AGENDA

Pre-Conference Workshop

Thursday, May 29, 8:30 a.m. — 4:30 p.m.

Policy Governance® Fundamentals (Code: PCS-01 and PCS-02)
Presented by Bill Charney and Jim Hyatt (PCS-01), and
Presented by Phil Graybeal and Nanci Erkert (PCS-02)

• learn how using Policy Governance allows a board to add unique value to organizations
• understand the rationale behind Policy Governance principles
• participate in hands-on activities that demonstrate the mechanics of the model
• learn the steps necessary to implement Policy Governance successfully in their organizations.

Main Conference Workshops

Friday, May 30, 10:30 a.m. — 12:00 p.m. (Workshop Group A) top ^

What You Don't Know WILL Hurt You: The Legal and Fiduciary Responsibilities of Board Members
(Code: AJH-01)
Presented by: Bill Charney and Jim Hyatt

This workshop will examine specifically the Duties of Care, Loyalty, Obedience and Oversight to which all directors are subject. The workshop will also examine the protections that may be afforded directors: by law and through the Business Judgement Rule, indemnifications and/or directors liability insurance, and how certain actions by directors can cause the loss of these protections. What constitutes a breach of the Duties of Care and Loyalty? When is a director acting in good faith? The workshop will briefly review how these duties have evolved from a legal perspective. Specific examples of board governance breakdowns (e.g., Enron, Hewlett-Packard, etc.) will be explored, with guidance as to how fulfillment of legal duties, with adherence to Policy Governance principles, could have saved the day.
Audience: Ideal for board members, CEOs/staff. Level: All levels of PG knowledge/experience.

Maintaining Board Holism
(Code: AUS-02)
Presented by: Sue Stratton

Board holism is much more than "speaking with one voice." This workshop will explore the principle of Board Holism. It will look at the board's process in getting to the official voice of the board that speaks to the internal organization and how the concept applies in the external environment. We will also look at those institutionalized practices that undermine board holism as well as practices to maintain the Board as a whole entity, and solution to use when the whole becomes fractured. Participants will build awareness of practices that undermine board holism and learn how to build holistic board practices.
Audience: Ideal for board members, CEOs/staff. Level: All levels of PG knowledge/experience.

How to Eat an Elephant: Developing an Effective Ownership Linkage Plan
(Code: AJM-03)
Presented by: Jannice Moore

Ownership linkage is a key element of the board's job, and an essential part of creating Ends. To many boards it seems like such an overwhelming job, it feels like trying to eat an elephant. This session will break that elephant down into some "bite-size" pieces. This workshop will examine the key elements of creating a "perpetual" and comprehensive ownership linkage plan and explore the answers to these questions:

• Who are your owners?
• How do you connect with them?
• What about "representative" input?
• What kind of questions do you ask?
• What do you do with the information when you get it?

Ends Development Expedited (But Not Abbreviated)
(Code: ATG-04)
Presented by: Tom Gregory

This session takes the participants through the development of Ends using a free tool that helps to ensure that the time spent on Ends Development is used efficiently and that the Ends create are comprehensive, organized, and are real Ends.

At the end of the workshop, the participants will be able to test their organization's Ends for comprehensiveness, organization, and validity. Trainers will be able to save time in facilitating the development of Ends with their clients. Persons on boards intending to develop Ends without the help of a trainer will have a methodology that will increase the chances that they will not waste a lot of time by creating non-Ends.
Audience: Ideal for board members. Level: All levels of Policy Governance knowledge/experience.

Steps to Successful Implementation of Policy Governance
(Code: AEC-05)
Presented by: Eric Craymer

The major steps of making a decision to practice Policy Governance and implementing it are well documented in Reinventing Your Board and in numerous articles written by John and Miriam Carver. In practice, those major steps consist of many smaller ones which are not as well documented. This workshop will explore those more detailed steps using a checklist (developed by the presenter) that can be used to assess implementation completeness. In addition, the group will learn about specific practices which, based on the presenter's experiences, will assist the successful implementation and sustainability of Policy Governance in their organization. Participants will also have the opportunity to share the personal challenges and solutions that they have experienced in their own implementations.

At the end of this workshop, participants will:

• Understand the basic steps of implementation as described by John and Miriam Carver in Reinventing Your Board
• Have a tool to monitor their progress in the decision and implementation process
• Identify several key elements during the decision process and first year of implementation that seem to add to the success of implementation.

Friday, May 30, 1:30 p.m. — 4:00 p.m. (Workshop Group B) top ^

Focusing on Purpose: The Power of Ends
(Code: BHC-08, Level: Beginner)
Presented by: Bill Charney and Jim Hyatt

Ends policy development is one of the most challenging, yet integral and powerful components of Policy Governance practice. This workshop provides a comprehensive introduction to the theory and development of Ends, including a basic overview of Ends, how they differ from traditional mission/goals/objectives language, and their role in the strategic planning process. Using the scenarios and information provided, grouped participants will frame and develop Ends statements, and then share their results and learnings with the entire group. Questions and suggestions will be addressed, as will ensuring that the Ends statements that have been developed address all three components: what changes, for which recipients, at what worth? The workshop leaders will then discuss methods by which the respective boards can link with their owners to validate and/or refine Ends to reflect the trusteeship role of Boards. Participants will leave this session with greater conceptual and practical grasp of Ends as a tool for board leadership.
Audience: Ideal for board members, CEOs/Staff. Knowledge/Experience Level: Beginner.

