Work with a client recently indicated the need to periodically review and update purchasing policies.  In this case, standard focus was on “products” and procedure for dealing with expenditures meeting a cost threshold.  The policy was fine but limited and did not directly cover the issue of “services” or an request for proposal process, rather than a simple purchase cost bid.  Involving board members in a work group to review bids above a certain threshold is fine, provided that the known cost surpasses the stated threshold.

Dealing with services is a bit murkier.  Say that your organization wants to purchase some financial review services.  You may know what the goals of this review are but you may not know what these types of reviews would cost.  What happens if your policy says to review purchases over $10,000 but you don’t know if bids for the services will surpass $10,000?  It is much easier for staff to research likely cost of certain products than a range of professional services, especially if the type of service sought has not been purchased before, is tailored to a specific analytical or technical assistance need or is simply an altogether rare type of service.

One idea is to consider the significance of the service being sought and the value of a higher quality screening and decision process that board involvement could bring, rather than focus on a cost threshold alone. In this case, policy and procedure language might cover the notion that “a bid review committee will be established to approve the RFP, review and rank bids when such review provides needed multifaceted perspectives when the proposals for services being sought are likely to have significant subjective aspects and where range of anticipated costs are uncertain.”

A slightly different angle to take concerning annual goal setting focuses on relationships. To get started, think about your role on the board and what you are expected to accomplish.  Undoubtedly, your probabilities for success will increase with new and strengthened relationships. Here are some questions to consider.

1)      Who on the board itself can you learn more from?

2)      Which professional in the community has expertise that will benefit you in your board role?

3)      What professional or other volunteer association type group can you access to promote the community value of your organization – do you know a person that you can get to know that could help you do this?

4)      Which other person in the community that you know or know of that you believe has a perspective on board work that you can learn from to help you do a better job on the board?

Think a little more deeply about what you might accomplish with these relationships, what types of things you will be able to do better with the knowledge, support and connections you might attain.   Great, now you have set four goals for the new year.  Think for a moment how to reach out and start conversations with these four people and you have an initial set of strategies to reach your goals.  Give yourself some deadlines to get through this first part Congratulations, you have an action plan and are well on your way to a more successful 2012!

Please skip this entry if you work in the U.S. and already performed a “what we a thankful for” exercise in observance of the recent Thanksgiving holiday.

At the end of the calendar year, it is traditional to hold an annual meeting and release an annual report that, among other things, lists major accomplishments.  In light of the continued economic doldrums and ongoing imperfections and adversities facing humans, I suggest that it is helpful to occasionally build some sense of shared well being within your board and your support staff.  Let’s call it the Blessing Counting Quiz. 

This is a collective exercise, to be performed spontaneously at the end of the last business meeting of the year, perhaps before launching into a year-end reception/party/community open house or just getting out of town for the holidays.   Please don’t cheat by opening the annual report, using smart phone web browsing or asking staff for numbers – just speak from your memory and your heart.

1)      What services do we continue to provide that the community needs – how are we assured that we provide value to those for whom we care?

2)      How have we touched lives in a positive way – what stories tell us we are on the right path?

3)      What has gone right on our board, whether ongoing or new?

4)      What have our staff done that makes us proud?

5)      Why do we continue to feel good about serving on this board?

BONUS QUESTION

6)      What do we hope to contribute individually and as a board, so that we can have more and better blessings to count at this time next year? (oops, didn’t fool you by sneaking in the New Year’s resolution question, did I?)

I recently witnessed a small board wrestling with a new opportunity.  The new opportunity was well within the general mission of the organization but a large part of the organization’s identify was not “what” it would do but “how” it would do it.  This is a situation where perhaps the values and guiding principles were equally important to the outcomes being sought. 

Usually, the ends justify the means…assuming those means are legal, ethical and otherwise appropriate.  So getting the “what” accomplished is usually more important than “how” it is done and going “outside the box” is a good thing.  Pursuing this new opportunity meant taking a risk, that going outside the preferred box might mean never going home, never quite getting back in the box.  Sometimes staying in the box, or maintaining a preferred organizational culture, is the highest value.  Failing while “doing things our way” can sometimes generate a greater sense of dignity and worth than doing things somebody else’s way.

So, the board took the risk and pursued the new opportunity.  Only time will tell if this brings long term progress for the organization, whether it can still get back to its preferred box home, the way of doing things that helped generate the organization in the first place.  This journey might also generate a new sense of value, changing the core identity of the organization.  But is that necessarily a bad thing?