Important Days in History (of 21inc, at least)

In 10 years time we could look back at last Friday as an important day.

A working group of four 21inc board members and myself met in Fredericton for an all day planning session to look at our governance model.

Our governance structure is by no means broken. But given our growth and future goals, to quote Marshall Goldsmith, what got us here won’t get us there. With the blessing of the board at large we set out to review, renew, and reshape how the board supports, guides and propels 21inc’s mission.

This time we had the benefit of two previous iterations of what 21inc’s governance structure should be. Some things really worked from those efforts, others didn’t. Perhaps the biggest change is our need to formalize roles and lines of responsibility. All start-ups depend upon informal communications. The founders have a close relationships and a shared vision – usually found in their heads and not on paper. The early phases of an organization emphasize entrepreneurship and creativity, testing various products and approaches until something sticks.

Once something sticks the organization focuses energy there and efficiencies are found. We’re in between phases. We know areas that need consolidation while others are still in the test & validate stage. We defined these areas on Friday and put in place a structure to support both the emergence of formal structures, and support for continued creative output.

We're also much more comfortable than we used to be with the idea of continuous improvement. It seems every non-profit (and for-profit, for that matter) is dealing with some kind of governance issue. I have yet to hear about or see a structure that is perfect. Organizations are human institutions and will never run like machines (and should not). They will always need methodical and strategic stewardship with an organizers touch.

What we designed on Friday will not preclude future change. It will give more direction. It allows for more effective delegation and autonomy. And in 18-36 months we might need to do it all over again.