Board Summit https://nonprofitboardsummit.org

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Ep: 48 Jeanie Latz | Board and Governance Consultant | Better Results with Diversity | Aspiring Board Member Resources | Board Composition Trends | The ESG Question | Signs of Board Effectiveness | Hostile Takeover Story | Bill & Melinda Gates

The Law Firm Leadership Podcast | We Interview Corp Defense Law Firm Leaders, Partners, General Counsel and Legal Consultants

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 24, 2020 38:48

I interviewed Jeanie Latz | Board and Governance Consultant on Friday, July 17th, 2020. We discussed several topics including: Her Journey to Board Consultant Better Results with Diversity Helpful Tips for Getting Involved with Boards Board Composition Trends The ESG Question Signs of an Effective Board Bringing Work In-House & Managing Legal Spend A Hostile Takeover Story Bill and Melinda Gates _______________________________________________ Give Feedback Please share your feedback for the show, who I should interview, and the topics that interest you right now. _______________________________________________ Links referred to in this episode: Jeanie Latz | LinkedIn Profile National Association of Corporate Directors Website Society for Corporate Governance Website Adam J. Epstein | The Perfect Corporate Board: A Handbook for Mastering the Unique Challenges of Small-Cap Companies Netflix | Inside Bill's Brain

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Tips for Effective Board Presentations

MCLE ThisWeek Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 15, 2020 13:19

Michael Parker of Dain, Torpy, Le Ray, Wiest & Garner, PC, and Johanna Schneider of Hemenway & Barnes LLP offer tips for giving effective presentations to local boards in this podcast, excerpted from MCLE’s 6/4/2020: How to Be an Effective Advocate in Front of Local Boards: The 60-Minute Lawyer. The full program is available as an on demand webcast or an MP3 here. Get 24/7 instant access to hundreds of related eLectures like this one—and more—with a subscription to the MCLE OnlinePass. Learn more at www.mcle.org/onlinepass.

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14. Diane Hessan on what makes an effective board member and an effective board

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Play Episode Listen Later Oct 15, 2020 47:22

Diane Hessan is successful entrepreneur, CEO, author and has been highly recognized for the broad range of impactful work she has done. And she has served on virtually every type of company board and seen the work of the board from many perspectives. In the fascinating conversation, she shares her insight and opinion on the experience of running and serving on a board. Thanks for listening! We love our listeners! Drop us a line or give us guest suggestions here. Links https://salientventures.co/ www.cspace.com https://muckrack.com/diane-hessan Quotes First Board Experience My first board experience was very hands on. It was a real passion project because we all were completely dedicated to the mission. I started by spending way too much time on operating issues and eventually sat back and became more strategic. I thought it would be great for my family and my job and my learning, to broaden my horizons and to learn how to do some other things. I had a conversation with a friend of mine who was on a whole bunch of boards, and I just said to him, I feel like I want to do something bigger. I feel like I want to give back and not focus on myself so much and yeah, he said, what are you passionate about? I said, I'm passionate about kids. I'm passionate about antiviolence, I'm passionate about homelessness. He was just like "Diane. I have a great organization for you and they really need marketing help" because that was why people wanted me on their boards at the time. It really was a great fit and I basically got it by talking to somebody who had already been there. There were times when I would say something and I learned to say, “is this a board issue or is this not a board issue?” I mean, I was just very explicit about it. Changes in the Boardroom because of Covid Every organization that I'm on the board of no matter whether they're for profit, nonprofit, et cetera, have had talks about the impact of COVID on how their employees are working, how they're building culture, how they're recruiting, retaining, onboarding, what the impact is on people working from home, when they should open up again, whether they should give their employees free stuff to be able to be more effective at home, how they handle the huge challenges of employees who are parents and how to make everyone feel fairly treated there. (Companies are) Looking for shifts in customer behavior and customer requirements is also a really interesting topic. Most of these companies have new go to market strategies, new strategic partnerships, interesting new acquisitions, and I think in general, new ways of actually reaching out into the marketplace and building strategy around that. And for me it's meant much more time on my boards of just doing my homework and reaching out and try to see what other companies are doing and just generally getting educated so that I can be as helpful as possible. What makes an effective board meeting? I think the great board meetings are when the CEO says, “here's your deck or here's three pages about what's happening in the business. I have three issues that are keeping me awake at night, and I really want your help on them. Here they are. A, B and C. Please come prepared to help.” Spending a board meeting with four hours of PowerPoint is the worst most boring thing in the world. And it really doesn't help. Big Ideas/Thoughts Learned about being a Board member from being a CEO Number one, when your business is going well, you want your board to just ask questions and beat you up and challenge all of your assumptions. You're energized. You're doing well. You want a board that gives you watch outs and says, well, what about this? And could we grow this faster? When a business is not going well, you don't really, as a CEO, want to get beat up. So, when things weren't good, I really appreciated board members that were supportive, that helped me look on the bright side that shared with me information about how other companies were also struggling. So, when things are good, you want to tough board when things are bad, you want a board that walks in your shoes and also knows how to be supportive. I learned how sometimes asking questions is more valuable than giving advice to the CEO. One of the things that I learned from being a CEO, but also from being a board member. Guess what: the board meeting is not just about the CEO making the board happy. The board meeting is also about making the board members feel that they're contributing. One of the things that I've done in one of my boards…. We're going to talk about this for the next hour and a half. I'm going to leave the last half hour of this conversation to just go around. I'm going to give each one of you a chance to just do two to three minutes more of final thoughts on this issue….Sometimes you're in a big room, you got a lot of people talking. You feel like you can't get a word in edgewise. I know I feel that sometimes and if you're an introvert, and some of my best board members have been introverts, they just give up, they just don't want to interrupt and jump in and say, I have something. So if people know that they'll have their say at the end, because you're going to go around the room and give everyone a chance to talk, you sometimes get extraordinary advice from people who otherwise just would have given up on participating… and after a while you get really good at packing your 120 seconds with everything you wanted to know. We all as board members want to feel that we're adding value and we can't do that unless the board process works really, really well On the broad range of company boards I wanted to broaden the industries in which I work and it is particularly fun as a board member to just dive into an industry where you've never really looked at financials before. You've never really thought about how they make any money. And you have to learn an entirely new language. It's just a great stretch experience Term Limits I don't love term limits, but I love bringing fresh faces onto a board. In some industries that's more valuable than others. If you're in an industry, banking is an example, sometimes business knowledge, knowledge of the industry and knowledge of the company and its functions has an outsized impact on your ability to be successful on the board. And year after year, the more you learn, the more valuable you become. You get to the point where you have somebody that's been on the board for 10 or 15 years and they are outrageously valuable. They have the history, they still are full of impact, et cetera, and it's hard to say goodbye to those people. But every time you bring on a new, extraordinary board member it changes the conversation. It opens up the possibilities. It brings in all kinds of perspectives that you thought you never had before, and I think that's really valuable. Especially now that the world's changing so fast. As the world changes, the skills that we need and the perspectives that we need are also changing. Boston as a collaborative investment community Boston is an extremely collaborative community, so that whereas other ecosystems like San Francisco or New York have a reputation for being competitive - you know: My fundraising is bigger than yours. My product is better than yours. My app is cooler than yours. My black turtleneck is blacker than yours, - in Boston I really believe that the biggest question that you get asked when you're trying to build a company is “what I can I do to help you?”

