MAJOR IN THE MAJORS

A good colleague is fond of saying, “If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing poorly.” When he first said it, I got my hackles up asking, “What ever happened to quality? Don’t we believe in first class performance?”

He’d patiently opine that he saw all too many non-profit professionals who felt that they either had to do everything to perfection — or that they just had to do everything — to the point that they did very little well. The trick, he said, is to learn how to make good, discriminating decisions about where and how you spend your time. For some things, he would say, the only measure of performance is that you get them done. If you don’t do them, the enterprise will suffer, but the addition of large amounts of time and energy to the task will not add appreciable value.

Boards of directors often get caught up in doing many things for their organizations that do not add appreciably to the responsibility of governance — the responsibility that is their first and foremost obligation. Healthy boards are intentional about “majoring in the majors.” That is, they strive to maintain their focus on and allocate their energies to the primary tasks of being a board:

• Making sure that mission and programs are appropriately aligned
• Selecting and evaluating the chief executive
• Enlisting and preparing new board members and nurturing the board’s leadership succession
• Raising the resources needed to carry out the organization’s mission

Healthy boards are very careful to leave the management and operation of the organization to the professionals they choose to lead it.

Healthy boards avoid the temptation to get involved in the management of the organization — even in times of severe stress or disruption. I am on the board of a small non-profit organization that has just gone through a period of severe turbulence. During that time, board members spent thousands of hours seeing to the well-being and defining the future of the organization. As board members we did a great many tasks to help the organization weather the storm. The chair of the board was very careful throughout to make certain that the board delegated, even on an interim basis, the management of the organization to the professional staff. The organization, the board, and the consumers that the organization serves all emerged stronger for keeping the focus of energy on the tasks that mattered.

Healthy boards also are careful not to succumb to the allure of being absentee landlords, putting their names on letterhead and popping in occasionally for a quick visit or committee meeting. Healthy organizations need boards who maintain constant attention to the board’s primary responsibilities. They also need boards who see maintaining fresh ideas and energy as part of the cycle of board and organizational renewal for which they are responsible.

Frankly, I’ve never gotten comfortable with the language of doing anything “poorly.” My colleague’s words, however, have helped me restore balance and focus to my efforts and those of the boards and committees that I serve. Majoring in the majors is a basic board skill that deserves a great deal of time and attention.