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Home » Learn to Contemplate 'Impossible' Scenarios
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Learn to Contemplate 'Impossible' Scenarios

Postrecession governance lessons are emerging.

August 18, 2010
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Linda Compton, president/CEO of BoardSource, recently participated in a discussion about the lessons learned for the nonprofit sector during the financial crisis and the slow recovery.

She offers directors her observations in Board Member:
• Realize the weaknesses the crisis exposed are ones organizations already knew existed. Do a risk assessment and develop risk mitigation strategies before you actually need them.

You can't overemphasize the importance of communicating during any kind of crisis. Staff concerned about layoffs and a disengaged board are a recipe for bigger problems.

• Use technology to get information and updates to people on the ground on a continual basis. This also prevents rumors and misinformation.

• Make the most of your CEO/chair partnership, but not to the exclusion of your board. All-powerful executive committees are in the past.

• Get engaged and on deck to steer through challenges.

• Know that contingency plans are critical. Ensure your board identifies steps if results aren't matching projections—and learn to deliberately contemplate the "impossible" scenario. Many of them actually happened.

KEYWORDS board crisis

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