For anyone who’s part of a governing board for an organization started a generation or more ago, this is the book for you. The authors give expression to the obvious: organizations which have huge representative boards to please a broad client base with an untenable menu of services, will be passed up by nimble, focused organizations giving high-quality services to a specific membership profile.
The solutions offered in the book include:
- Start with governance: any decision-making board with over 5-7 members sacrifices decision-making effectiveness for an illusion of being “representative.” Associations should quickly drop their unwieldy, inefficient, and expensive large governing boards.
- Overhaul committees: committees should be few, focused, and led by staff rather than volunteers who spend massive hours creating recommendations unconnected from those immersed in the day-to-day life of the organization: the staff.
- Empower CEO and enhance staff: The staff should be carefully selected and then fully empowered to move the organization forward based on the vision and guidance of the governing board. They should not be micro-managed by the board.
- Rationalize Member Market: This one recognizes that availability of wide-spread communication today requires specialization. Organizations need to narrow, not broaden, their membership criteria so that they can better serve the members they have.
- Rationalize Programs Services and Activities: Instead of adding a long menu of low-impact services for members, associations should offer a narrow list of “home run” services members can’t live without.
- Bridge the Technology Gap: Instead of worrying about the least innovative members, associations should invest heavily into using technology to attract and service the most creative and valuable members of their membership.
This book is a breath of fresh air for those trapped in associations designed a generation ago. The authors offer sound reasons for their solutions and practical suggestions for transforming an association from being outdated to relevant.
Related posts:
- Friday Book Review: Spin-Off Churches: How One Church Successfully Plants Another by Rodney Harrison, Tom Cheyney, and Don Overstreet, 4 Stars
- Friday Book Review: A Multi-Site Church Road-trip: Exploring the New Normal by Geoff Surratt, Greg Ligon, Warren Bird, 4 Stars
- Friday Book Review: Taking Your Church to the Next level by Gary L. McIntosh, 4 Stars
- Friday Book Review: The Nuts and Bolts of Church Planting by Aubrey Malphurs, 4 Stars
Interesting and I can share many real examples of any of these traits listed above!