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Dot Org Solution's Sara Lundenberger Talks Effective Board Communications

Fundraising Superheroes

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 14, 2020 19:48

How do you communicate with a board member who doesn't agree with you? And how can you create a better onboarding process that clearly outlines your boards expectations? As a consultant at Dot Org Solutions Sara Lundenberger has helped dozens of nonprofits through these issues and joins us on the show to discuss. She shares how to juggle experience with knowledge in the hiring process and work with members who are unfamiliar to the nonprofit space. Full Transcript https://www.donorengine.com/blogs/dot-org-solution-s-sara-ludenburger-gives-her-advice-on-board-communications Learn More about Dot Org Solutions https://dotorgsolutions.com/ Watch Their Webinars https://dotorgsolutions.com/events/?hsCtaTracking=399b5347-2bfa-4da3-86ff-1d0892de1ab4%7Cab6d8353-8bfc-4f2b-87b1-5fb55ed26981 Song Used: “Take Me Higher” by Jahzzar From the Free Music Archive, CC

23 The 4 Elements of Effective Board Accountability

When Money Goes on Mission

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 17, 2020 11:11

Learn about the 4 elements that are needed to create an effective accountability structure between the board and the executive. For the show notes for this episode: https://whenmoneygoesonmission.com/board-accountability/

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9. Larry Stybel on the importance of an informed and effective board

ceo california board gender ceos informed leonard cohen equifax raza everybody knows effective board

Play Episode Listen Later May 20, 2020 41:26

Episode Description Larry Stybel talks what a board need to do to really do its job properly and the critical role of the Nomination/Governance Committee in that process. Do we have the right talent on this board? Are the board members sufficiently educated to handle their fiduciary responsibilities? And does the board understand that it has primary responsibility for defining the corporate culture? Thanks for listening! We love our listeners! Drop us a line or give us guest suggestions here. Links https://www.boardoptions.com/ https://www.stybelpeabody.com/ https://www.issgovernance.com/ Quotes “If you really don't understand the industry that you're in, who is your chief learning officer for the board of directors, and in many cases, by default, the chief learning officer of the board of directors is the CEO and if the board also has the responsibility of evaluating the CEO's performance, is there something wrong with this picture? Board evaluation is that time when the board shines a spotlight on itself and says, “what are we doing positive and negative to advance shareholder value?" “Every company that I have ever worked with says we are innovative, and the question is: who's the role model for innovation? If it’s not the board, then where?” “I think the board has primary responsibility for defining the corporate culture, and then the CEO has the responsibility for executing the corporate culture.” “The board is usually putting the spotlight on the CEO and senior management. So, in that way, I can understand why putting the spotlight on themselves is not something they actually want to do. Right it goes like this: “I think performance evaluation is great for you, Joe, but not for me.” “There is a song by Leonard Cohen, and I think you know it, Raza, “Everybody Knows.” And that song applies to boards. Everybody knows who's making a major contribution and everybody knows who isn't. They just don't want to talk about it.” “There's a kind of cliché that I that I see among young, inexperienced founders it’s called "the problem solved problem." And that is: we had a problem, you know, 70% of our revenue is coming from one company and that one company is threatening to go to a competitor. I flew to California and I talked with the CEO and I got him not only to stay with us, but to increase our business. And I go back to my friends and family board and I say, we had a problem, its solved - and they say, great, what's for dinner?” “I think podcasts like these are, are an excellent way for board people to learn while they're driving or learning while they're exercising.” (Thanks Larry!) Ideas/Comments If a board wants to keep what is often a superficial sense of collegiality, they don't want to do board of directors self-evaluation because you're going to get to issues that one or more board members are going to be uncomfortable with. When board self-evaluation is defined as an event, it usually is a onetime event. If a board is really serious, they're going to do board of directors self-evaluation. People think of diversity in many ways. Gender diversity is one of them, racial and ethics diversity are others but the way, somebody does problem solving is another important dimension to add to the matrix of what you need on a board to make it truly diverse. I have encouraged CEOs to do on boards is to send something to the board even once a month or a one pager. It could be a snapshot of financials. It could be three or four sentences about what's going a brief, but helpful, update so that when you're walking into the board room, or even when you're getting the materials for the next board meeting, you have been updated all along. No surprises. The board should not be surprised. You should not walk into the board room and find out something's been going on, What happened with Equifax (theft of the credit records of 143 million people) should be part of every board education course., First, they did not immediately inform people that their data had been stolen. They delayed it for six weeks, which gave the hackers a chance to really use the information they had stolen. And the second thing, maybe even more egregious, members of the senior management team actually sold shares of stock during the time before the public knew that the breach had occurred so they would not take a hit on their stock shares. And this gets back to corporate culture. So, what was going on at Equifax that made senior executives think that what they did was okay to do?

