LUE-42 Enterprises July 2021 Ezine

I Believe In Fairness, Fun, And Sharing What I’ve Learned With The People Who Make This Planet A Great Place To Live

Issue 125, July 2021

We are on the eve of Canada Day, a normally proud and celebratory time. I choose to continue celebrating what is right in my country, yet now in a different context, with different information.

We are in a heatwave and it is making people (ok, me) grumpy. I do my best to not stay in that, and to remember that it won't be long before I am "layering up" again.

Obviously I was excited to hear a CFL season announced, with a shorter and later-starting season. This means Grey Cup will be December 12, outdoors in Hamilton (speaking of layering up). I'm ready!

My CFL team announced its new name. I had committed to embrace whatever they came up with, and it has been surprisingly easy. In response to the complaint I've heard most-often: "The original option was to call the team the 'Elk', but upon consultation with linguists at the University of Alberta and the Oxford Dictionary, they determined `Elks' would be more appropriate." So there. Does one go for beer or for beers? I do both.

On that note, I did another 4-week course at University on Alberta on Innovations in the Craft Beer Industry with Jason Foster (@ABbeerguy). I enjoyed all the learning, but not all the "school supplies." While I applaud innovation, I am unlikely to jump on the beer cocktail or seltzer bandwagons.

I had a short road trip through the Alberta foothills to Cranbrook and Kimberley. A few breweries and taprooms rounded out a gorgeous drive to new places. Hitting the road was just what I needed.

There weren't nearly as many webinars in June although I tried to keep up with research rabbit holes and podcasts. Last month one of my readers took exception to the article in a link I provided because it lacked academic rigour. He was correct: I posted it anyway because it showed an easy way for people to understand some new vocabulary our society is navigating. As the reader, you always get to choose, AND you get to call me out.

I got to hear live music for the first time in ages. Andy Northrup gave an excellent acoustic outdoor concert as part of Sherwood Park's Canada Week series. Check out one of Andy's songs here.

In the heat and on the eve of a national holiday, I offer the cheerful Summer's Up by Max Webster (featuring Kim Mitchell). That song always makes me smile. Show off your smile this summer while being safe and smart as restrictions ease.

Oh, and remember the Fluevogs I self-righteously didn't buy last month? They miraculously came into my possession this month!

/lmwe

"My Fluevogs are the timeline of my life. They represent milestones in my life...Each pair has a sentimental memory and makes me walk a little taller with pride and love."

– Dana, Fluevoger

John Fluevog's: Truth - Bekkie.

My new birthday shoes!

What's New in Non-Profit Board Practices?

BoardSource.org has just released Leading With Intent: BoardSource Index of Non-Profit Board Practices 2021. This 80-page report builds on the benchmarks BoardSource has been collecting on the sector for several years. This year's report also includes Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Findings.

The report is broken into four key areas:

Work: What boards do and how well they do it.
People: Who boards are and how they are structured.
Culture: How boards operate as a group.
Impact: What matters most when it comes to board leadership.

Key findings include:

Boards are disconnected from the communities and people they serve.
Boards that prioritize fundraising above all else do so at the expense of organizational strategy, relevance, and impact.
Boards and executives should reflect on what is prioritized in terms of board expectations and how time is spent.
The board chair's leadership in ensuring there are clear expectations of board service seems to matter most when it comes to the board's culture.

In the section on Board Work, the board's essential functions were categorized as 1) Setting direction and strategy; 2) Providing oversight; 3) Ensuring resources. Letter grades were given by board chairs and chief executives. The deep dive is here is interesting -- you should read it.

In the section on Board People, the information on demographics, recruitment, term lengths and limits, number of committees (4.1, by the way), etc. offers a good list to compare how your organization stacks up.

The Board Culture section questions were ranked out of 5 and touch on time spent by the board (including socially), ability for robust discussion, inclusion, one voice, and of course expectations. There is great stuff here to get you thinking about your own practices.

The Board Impact section covered strategy, performance in many areas, financial resourcing, governance, impact on chief executive in terms of job satisfaction (!), etc. Again, chief executives and board chairs responded rather differently in terms of impact.

I'll have more info to share from this report, and the key findings in particular, but don't wait for me. See for yourself!

Some People Who Made My Life Better in June

MaryJane Alanko, Michelle Collins, Brian Edwards, Leo Ezerins, Steve Flowers, Liz Garratt, Jim Gwartney, Amber Hall, Roberta Hardern, Dave Hughes, Pat MacDonald, Jeff Mawson, Lynn McAskill, Kelly McClung, Sherrill Mcgilvray, Tracy McLeod, John Mellec, Iris Moellenbeck, Jenny Narine, Andy Northrup, Ernie Paustian, Hector Pothier, Joan Seath, Donna Stonehocker, Janna Tominuk, Lindy Tuppin, Theresa Tsoukalas, Lil West

“We didn't realise we were making memories, we just knew we were having fun."

-- Winnie the Pooh