Table of Contents
The Carver Policy Governance Guide Series
Praise
Title Page
Copyright Page
CARVER GUIDE
Policy Governance in a Nutshell
Ends at the Beginning
The Ownership
Conclusion
About the Authors
The Carver Policy Governance Guide Series
The Policy Governance Model and the Role of the Board Member
A Carver Policy Governance Guide, Revised and Updated
Ends and the Ownership
A Carver Policy Governance Guide, Revised and Updated
The Governance of Financial Management
A Carver Policy Governance Guide, Revised and Updated
Adjacent Leadership Roles: CGO and CEO
A Carver Policy Governance Guide, Revised and Updated
Evaluating CEO and Board Performance
A Carver Policy Governance Guide, Revised and Updated
Implementing Policy Governance and Staying on Track
A Carver Policy Governance Guide, Revised and Updated
Praise for the Policy Governance Model
“Reading these guides is a great way to start your journey towards excellence in governance. All the essentials are there, short but clear. And these six guides will also prove to be an excellent GPS device along the way.”
—Jan Maas, PG consultant, Harmelen, The Netherlands
“The guides are a great way to introduce busy board members to the basic principles of Policy Governance. Their bite-size approach is inviting, covering the entire model, albeit in less detail, without overwhelming the reader. They are succinct and easy to read, including practical points of application for board members. Consultants asked to recommend initial reading about the model can do no better than these guides.”
—Jannice Moore, president, The Governance Coach™, Calgary, Canada
“Boards introduced to Policy Governance quickly become hungry for information but are short on time. These guides help board members quickly absorb the key principles of the Policy Governance model. They are invaluable.”
—Sandy Brinsdon, governance consultant, Christchurch, New Zealand
“For some board leaders the governance elephant is best eaten one bite at a time. The Carver Policy Governance Guide series provides a well-seasoned morsel of understanding in a portion that is easily digested.”
—Phil Graybeal, Ed.D., Graybeal and Associates, LLC, Greer, South Carolina
“Would you or your board benefit from a quick overview of essential governance concepts from the world’s foremost experts on the topic, John and Miriam Carver? Thanks to their new six-booklet series, you can quickly familiarize or refresh yourself with the principles that make Policy Governance the most effective system of governance in existence. These booklets are the perfect solution for board members who are pressed for time but are dedicated to enhancing their own governance skills.”
—Dr. Brian L. Carpenter, CEO, National Charter Schools Institute, United States
CARVER GUIDE
All organizations exist on someone’s behalf. We don’t mean the persons they exist to benefit, though it is possible for these to be the same people. A large group, such as a community, could decide to have an organization that benefits a small group, such as people without literacy skills. Or a small group, such as members of a particular church, could decide to have an organization to benefit a large group, such as impoverished people in developing countries. In these instances, the community and the church membership are akin to shareholders, that is, owners of the respective organizations. The boards are stewards on behalf of the community and the church membership. And in fulfilling that trust or stewardship, the board clarifies whose lives shall be benefited or changed, and which part of the life experience of a targeted population will be different than it might otherwise have been. And since resources are always limited, the board expects the operating organization to yield enough of that result to be worth what the effort costs.
We all know these things; they aren’t new insights. And yet we are all also accustomed to organizations, particularly nonprofit and governmental organizations, being somewhat unclear or even confused about who, for them, are equivalent to shareholders and, for them, what the difference in beneficiaries’ lives should be. This is odd, since surely the only way we can tell if an organization is even worth existing is by ascertaining if, in light of owners’ values, it makes enough of the right difference for the right people to justify its cost.
By contrast, many organizations are very clear about what they do, that is, about what keeps the staff busy. For many organizations, it appears that being busy at commendable activity is the test of organizational worth, and being effective is disregarded. Yet we must know that being busy is not the same as being effective at making the right difference for the right people at the right cost or priority. How odd that we confound being busy with being effective. And how odd that sometimes, in an activity-focused world, simply being busy comes to be treated as if it is, in fact, a result! So having a new program up and running for the planned expense, processing a number of clients through the clinic per dollar, or having so many children in a swimming class for the expected per-child cost are treated as effectiveness. Programs and activities that can demonstrate cost-busyness are treated as if they have demonstrated cost-effectiveness. Distinguishing between what an organization is for and what it does is a basic feature of the Policy Governance model. This feature is the ends-means distinction.