COVID-19 Generative Governance - Board Guidelines from Dr. Richard Chait

The Trustee Table

Play Episode Listen Later May 17, 2020 25:33

In this must-listen episode for trustees and heads of school, Dr. Richard Chait highlights how boards can govern more effectively during times of crisis, the importance of the head of school/board partnership, and practical ways boards can work more generatively while balancing the short and long term needs of the school. Dr. Chait is Professor of Education, Emeritus, at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He has studied nonprofit governance for over 35 years and co-authored the seminal book Leadership as Governance: Reframing the Work of Nonprofit Boards, as well as Improving the Performance of Governing Boards and The Effective Board of Trustees. Dr. Chait has served as a member of the board of directors of BoardSource and as a trustee on the executive committees of Goucher College, Maryville College and most recently, Wheaton College. He has provided consultation to the boards and executives of more than a hundred nonprofit organizations, particularly in education and the arts. Prior to joining the faculty at Harvard, he was a professor at the University of Maryland and at Case Western Reserve University and was formerly associate provost at Pennsylvania State University.

Running An Effective Board Meeting | Part One | Louis Lehot

Louis Lehot Legal Podcasts

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 30, 2020 9:17

Latest Podcast - Louis Lehot | Louis Lehot Running An Effective Board Meeting Silicon Valley Lawyer Part One Your company was in the middle of a capital raise or M&A process when the global pandemic crisis struck. The deal falls apart. What do you do? Louis Lehot is one of the leading corporate attorneys in Silicon Valley and the Founder of L2 Counsel. He addressed best practices and key legal considerations. L2 Counsel specializes in representing high growth, innovative companies, helping them at all stages of development. From assisting with financing from seed or venture capital investors, to preparing for a public financing on a major international joint venture, Louis Lehot takes pride in assisting companies as they grow. Learn more: Louis Lehot Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/lehotlouis/ Louis Lehot Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/louislehot1/ Louis Lehot Website - https://louislehot.com/ Louis Lehot Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZwswlOs8AkJgCM8kSoUJwA Other Podcasts: https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/louis-lehot-legal-podcasts-louis-lehot-V-b2i9W0Oo5/ https://radiopublic.com/louis-lehot-legal-podcasts-Wlz5XV https://www.breaker.audio/louis-lehot-legal-podcasts/e/62290088 Other Legal Platforms : https://www.legal500.com/firms/908-dla-piper-llp-us/51086-silicon-valley-usa/lawyers/546777-louis-lehot/ https://pitchbook.com/profiles/investor/126961-21 --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/louislehot/message

founders running silicon valley board meeting effective board louis lehot

Running An Effective Board Meeting Silicon Valley Lawyer Part Two | Louis Lehot

Louis Lehot Legal Podcasts

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 30, 2020 5:36

Latest Podcasts - Louis Lehot | Ask A Silicon Valley Lawyer | L2 Counsel (Intro Tune) Your company was in the middle of a capital raise or M&A process when the global pandemic crisis struck. The deal falls apart. What do you do? Louis Lehot is one of the leading corporate attorneys in Silicon Valley and the Founder of L2 Counsel. He addressed best practices and key legal considerations. L2 Counsel specializes in representing high growth, innovative companies, helping them at all stages of development. From assisting with financing from seed or venture capital investors, to preparing for a public financing on a major international joint venture, Louis Lehot takes pride in assisting companies as they grow. Learn more: Louis Lehot Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/lehotlouis/ Louis Lehot Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/louislehot1/ Louis Lehot Website - https://louislehot.com/ Other Podcasts: https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/louis-lehot-legal-podcasts-louis-lehot-V-b2i9W0Oo5/ https://radiopublic.com/louis-lehot-legal-podcasts-Wlz5XV https://www.breaker.audio/louis-lehot-legal-podcasts/e/62290088 Other Legal Platforms : https://www.legal500.com/firms/908-dla-piper-llp-us/51086-silicon-valley-usa/lawyers/546777-louis-lehot/ https://pitchbook.com/profiles/investor/126961-21 --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/louislehot/message

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209. What Effective Board Governance Looks Like

Influence Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 4, 2020 30:05

“Church boards exist in all shapes and sizes, and they vary across theologies and tradition. But what if you compared those boards that view themselves as ‘effective’ against those who do not? What would you learn?” That’s the question asked in Unleashing Your Church Board’s Potential, a new study by the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA). It’s also the question I’m asking Dan Busby and Warren Bird in Episode 209 of the Influence Podcast. I’m George P. Wood, executive editor of Influence magazine and your host. Dan Busby and Warren Bird serve with ECFA, whose mission is “Enhancing trust in Christ-centered nonprofits.” Busby is president of ECFA, and Bird is vice president of Research and Equipping. Both are published authors. Most recently, Busby coauthored More Lessons from the Nonprofit Boardroom with John Pearson, and Bird coauthored Liquid Churchwith Tim Lucas. ----- This episode of the Influence Podcast is brought to you by My Healthy Church, distributors of MEGA Sports Camp, a unique VBS that makes it easy to reach new families. Children’s ministry leaders often feel frustrated and disappointed that their summer outreach program doesn’t bring in new kids. MEGA Sports Camp gives leaders a fun, unique summer outreach program so that they can welcome new families, engage new volunteers, and impact the community. To find out more, visit MegaSportsCamp.com.

5 Hacks for More Effective Board Recruitment

Successful Nonprofits Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 4, 2020 33:31

Recruiting the right board is the key to a strong, healthy and successful nonprofit organization. Yet too many charities view board recruitment as an afterthought and rush through a process that results in ineffective board members and weak boards. Dolph Goldenburg shared techniques for recruiting the right board members at a live seminar at the CenterLink E-summit. With CenterLink’s permission, we are sharing this seminar as a podcast mini-series. In this second half of the live presentation, we cover The board candidate vetting process Your board recruitment timeline Orientation of new members The 5 hacks for a better board recruitment process.

