Board Education

The foundation for effective governance

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Board Orientation

Strategic Governance Begins Here

Frequent board turnover is a characteristic of the club industry that often derails efforts to develop and maintain consistent strategic leadership. The Club Benchmarking Governance Self-Evaluation Survey identifies gaps in board education and alignment and lays a solid foundation for effective annual board orientations and retreats.

What is the Governance Self-Evaluation Survey?

The Purpose: The Club Benchmarking Governance Self-Evaluation Survey is designed to provoke thought, fuel productive discussion and promote adoption of best practices. Analysis of responses diagnoses alignment issues and highlights opportunities to strengthen your leadership efforts.

The Process: In preparation for an educational session, all board members and the club's General Manager/COO complete the proprietary online self-evaluation survey. During your orientation or retreat, findings will be presented as a foundation for discussion about alignments and opportunities for improvement.

The Focus: Questions in the Governance Self-Evaluation Survey focus on identified best practices in club governance. A core set of questions are related directly to the club's financial health and address awareness and understanding in the areas of strategic and long-term financial planning, the nomination process & succession planning, board focus and effective leadership training.

 

The Team: Joe Abely and Dave Duval share a unique perspective on club governance. Their careers followed a common path of CPA, CFO, COO, CEO, Partner and Board Member of multiple corporate and tax-exempt entities. They joined forces in 2007 as treasurers at their respective country clubs and eventually became club presidents, each serving a total of 12 years.

A Fresh Approach to Board Orientation

Our unique approach to the annual board orientation process focuses on the practical aspects of being a contributing club board member and fulfilling the fiduciary obligations that come with that role. Our goal is to compress the learning curve for board members and drive alignment around best practices across the leadership team. Our virtual or in-person orientation will address:

  • Purpose of the Board
  • Legal Responsibilities (and Exposures) 
  • The Basics: Lessons Learned from Boards, Clients & Peers
  • Governance Survey & Board Evaluations
  • Best Practices and the Annual Agenda
  • Private Club Finance &  Financial Planning
  • Roles & Responsibilities of the Club's Officers, Directors, Committees and Management
  • Brainstorming

Let Us Know
How We Can Help

We believe the cure for the disruption and inconsistency caused by frequent turnover on club boards is regular self-evaluations as part of an effective annual board orientation process. Our professional experience has served us well as volunteer leaders at our respective country clubs and it gives us a unique perspective on club governance. Relative to other industries, clubs tend to operate in isolation and in the absence of information about club-specific best practices, we see boards filling the void with home-grown practices they either inherited or created from scratch in each new cycle. Our goal is to help boards learn to work together more effectively and to ensure that board members have the knowledge they need to succeed. 

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