Issue No. 28 of Your Weekly Staff Meeting is about BHAGs and the board bucket. Peter Drucker said that all boards have one thing in common—they do not function. Perhaps we’ve set the bar too low on what we can expect from our board members. Buy this book as a resource for both your staff and board members. And as I mentioned last week, delegate your reading. Ask a team member to review this book at a future staff meeting.
59 Answers to Your Board Questions
Should senior staff members attend board meetings? Do small boards operate differently than large boards? What is the board’s role in fundraising? How can we recruit more effective board members?
This week’s book, Nonprofit Board Answer Book, is one of the best board governance resources for board members, CEOs and senior staff. Authors Bob Andringa and Ted Engstrom give 59 answers to the 59 most pressing board problems. When the expanded edition was released with 25 additional topics, I commented, “Board meetings will be 25 percent shorter this decade, thanks to Bob and Ted!”
Engstrom is now enjoying board governance in heaven (he passed away in 2006 at age 90). Andringa is the managing partner of The Andringa Group, a network of consultants that includes yours truly. Bob has consulted with more than 300 boards over the years. His in-the-trenches board best practices are evident on every page.
Your Weekly Staff Meeting Questions:
#1. Do our staff members have a clear understanding of the roles and responsibilities of our board?
#2. Tell us about a board member you know that embodies the best characteristics of an effective board member—and why.
Big Holy Audacious Goals: Insights from the Management Buckets Workshop Experience
Jim Collins introduced BHAGs (Big Hairy Audacious Goals) to the management world in his book, Built to Last. Many Christian organizations and churches now create Big Holy Audacious Goals. Does your organization have one?
NASA had a strategic vision in the 1960s, “To put a man on the moon by 1970 and bring him safely back.” A BHAG, or a strategic vision, is a short-term target (two to five years) that is in sync with your mission statement and excites your board, staff, donors, volunteers and all stakeholders.
Big goal statements must meet the S.M.A.R.T. test. BHAGs should be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-dated. Example: “To recruit 1,000 churches who will host our Hunger Program Workshop by 2009.”
In our Management Buckets Workshop Experience, we discuss BHAGs during the Results Bucket segment and help you integrate it with the 20 Critical Competencies Required for Leading and Managing Today’s Nonprofit Organization.
Email me reserve space in the May 9-10 Management Buckets workshop or the May 11 Nonprofit Board Governance workshop, both planned for Orange County, California.
Your Weekly Staff Meeting Questions:
#1. Does our organization have a BHAG or a strategic vision that is SMART?
#2. Does the strategic vision capture the imagination of our inside circle?
Click here for the original copy of Your Weekly Staff Meeting for March 12, 2007. Subscribe to this FREE eNews.
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