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Tips on How to be an Effective Board Member for Your Non Profit

Business Matters

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 1, 2020 33:52

In this episode, Charles Musgrove talks with nonprofit expert and consultant, Alyce Lee Stansbury about effective boards. Board members play a vital role in the success or failure of nonprofits. Alyce Lee talks about the importance of nonprofits in a community and she shares her tips on what should be done to enhance the success rate of a nonprofit board. Learn how to be a better board member and how to improve the board that you serve. Other topics discussed on this episode:Importance and role of nonprofit sectorNonprofits are businesses [501c3 is a tax designation, not a business plan]Role and purpose of nonprofit BoardsWhat to ask/consider before agreeing to serve on a nonprofit BoardDo you have a passion for the mission and time to serve?Need for regular board self-assessmentImportance of paying competitive salary for chief ExecutiveWhy Boards fail [i.e. good, bad & the ugly of board service; what can go wrong]What high performing Board members need to know/do to be effective & enjoy the experienceAlyce Lee Stansbury, CFRE, Founder & President of Stansbury Consulting, is a nonprofit expert, 25-year fundraising veteran, and seasoned advisor in nonprofit management and board development. She has raised millions of dollars and helped her clients grow fundraising results by over 200%, build high-performing volunteer boards, and exceed campaign goals by 45%.She is nationally certified by Association of Fundraising Professionals as a Master Trainer in Fundraising, past President of the Big Bend chapter of AFP, and the chapter’s first recipient of the Outstanding Fundraising Professional Award. She has maintained the Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) credential since 2002.Alyce Lee is a well-respected, trusted advisor and sought-after speaker throughout Florida and the Southeast. She co-writes a weekly column called, “Notes on Nonprofits”, for the Tallahassee Democrat – USA Today Network. She is a founding Board member and Past Chair of the Institute for Nonprofit Innovation and Excellence in Tallahassee and has served on numerous state and local boards.Top 15 Non-profit Board Governance MistakesPosted on October 5, 2009 by Ellis CarterThis list was started as the inaugural post to CharityLawyer Blog. The post struck a nerve, was mentioned by the Chronicle of Philanthropy, the Nonprofit Quarterly, and numerous bloggers and twitter users. San Francisco tax-exempt organizations lawyer and publisher of the Nonprofit Law Blog, Gene Takagi, reviewed the list and added five more governance mistakes from his own experience. The expanded list is instructive and therefore I have posted it in its entirety here.Failing to Understand Fiduciary Duties. When you volunteer to serve as a director or officer of a non-profit, you accept the responsibility to act with the duties of good faith, due care and loyalty. You also accept the potential liability for failing to fulfill those duties. Increased scrutiny from the I.R.S., Congress, state attorneys general, the Department of Justice, donors and the media require vigilance at every step. It is no longer sufficient to rubber stamp committee or staff recommendations or to simply “abstain” from dicey decisions. Today, board service comes with real responsibilities and real consequences for those that fail to live up to them.Failing to Provide Effective Oversight. Boards are entitled to delegate tasks to committees, officers, staff, or in certain cases, professionals, but only if they perform sufficient oversight. Oversight is commonly exercised through policies and procedures so long as the board ensures that the policies and procedures are actually followed. Common oversight mechanisms include review of financial statements and the annual Form 990 as well as the implementation of various governance policies. Popular governance policies for nonprofits include conflict of interest policies, executive compensation policies, travel and expense reimbursement policies, whistleblower policies, etc. Difficult tasks that require more time and focused attention can be delegated to committees. Common governance committees include those designed to oversee finances, investments, audits, and compensation.Deference to the Executive Committee, Board Chair or the Organization’s Founder. No one owns a tax-exempt non-profit. No one committee, director, or individual can control the organization. The executive committee, if one exists, is typically charged with acting on behalf of the board when the board is not in session and cannot be easily convened. It is, however, accountable to the full board and should not be permitted to operate as a “mini-board.” The chair’s primary duty is typically to preside over board meetings and to act as a liaison between the board and the chief executive. The chair does not have the power to override decisions of the board. Similarly, the founder may act as the chief executive and run the day to day affairs of the organization. The founder may also sit on the board, but even founders serve at the pleasure of the board. The board has a duty to review the performance and set compensation for the chief executive and if necessary, censure or even terminate the chief executive.Micro-managing Staff. For a non-profit organization with paid staff, once board members demand keys to the organization’s offices and start making direct demands on staff that report to the chief executive, the board has crossed the line. The board’s key duties are to provide oversight and strategic direction, not to meddle in the organization’s day to day affairs. Board members who cross this line are undermining the authority of the chief executive to their own detriment and should be prepared to quit their day jobs. Similarly, staff should not invite micromanagement by asking the board to take on day-to-day tasks that the staff should be handling. The size and budget of smaller organizations necessitates some blurring of these lines, but board members and staff should know their roles and attempt to adhere to them as much as possible.Avoiding The Hard Questions. It is can be uncomfortable to ask tough questions or to disagree with one’s fellow board members. However, group think rarely leads to sound decision-making. Often, the most valuable board members are the ones who, calmly and respectfully, speak their mind. It is important to set a tone that encourages a free exchange of ideas, both good and bad. Open, vigorous discussions about key issues should be encouraged. A board that passes every resolution “unanimously” should evaluate whether it needs to do more to encourage a thoughtful and open discussion.Insufficient Conflict Management. If a conflict of interest is with an insider, their family member or business, its not enough to simply disclose the conflict and have the disinterested directors approve the transaction. In such cases, the disinterested members of the board need to consider alternate arrangements that do not give rise to a conflict of interest. If after considering alternatives, the board still finds the transaction with the insider is in the best interest of the organization, then the board should carefully document the basis for the decision and the fact that the interested director did not participate in the deliberations or vote. The best practice is to follow the procedures outlined in the intermediate sanctions regulations to properly analyze and document the proposed transaction.Lack of Awareness of Laws Governing Tax-Exempts. Directors that hail from the for-profit world often assume nonprofits operate in a less-regulated environment. In reality, the opposite is true. Tax-exempt organizations enjoy an array of tax and other benefits. To ensure those benefits are