Articles by Michael Goldsworthy

Transferring and Securing Wisdom and Knowledge: A Mission Critical Activity For All Leaders

An unquantifiable amount of individually accumulated knowledge and wisdom will be lost if the current long term directors, chief executive officers and executives of not-for-profits, no matter what industry or sector they operate within, fail to transfer and secure this most precious resource. Demographic research, statistics and observation tell us that the generational scales have tipped, Generation X (1965-1980) and millennials (1981-1996) are on the rise, whilst baby boomers (1946-1964) are past the tipping point and are on the decline; a transition from one generation to the next.

Strategic Planning Principles and Practices

Accepting a position as a director requires a willingness to personally grow and develop one’s governance and leadership skills, experience and knowledge, and a commitment to allocating the necessary time to fulfil directors’ corporate governance roles and responsibilities. Strategic leadership is one of the four overarching governance responsibilities of a board; the most well-known manifestation of a board’s strategic leadership is the development and driving of a strategic plan, in partnership with the chief executive officer (CEO) and executives/senior managers.

The Journey To A Customer Driven Marketplace

Do you have a strong understanding of the fundamentals of Good Governance? Does your board and executive understand what it needs to do to win in the new customer driven marketplace? The strategic and organisational impacts and implications of the new customer-driven, competitive marketplace are profound. Never before and probably never again will the boards, chief executive officers and senior managers of Australian community businesses (NFPs) face such a cataclysmic shift in the way they need to think, behave and operate.

Customer-Centric Governance… Customer is King, Cashflow is Queen

In a challenging, competitive customer-driven environment Customer-Centric Governance is critical for boards to adopt to ensure their organisation keeps on winning in the future. The need to balance and integrate ‘heads and hearts’ with ‘business and service’ is becoming increasingly more challenging, yet more compelling for directors, chief executive officers and executives (leadership teams) of community businesses (NFPs). Integrating and balancing an organisation’s business objectives and outcomes in the new customer-driven, competitive marketplace with existing or future service objectives and outcomes is a tough call, particularly given that many leadership teams remain oriented to the government-funded welfare mentality and approach.

Adaptive Governance… Transformational Leadership

For boards of community businesses (NFPs) the move to a customer-driven, competitive marketplace is a radical departure from their known industry/sector context to which they and their management team were perfectly adapted. When any industry or sector undergoes a radical paradigm shift, it presents all boards, chief executive officers and executive teams with the dilemma of: do we disrupt our organisation, that is seriously transform our organisation, re-engineer our business model and reinvent our culture to ensure we are part of the new paradigm?

Disrupt or Be Disrupted ... The Six Leadership Challenges of the New Customer-Driven Competitive Marketplace

The strategic and organisational impacts and implications of the new customer-driven, competitive marketplace of human services are profound. Never before and probably never again will the boards, chief executive officers and senior managers of Australian community businesses (NFPs) face such a cataclysmic shift in the way they need to think, behave and operate. The shift from a government-funded, welfare paradigm to a customer-driven, competitive market paradigm should not be underestimated – there are immense strategic and organisational challenges as well as significant opportunities.

I’m Late, I’m Late, for a Very Important Date!

I’m late, I’m late, for a very important date! No time to say hello, goodbye “It must be awfully important, like a party or something”, said Alice. “No, no, no, I’m overdue, I’m really in a stew, not time to say goodbye, hello, I’m really, really late!”, said the White Rabbit to Alice as he read his pocket watch and ran along the woodland path and entered his burrow.1

To Pay or Not To Pay? Board Remuneration

Board remuneration is a tricky conundrum for many not-for-profit organisations. Michael Goldsworthy shares a framework that all directors considering this option, need to consider. To pay or not to pay? This is a defining question that increasing numbers of directors of community businesses – or not-for-profits – are thinking about and discussing as boards, as the intensity of risk and responsibility is balanced against the rewards (see the ‘Triple R’ model below).