Strategic planning is easy. It is a commodity. Anyone can write a document and label it ‘strategic plan.’ The real art lies in execution. Many people have great ideas that if they put any one of the ideas into action, they would be rich. The fact that we have a few successful people, it means the art of strategy execution is missing. One time, while reviewing a strategic plan for an organization, it had very ambitious plans and ‘pillars’ of their strategy, with clear budgets. But when it came to financing, they indicated a funding gap of over 40%! They…
What makes a good meeting agenda
The general culture of most meetings is backward. When it comes to board meetings, it is absurd. Lots of board meeting time, limited outcomes. For effective governance, this must change. Many organization’s board meetings agenda are distributed wrongly: (i) status updates – 80%; (ii) strategy discussions – 10% and (iii) administration issues – 10%! In the above agenda, boards or meetings spend a lot of time discussing history. If the results are bad, a lot of time is wasted in pointing figures and firefighting. No company grows by focusing on negative things. History is good as far as learning from…
Do you prepare for board meetings?
All board members should come to the meeting well briefed. You have probably witnessed a board meeting where members are not adequately prepared to make a meaningful contribution. As members enter the boardroom, they find board paper files on the desk. As the chairman calls the meeting to order, the board member is busy reading through the board papers! One wonders what kind of contribution can such a board member make. At one of the boards, the board chair required members to book contribution space on any item on the agenda. This forced members to read the board packs. During…
Why you must get a copy of the “How to get on the board book”…
Are you too good to be great? “You will be the same person 5 years from now except for two things: the books you read and the people you meet.” Who said that powerful statement? When it comes to leadership, which books are you reading? Get a copy of Mustapha B Mugisa’s new book on corporate governance and transform. The book provides practical insights for your career and leadership growth. In the next paragraph, find a review of the book by Paul Busharizi, as published on Amazon, How-Board-Become-Fantastic-Director-ebook, to appreciate the what value you could be missing. “Starting a business is…
The primary role of the board explained
The board’s primary mandate is to provide strategic guidance that includes strategic direction and strategic oversight. Strategic direction roles focus on identifying the strategic bullseye – the ambition or vision or aspiration of the organization. Set a vision, mission, enterprise scorecard and a strategy to achieve them. Thereafter, monitor for effective execution. Now Available on Amazon: 7 tools of an effective board member Strategic oversight role focus on risk management and compliance for effective monitoring and control. Every organization must comply with the following: Laws and regulations – these are stated, and or national laws that are enacted by the parliament. Regulations…
Is your board empowering you?
The issue Majority of Board members add little impact on the organizations they serve. Even worse, they act counter-intuitive to their mandate. In the end, they add minimal, if any impact on the organizations. Many board members bring dysfunction as their practices make it difficult for executive management to do their work. The cause Few board members have clarity of their role and mandate of the board. My personal experience is that it is difficult for a board member to make an impact in any company if the majority board members lack adequate skills, training, and exposure on the role…