not exploited, Congress and local governments have imposed additional legal requirements that tax-exempts must follow. It is essential that directors of tax-exempt entities be aware of the various federal, state, and local laws that apply to the organization. Many directors are unaware whether they are governing a private foundation, a public charity, a supporting organization, or another form of tax-exempt entity, all of which are subject to different limits on their activities. Board members should understand, at a minimum, the penalties they face for overpaying key employees or other insiders, for engaging in excessive lobbying or political activities, for accommodating tax shelter transactions, for making egregious bad bargains on behalf of the organization, the impact of failing to pass the public support test, etc. Ongoing board training and orientation for new board members is often the best solution.Operating with Outdated, Inconsistent Governing Documents. Over time, many organizations change their mission and purpose without updating their governing documents. Similarly, many organizations develop governance practices that do not comply with their original governing documents. For example, it is not uncommon to see bylaws that call for voting members although no member votes have ever taken place or bylaws with a term that calls for the cessation of the organization on a date that has long since passed. Frequently, these issues stem from copying another institution’s bylaws without regard to the distinctions between the organizations or current law. Encourage compliance by conducting regular reviews of the governing documents and checking the bylaws before electing additional officers or directors, creating additional committees, adopting amendments, etc.Airing Disagreements Outside the Boardroom. Every board’s motto should be “what happens in the boardroom stays in the boardroom.” Inherent in the duty of loyalty that all board members must adhere to, is an implied duty of confidentiality. Once an issue is settled by board vote, the board members who voted against the majority must present a united front. If a vote is so disagreeable that a board member cannot carry on in this manner, the board member should consider resigning. In extreme cases, if the board member believes the corporation’s rights are being violated, the board member could join together with other like-minded board members to bring a derivative suit to enforce the organization’s rights.Failure to Cultivate Board Diversity. The initial board is typically made up of friends and advisors of the organization’s founder. Over time, the initial board may reach out to their trusted friends and advisors to fill vacancies. This approach to board recruitment can lead to the “usual suspect” syndrome. This is where the same individuals who went to the same schools, belong to the same clubs, and hail from the same neighborhoods and professions are institutionalized onto an organization’s board. If your organization is run by a group of “usual suspects,” consider mixing it up by creating a matrix of skills, experiences, and backgrounds that would add valuable perspectives to the board. Those with law, accounting, and fundraising skills are obvious choices. Substantive mission- related skills are also important. For example, an educational organization may want to recruit a retired teacher or school administrator; whereas, a domestic violence shelter may want to include a policy expert, social worker, or someone who has been a victim of abuse.Plus, Gene Takagi’s excellent additions: Recruiting and Selecting Board Members Without Due Care. We sometimes select friends, relatives, and business associates often because we believe that they will share our vision, support our views, and make meetings pleasant. And sometimes because we can’t find anyone else. We sometimes select influential and wealthy individuals because they will contribute substantial sums to the organization and connect us to their network of other influential and wealthy persons. All of this may be well and good, but only if we make sure that we select directors who are going to attend meetings, provide real oversight, and govern using their independent judgment.Failing to Educate and Motivate Board Members. If we’re not in startup mode, we may be stuck, at least temporarily, with a number of directors who regularly fail to meet their legal duties of care and loyalty. Amidst all the media attention on cases involving intentional misconduct, we should recognize that the vast majority of directors simply don’t understand what they are supposed to be doing and believe that they will not be held accountable for their inaction. It’s up to the president, chair, executive director, and really each board member to correct this lack of understanding. While this may be an ongoing (and seemingly Sisyphean) process, we can make some quick fixes. Set up a basic orientation process. Invite a nonprofit-exempt organizations lawyer to present to the board (directors’ ears tend to perk up when they hear the word “liability”). Regularly send out information to the board about the organization’s major issues (it’s okay to be repetitive if the issues remain outstanding) and how board members might help. Have the board conduct a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis on itself (not just the organization) and create an action plan based on the analysis.Failing to Document Actions Appropriately. Some of us adopt minutes that are virtual transcripts of board meetings. Others adopt minutes that only document actions without any mention of the process or deliberations. What’s proper? Well, it depends. But often what’s most appropriate lies somewhere between these two extremes. Documenting every discussion could create greater exposure for liability and makes it unlikely that minutes will be reviewed except in cases where we are looking for something specific. On the other hand, documenting only actions can result in a loss of institutional knowledge about why certain decisions were made and provide less evidentiary support of a board’s due care in making decisions. Documenting nothing is not an acceptable alternative, but it’s a common problem. Do we incorporate minutes of board committee meetings into our minute books? Do we even have minute books?Failing to Review Program Effectiveness and Efficiency and Take Appropriate Follow-Up Actions. Many of us board members understand that we are fiduciaries and have a responsibility to provide financial oversight. And we “know” that our charities are doing great work because the executive tells us so. But how do we really know this? And if charities exist to provide some sort of public good, and not to maximize profits, isn’t programmatic oversight just as, if not more, important than financial oversight?Failing to Hold Executives (and Nonparticipating Directors) Accountable. This one earned a retweet from NY Times philanthropy correspondent Stephanie Strom. How many of us give regular performance reviews to our executives? Do we just give pats on the back (which we should do whenever deserved) or do we also take a hard look at deficiencies and take corrective actions? Many nonprofits are transitioning to younger, less experienced leaders as the boomers start to retire or move to other positions. Mistakes happen and may happen more often with new leaders. How do we respond to this? Do we document errors in judgment, complaints, abuses of authority? Are we prepared to fire an executive even without malfeasance where he or she is just not getting the job done? And what about removing directors who don’t show up at meetings or otherwise fail to fulfill their governance responsibilities? Tricky stuff, but don’t we need to deal with it?Ellis Carter is a nonprofit lawyer with Caritas Law Group, PC. To contact Ellis, call 602-456-0071 or email us at info@caritaslawgroup.com.

