A good board: a Moment for Tomorrow
A traditional board programme can be practically almost worthless to the owners of an SME. A necessary evil, a rubber stamp. The alternative is to create a value-adding board that sets aside time and attention and takes care of tomorrow.
A working year is roughly 40 weeks of regular season plus a few holidays. In that time the organisation should 1) secure the result, 2) do all the agreed work, 3) win and create growth, 4) stretch to the dimensions growth requires and 5) lead and look after people well. No wonder sustainable growth is rare.
What if the owner invested about eight working days in a good board process (preparation and encounters), an hour a week in conversations, 20–40 hours a year in total, and made sure the business spends at least one Moment for Tomorrow every month?
How does a good board look ahead and create tomorrow’s value?
- By securing or facilitating a clear owner strategy.
- By making a good strategy for three years together with the different parties.
- By approving the annual plans created by management and following, for example, the success and progress of development projects.
- By reflecting on the company’s leadership and strengthening the team together with the different parties to secure growth.
- By organising sparring on different themes and taking part in the active development of the business.
Board work is a people game. It tries to get the best out of very different people. That is why systemic leadership, based on plans, sparring on them, and noticing and correcting deviations, is the best way to run a business.
Owner, order yourself a good board and demand work on behalf of tomorrow. Looking ahead succeeds when 1) the plans are good, 2) their implementation is followed, 3) the agenda of encounters looks ahead, 4) deviations are addressed and 5) cooperation and work are continuously versioned forward.
By Ville Tolvanen. Originally published in Finnish: Hyvä hallitus – Hetki huomiselle.. More in English: Aura Boards — start here.
