Strategy & Risk

Integrating ESG into Not-for-Profits: Managing Risks and Opportunities

Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategies and practices have become important aspects for Not-For-Profits (NFPs). The three ESG pillars are not only essential in risk management but have also been seen as emerging considerations for growth and opportunities. The three pillars of ESG are: “E” - the Environmental aspects. This refers to the NFP’s environmental impact and environmental stewardship. “S” - the Social aspects. This refers to how the NFP manages relationships with, and creates value for, stakeholders - including the interaction with its employees, beneficiaries, and the community.

The Board and Risk Management

We remain in the midst of a global pandemic. We have all had to think, respond and behave differently as a result. Things that we took for granted before 2020 are no longer possible or require a different approach. Our expectations have changed. Our priorities have changed. The pandemic has created uncertainty for us all. This is in addition to other factors that create uncertainty in our environment, business and personal worlds.

Unlocking the Power of Strategic Thinking and Planning

How do you think and plan strategically to address complex missions while balancing resource and workforce constraints? It’s an important question for the non-profit, philanthropy and social enterprise sector. Being strategic appears to be critical if organisations wish to be sustainable and improve employee and client outcomes, yet many non-profit leaders and staff frequently say that they can’t find the time to think or plan strategically. Clever organisations are overcoming this problem by instilling strategic thinking within their organisational culture.

Developing Deeper and More Strategic Partnerships with Business: A Framework for Moving Forward

Corporations are now interested in social sector partnerships for much more strategic reasons than they have been in the past. How can NFP CEOs take advantage of this trend? For years NFPs have been partnering with corporations, tapping into resources via their philanthropic and social responsibility agendas. However, we are now seeing the emergence of strategic relationships driven by the pressure on companies to find new sources of shareholder value, and this presents game-changing opportunities for NFPs.

Listen: Take Notice of and Act on What Someone Says

“First of all,” he said, “if you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you’ll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view …until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.”1 Many of us have been consumers and carers. Whether it’s shopping, queuing for an event, visiting a GP, picking kids up after school, or supporting an ageing parent.

Keeping it Simple by Emphasising Purpose

Complexity abounds in modern organisations, including in their boards. Many organisations – of all sizes – are run as if they are bureaucracies, with lots of hierarchy and lots of organisational rules. Of course, some hierarchy and some rules can be appropriate and can help organisations achieve their missions. However, there is an increasing trend towards challenging bureaucracies from thought leaders such as Ricardo Semler of Brazilian company Semco; Frederic Laloux and his influential book Reinventing Organizations; and Yves Morieux of Boston Consulting Group and his six rules for simplifying organisations.

The Three-Wheel Framework of Customer-Centricity

We are now living in a world where customers have more choices than ever before and organisations face the challenge of distinguishing themselves from the dozens of nearly identical providers, products and services. Adopting a customer-centric approach is one approach to tackling this test for organisations. What is customer-centricity? Customer-centricity refers to the strategy of putting customers front and centre in the organisation’s strategy and activities. Customer-centric organisations are designed from the outside in: defining who the customer is, what they care about, and how they interact with the organisation.

How Innovation Can Help You Do More With Less 

There is probably not a single organisation in Australia that is trying to do less work with more resources. It simply doesn’t happen. On the flipside, thousands of organisations both in the public and private sectors are trying to do more with less – a much more challenging proposition. The role for innovation in solving this proposition is a significant one. However, many companies associate innovation solely with customer-facing, product or service innovations.

What to Look for During Customer-Centric Transformation

Government reforms in NDIS and Aged Care mean many for-purpose service providers must transform to become customer-centred organisations and many are struggling in this journey. To complete any successful business transformation, CEOs must have four foundations in place – the right language, leadership, people and business model. Whether your organisation is transitioning to a customer-centric model by deploying a new company-wide IT system, merging to provide a national footprint or trying to re-engineer your culture, these are all forms of business transformation.

Why Crisis Management is a Boardroom Responsibility

The single most important recent development in crisis management is the growing recognition that responsibility for this critical function lies absolutely with the board and top executives. While there surely is no shortage of agenda items jostling for board attention, there is ample evidence that leaders who ignore the new crisis management best practice are placing their organisation at serious risk. Most importantly, potential damage from a crisis applies to organisations of all types and all sizes.