How to Have an Effective Board

The Philanthropy212 Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 12, 2019 18:24

A board can make or break your entire development program. So if you have a weak board or a board that is not involved, un-willing to give, receive, or talk to people, then your program will not go very far. Fundraisers are not equal to donors. Peer to peer fundraising has been proven time & time again to be the most effective way to raise money. So having a strong board gives you that leverage with donors, that their peers are asking them to consider participating in the mission of the organization. Penny Cowden sits down with John Cocoran to talk about strategic recruitment of board members, the difference between governance & management in board roles, and what board trainings/retreats should involve.

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Serving as Effective Board Members

Humanity Matters

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 10, 2019 30:10

Nonprofit organizations depend on the presence and activity of effective board members. Effective board members demonstrate leadership, accountability, and sustainable practices. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/humanitymatters/support

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How to be an Effective Board Member (with Paul White, Governance Ireland)

The CMG Business Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 18, 2019 36:54

In this episode of the CMG Podcast, Tony Cantwell sits down with Paul White, Director & Partner at Governance Ireland. Paul has held Board & Senior Executive roles in France, UK, & Ireland, he is a co-founder and former Executive Director of the Corporate Governance Association of Ireland. He is a board performance evaluator, mediator, business adviser, investor & mentor, with a significant track record in improving board performance effectiveness. Tony chats with Paul about the key components of a successful board. They discuss the keys to becoming an effective member, as well as how boards are structured, what they do and how they work. Key topics include: - What are the first questions he asks when reviewing a board's effectiveness - Common mistakes board make - The duties and responsibilities of directors - The importance of the chair - Effective Board meetings - Board development and succession planning

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Effective Board Meetings (Condo Insider)

ThinkTech Hawaii

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 26, 2019 29:21

Like what you see? Please give generously. http://www.thinktechhawaii.com Mission Accomplished. Join Richard Emery in the studio with guest host Cheryl Franklin as they discuss fascinating points about the condo world in Hawaii. The host for this episode is Cheryl Franklin. The guest for this episode is Richard Emery.

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#022: 3 Qualities Required To Be An Effective Board Member, with Barry Rowan

Boardroom Bound with Alexander Lowry

Play Episode Listen Later May 29, 2019 30:52

How much could you share about the boardroom if you'd been in a board meeting every quarter since you were 26 years old? And what if that started 35+ years ago? Well, that's the story of today's guest: Barry Rowan. From this huge amount of experience, he's learned that to land a board role you need alignment in three areas: Competency -- you must have a certain level of competency to provide a contribution Character -- for a board to function effectively you need trust in one another. Trust builds when people of character work together Chemistry -- you want a board that's constructive and thoughtful and this happens when the chemistry is right Click here to listen now! Subscribe Are you subscribed to my podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode. I’m adding bonus episodes to the mix and if you’re not subscribed there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on those. Click here to subscribe in iTunes! Links mentioned in this episode: Book: View From the Top: An Inside Look at How People in Power See and Shape the World Barry Rowan on LinkedIn Book: Give and Take

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#020: How to Become an Exceptional Board Director Candidate, with Mark Pfister

Boardroom Bound with Alexander Lowry

Play Episode Listen Later May 15, 2019 63:01

How would you like a front row seat for training delivered by one of the leading authorities on Board architecture? Well, then today is your day! Meet Mark Pfister. In today's episode, Mark is giving us a summary of his training on how to become an exceptional board director candidate. Learn the proven and effective steps to plan and implement your Board candidate strategy. Experience how these achievable and focused efforts help you convey the expertise and confidence needed for serious Board Director and Board Advisor consideration. Mark is the author of Across the Board: The Modern Board Architecture Behind an Effective Board of Directors. He has graciously offered five free signed copies of his book to my audience. To be entered into the drawing for one of these copies, please sign up here. Don’t wait another minute, click here to listen in to my interview with the one and only, Mark Pfister! This episode is sponsored by Mark's free newsletter: Across the Board. This monthly Board Director, Board Advisor, C-Level, and Business Newsletter reaches 25,000+ exceptional business leaders in over 65 countries with articles focused on leadership, strategy, and governance topics. You can sign up here. Subscribe & Review in iTunes Are you subscribed to my podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode. I’m adding bonus episodes to the mix and if you’re not subscribed there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on those. Click here to subscribe in iTunes! Liked this episode? I would be really grateful if you'd take 30 seconds to leave an honest review in iTunes. Those reviews help other people find my podcast and they’re also fun for me to go in and read. Plus, I love to give shoutouts on the show to everyone who submits a review. Just click here to review, tap “Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favorite part of the podcast is. Links mentioned in this episode: Connect with Mark on LinkedIn Guide to Becoming an Exceptional Board Director Episode 14: 3 Reasons Qualified Executives Aren't Getting Board Roles, with Sara Faivre Episode 13: Why You Need a Special Resume for Boards, with Matt Craven Episode 2: The Key to Board Success is Service, with Steve Bartlett

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The Why, How, and What of Effective Board Reports?

The Risk Management Association

Play Episode Listen Later May 13, 2019 48:34

Listen to a recording of Steve Minsky's GCOR XIII session on The Why, How, and What of Effective Board Reports.

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SaaStr 161: Brad Feld on Structuring Your SaaS Startup For Scalability, How The Role Of CEO Should Adjust To The Growth Of The Organisation & What Makes The Most Effective Board Members

The Official SaaStr Podcast: SaaS | Founders | Investors

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 5, 2018 32:33

Brad Feld is one of the world’s leading VCs having Co-Founded Foundry Group, Brad has made investments in the likes of Zynga, Makerbot and Fitbit, just to name a few. Brad is also Co-Founder of Techstars, one of the world’s most prominent startup accelerators, whose portfolio companies have raised over $1.3bn in funding. If that wasn’t enough Brad is also a best selling author having co-authoured Venture Deals: Be Smarter Than Your Lawyer and VC and Startup Communities: Building An Entrepreneurial Ecosystem In Your Community. In Today’s Episode You Will Learn: How Brad made his way into the world of VC and came to found Foundry Group? Brad has previously stated that companies can be segmented into 3 different core components? What does he mean by this? How can startups be structured internally for scalability? Why does Brad hate the word culture? How should culture be viewed and approach internally within startups? How has Brad seen his personal development with regards to being a board member? What has he got better at? What does he believe makes a great board member? Why is CAC the easiest metric to game in SaaS? How should the CAC/LTV ratio be approached? How can entrepreneurs use this to attract VC investment? If you would like to find out more about the show and the guests presented, you can follow us on Twitter here: Jason Lemkin Harry Stebbings SaaStr Brad Feld If you have a digital product, whether it’s mobile or web, Amplitude’s product analytics helps you understand what your users are doing, iterate and ship product faster, and drive metrics like engagement and retention. To learn how you can use analytics to build a sticky product that grows your business, get your free copy of the Product Analytics Playbook from Amplitude. This 155-page book (with worksheets) will help you develop a comprehensive retention strategy for your product — just click here to download. User education is one of the most powerful ways to increase engagement and retention at scale, yet is often put in the too hard basket. Elevio is the platform that removes this burden, empowering your users to self-serve contextually relevant help via their support widget and embeddable elements, increasing retention and engagement, while reducing support load. Elevio even tells you what content to add or fix and why based on usage trends from your users. Preventing content rot, and increasing coverage, which we all know is an ongoing challenge. You can also integrate with your existing support stack for content, access to live-chat, support tickets and more. Use elevio for continuous user education with 20% off your first year at (elev dot I O / saastr) using coupon code GOHARRY

[FFL 235] Secrets of Effective Board Governance with Liz Watson

Power + Presence + Position

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 28, 2017 37:43

With more than 35 years of experience as a lawyer and over 15 as the top advisor to committees and senior executives, Liz Watson was named as one of the Top 100 Influential Women of British Columbia and one of the Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada. She is the president and CEO of the largest governance firm in Canada, WATSON Inc., where they assist with recruitment, organizational framework, feedback to people, and governance training and consulting. Keep Reading >> Liz joins me today to share the secrets of effective board governance and how good management affects corporations, communities and, ultimately, countries. She explains how her company helps organizations perform better and shares some game-changing principles that would undoubtedly take your governance to the next level. “Good governance means we have smart people. We are aligned on where we’re going. We know who makes decisions about what. And we have processes set up that we can make really good decisions on the board level. ” - Liz Watson Today on the Fierce Feminine Leadership Podcast: How Liz got started in her line of work The definition of governance The primary role of the board of directors Why corporations have more impact than governments in many cases How governance changed since 2001 What Governing With Intention is and how it came to be Vital principles in Governing With Intention and why they matter How these principles affect and shape her as an entrepreneur Factors that contributed to her success Liz’s Advice for Fierce Feminine Leaders: The relationship between the board and the management team is so important in figuring out how they make decisions together. Speak up about matters you feel strongly about. As you deliver smart and top-notch content, make sure it’s also presented beautifully. Connect with Liz Watson: Watson Website Dial-Up Your Impact, Influence, and Income in 2018 Are you ready to take your leadership and influence to the next level in 2018? Join the Impact & Influence Leadership Lab for Women with Eleanor Beaton – the world’s premier leadership training and implementation program designed specifically for female leaders! This is an 8-week mentoring program for professional, ambitious women in business who are ready to take their leadership skills to the next level and truly step into their power. Visit the Leadership Lab for Women website to see all of the amazing content, tools, and services you will receive by registering today to claim your seat at the table! Find Your Voice. Change Your World!  Do you want to be a confident, influential leader that others highly look up to and promote in your industry? If you aspire to have your voice and your message heard as a respected influencer, do not miss this 3-day leadership retreat Your Million Dollar Message: Find Your Voice, Craft Your Strategy, Change the World that’s happening on March 23, 2018 in Phoenix, Arizona! Grab your early bird tickets today by registering at YourMillionDollarMessageRetreat.com. Love the show? Let us know!  Are you a fan of the Fierce Feminine Leadership Podcast? If the tips and interviews we share in each episode have helped you gain the confidence and inspiration to become a better, more powerful leader, head on over to iTunes, subscribe to the show and leave your honest review to let us know! Each month, one lucky podcast reviewer will be selected to receive a free coaching session with me – Eleanor Beaton! What are you waiting for? Head on over to iTunes, subscribe and leave a review to enter your name into this month’s drawing!  And, if you really want to ramp up your fierceness… Reach out to us for a free 30-minute Bold Women in Business Makeover Session with me or one of the fabulous coaches on my team! Explore your path and discover how you can be the fiercest lady-boss possible. Visit EleanorBeaton.com/Discover.

Building an Effective Board for Family Office Excellence

Effective Family Office Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 18, 2017 47:22

In this episode, Angelo speaks with President and CEO of the Board Bench Company's (Board Bench®), Nancy May, who delves into how to build an effective board for your single family office that breeds excellence and the highest standard.

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S2E30: How To Cultivate a Great Nonprofit CEO & Board Chair Relationship // Bob Andringa

The Flourishing Culture Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 5, 2017 36:48

What can a ministry's Senior Leader and Board Chair do to better their working relationship and thus increase the health of an organization's culture? "A well-functioning board is the single-most important variable for any ministry that wants to achieve its mission." So says Bob Andringa, who has made a career out of helping boards and executive leaders succeed simultaneously. Today, he'll help us identify and optimize the best possible relationship between a board chair and the senior executive of a Christian ministry organization. As Managing Partner of The Andringa Group and Network Life, Bob has worked with more than 300 faith-based organizations. He and his colleague Fred Laughlin are co-authors of the book, Good Governance for Nonprofits: Developing Principles and Policies for an Effective Board. Bob and his wife, Sue, make their home in the sunny community of Scottsdale, Arizona. Find the full show notes at http://blog.bcwinstitute.org/s2e30-bob-andringa.

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SaaStr 112: Brad Feld on Structuring Your SaaS Startup For Scalability, How The Role Of CEO Should Adjust To The Growth Of The Organisation & What Makes The Most Effective Board Members

The Official SaaStr Podcast: SaaS | Founders | Investors

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 10, 2017 31:11

Brad Feld is one of the world’s leading VCs having Co-Founded Foundry Group, Brad has made investments in the likes of Zynga, Makerbot and Fitbit, just to name a few. Brad is also Co-Founder of Techstars, one of the world’s most prominent startup accelerators, whose portfolio companies have raised over $1.3bn in funding. If that wasn’t enough Brad is also a best selling author having co-authoured Venture Deals: Be Smarter Than Your Lawyer and VC and Startup Communities: Building An Entrepreneurial Ecosystem In Your Community. In Today’s Episode You Will Learn: How Brad made his way into the world of VC and came to found Foundry Group? Brad has previously stated that companies can be segmented into 3 different core components? What does he mean by this? How can startups be structured internally for scalability? Why does Brad hate the word culture? How should culture be viewed and approach internally within startups? How has Brad seen his personal development with regards to being a board member? What has he got better at? What does he believe makes a great board member? Why is CAC the easiest metric to game in SaaS? How should the CAC/LTV ratio be approached? How can entrepreneurs use this to attract VC investment? If you would like to find out more about the show and the guests presented, you can follow us on Twitter here: Jason Lemkin Harry Stebbings SaaStr Brad Feld

Mastering the Governance Foxtrot: Effective Board/ED Relations

From Our Vantage Point

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 16, 2016 17:09

This month's podcast guest, Kathi Irvine, gets out her dance shoes to walk us through the steps of Mastering the Governance Foxtrot: Effective Board/ED Relations. Kathi is a long-time knowledge philanthropist here at Vantage Point and a skilled consultant and facilitator. She is Co-Founding Partner of Watershed Organizational Development Group Inc., where she supports for-profit and not-for-profit organizations with strategic planning, leadership development, knowledge transfer and succession planning. Kathi has brought her skill in not-for-profit governance to her own board role with Big Brothers of Greater Vancouver, as well as to many of her own client organizations. From our Vantage Point is brought to you by Humanity Financial Management, a Chartered Accounting firm dedicated to helping Canadian not-for-profit, charitable and social enterprises build capacity for strong internal financial management.

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#112: This Week in the Boardroom 11/10/2011

This Week in the Boardroom

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 10, 2011 15:46

Building an Effective Board, TK Kerstetter, President, Corporate Board Member, Linda Rebrovick, Director & Nom/Gov Chair, HealthStream

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Special Encore Presentation: Effective Board Governance and Development

Play Episode Listen Later May 25, 2011 58:13

This week's class is a real life, modern day version of “The Art of Practice,” Is there really a way to balance the complexities of modern living with the simplicity of spiritual knowing and being? It's a look at ancient traditions and contemporary practices. Tune in for a class filled with information, discussion, and practical resources for the modern day mystic. I want to hear from you. Call in live, toll free, with your questions/comments at 1-866-472-5795.

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Special Encore Presentation: Effective Board Governance and Development

This Week in the Boardroom

Play Episode Listen Later May 25, 2011 58:13

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#086: This Week in the Boardroom 05/12/2011

Play Episode Listen Later May 12, 2011 13:45

Becoming an Effective Board, TK Kerstetter, President, Corporate Board Member, Larry Thompson, Former SVP GC and Secretary, PepsiCo Inc.

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#084: This Week in the Boardroom 04/28/2011

This Week in the Boardroom

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 28, 2011 18:05

Building an Effective Board in Today's Environment, TK Kerstetter, President, Corporate Board Member, Scott Cutler, EVP, NYSE Euronext, Julie Daum, Co-leader, Board and CEO Practice, Spencer Stuart

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Special Encore Presentation: Effective Board Governance and Development

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 6, 2011 54:05

Service on a nonprofit board is commendable and can be a rewarding experience. One of the many reasons people serve on nonprofit boards is the desire to contribute to the achievement of the mission and influence the direction of the organization. Board of directors are charged with providing oversight to ensure an organization's policies, strategic direction, financial solvency, and executive leadership support successful accomplishment of an organization's mission. Engaged board members that are effective in carrying out their duties and responsibilities can make a critical difference to the success of an organization. On today's show, our guests, Vernon Evans, CFO and Vice President of Finance/Treasurer of the San Diego County Regional Air Port Authority and Mike Burns, Partner with BWB Solutions, LLC in Branford, CT and Dwight Smith, Executive VP and General Counsel with Neighborhood House Association will share their experiences and discuss best practices for board governance; engagement; roles and responsibilities; board development; setting a strategic direction and making policy versus managing operations; and functioning as a high performing entity.

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Special Encore Presentation: Effective Board Governance and Development

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 6, 2011 54:05

leadership board development governance business networks board governance special encore presentation effective board internet talk voiceamerica business channel

Special Encore Presentation: Effective Board Governance and Development

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 9, 2011 54:05

Service on a nonprofit board is commendable and can be a rewarding experience. One of the many reasons people serve on nonprofit boards is the desire to contribute to the achievement of the mission and influence the direction of an organization. Board of directors are charged with providing oversight to ensure an organization's policies, strategic direction, financial solvency, and executive leadership support successful accomplishment of an organization's mission. Engaged board members that are effective in carrying out their duties and responsibilities can make a critical difference to the success of an organization. On today's show, our guests, Vernon Evans, CFO and Vice President of Finance/Treasurer of the San Diego County Regional Air Port Authority, Dwight Smith, Esq., Legal Counsel with Neighborhood House Association, and Mike Burns, Partner with BWB Solutions, LLC in Branford, CT will share their experiences and discuss best practices for board governance; engagement; roles and responsibilities; board development; setting a strategic direction and making policy versus managing operations; and functioning as a high performing entity.

leadership service partner vice president board development llc cfo engaged esq legal counsel business networks branford mike burns board governance special encore presentation effective board dwight smith internet talk voiceamerica business channel

Special Encore Presentation: Effective Board Governance and Development

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 9, 2011 54:05

leadership development business networks board governance special encore presentation effective board internet talk voiceamerica business channel

Effective Board Governance and Development

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 26, 2011 54:05

Service on a nonprofit board is commendable and can be a rewarding experience. One of the many reasons people serve on nonprofit boards is the desire to contribute to the achievement of the mission and influence the direction of the organization. Board of directors are charged with providing oversight to ensure an organization's policies, strategic direction, financial solvency, and executive leadership support successful accomplishment of an organization's mission. Engaged board members that are effective in carrying out their duties and responsibilities can make a critical difference to the success of an organization. On today's show, our guests, Vernon Evans, CFO and Vice President of Finance/Treasurer of the San Diego County Regional Air Port Authority and Mike Burns, Partner with BWB Solutions, LLC in Branford, CT will share their experiences and discuss best practices for board governance; engagement; roles and responsibilities; board development; setting a strategic direction and making policy versus managing operations; and functioning as a high performing entity.

leadership service partner vice president board development llc cfo engaged business networks branford mike burns board governance internet talk radio effective board voiceamerica business channel

Effective Board Governance and Development