The Board as a Learning Community
(Code: BSU-07, Level: Intermediate)
Presented by: Sue Stratton

When the board becomes serious about educating itself on the issues and dilemmas of the future, it can have a long-lasting impact on the whole organization. In this workshop, we will look at a case study and demonstrate how a board's decision to explore an issue related to Ends development could benefits its entire community. Participants will have an opportunity to share their "learning community" stories, as well as develop potential avenues for bringing a learning culture to their home boards.
Audience: Ideal for board members, CEOs/Staff. Knowledge/Experience Level: Intermediate.

New, Tougher Audit Standards: Responding to the Changing Expectations in Auditing Standards within a Policy Governance Context
(Code: BBC-09, Level: All Levels)
Presented by: Dr. Richard Biery and Gregg Capin

Relatively new auditing standards driven by a Sarbanes-Oxley like policy environment, not by Congress, have been promulgated by the Auditing Standards Board for certified auditors. They focus particularly on the internal control structure of nonprofit organizations, including the effective monitoring and oversight by the board. If misapplied, they appear to drive the board (or its Audit Committee) into micromanaging the organization's internal controls.

The presenters (Biery and Capin) have been studying these standards and their application within a Policy Governance framework for over a year, and will share their thinking and suggestions. The workshop will provide practical guidance about how the expectations can be met within a Policy Governance context, while providing for effective board monitoring and oversight.
Audience: Ideal for board members, CEOs/Staff. Knowledge/Experience Level: Intermediate.

Bringing Boards Into the 21st Century: OurBoardroom Technology and What It Means for Policy Governance
(Code: BRT-10, Level: All Levels)
Presented by: Ray Tooley

Do you practically have to devote a large briefcase or suitcase to manuals and paper every time you attend a board meeting? Does board work seem synonymous with three-inch binders, files, and stacks of reports? Wouldn't it be nice if you could use an environmentally friendly, quick and effective way to manage documentation and to distribute information? Consider OurBoardroom. For two years now, this online system has been helping boards organize and simplify all their documentation including policies, agendas, monitoring reports, and other information. The backbone of OurBoardroom technology is the logic of Policy Governance. Meeting agenda items, policies, monitoring reports and other documents are all connected in a clear and seamless fashion. Perhaps then it is not surprising that the use of OurBoardroom has raised several interesting insights into how boards are applying Policy Governance principles in the real world. This workshop will (1) describe how OurBoardroom works, (2) describe how the use of OurBoardroom has affected the application of Policy Governance principles by multiple boards, and (3) explore key questions that OurBoardroom raises about Policy Governance.
Audience: Ideal for board members, CEOs/Staff. Knowledge/Experience Level: All levels.

The Policy Governance Training Challenge
(Code: BSM-11, Level: Experienced)
Presented by: Susan Mogensen

Have you ever struggled to explain a Policy Governance concept to your board, to senior executives, or to anyone? Have you been surprised by a question you thought you already answered? Or have you even experienced a hostile reaction "out of the blue" when describing the principles of Policy Governance?

Whether you are an external or internal consultant, board member or Policy Governance advocate, sometimes the job of explaining what Policy Governance is and how it works is not quite as easy as one might think. This fun and engaging workshop will have participants role-play multiple realistic Policy Governance training scenarios, challenging them to think on the fly, provide feedback to each other, and become prepared for those tricky questions and situations when they arise!
Audience: Consultants, Policy Governance Advocates. Knowledge/Experience Level: Experienced.

Succeeding at Collaborative Decision Making
(Code: BPM-12, Level: All Levels)
Presented by: Penny McDaniel

How many times have you sat in meetings where important decisions needed to be made but instead of coming to an agreement the meeting droned on, conflicts erupted, no decisions were made or made by a few and everyone left frustrated? Sadly this situation happens all too often, and the end result is that people lose interest, drop out, or don’t really participate fully and important decision get made by a too few. This workshop will teach you how to build consensus in group decisions by bringing together divergent opinions and formulating a solution everyone can support. Participants will learn how to resolve conflicts productively, use backup strategies, and create an environment which allows consensus to flourish.

Participants will:

• Identify the five major types of decisions and when to use them
• Understand the benefits of building consensus on important group decisions
• Create the kind of environment which supports collaborative decision-making processes including consensus
• Discover how effective dialoguing between all important stakeholders creates understanding and helps address difficult issues and leads to greater success on projects and events
• Build consensus in five easy steps.

Saturday, May 31, 10:30 a.m. — 12:00 p.m. (Workshop Group C) top ^

Putting the Pants on Policy Governance
(Code: CJM-13, Level: All levels)
Presented by: Jannice Moore

Winston Churchill's assertion that "A lie gets half-way around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on" rings true for many Policy Governance advocates who hear one myth after another about this model. Using a compilation of published articles and the experience of workshop participants, this interactive session will explore:

• What are the predominant myths about Policy Governance?
• What is misunderstood, what is fabricated, and what is the truth?
• Where do these myths come from?
• How should they be addressed?
• What is important for all board members to know and to do?

Activating the Ownership Interest in a World Full of Customers
(Code: CSU-14, Level: Intermediate)
Presented by: Sue Stratton

If the board is to become successful in ownership linkage practice, it might ultimately need to active the ownership in the community. This workshop offers approaches to activate the ownership interest in membership organizations. We will explore the following issues:

• Keys to creating a culture of owners
• What will move people from customer to owner?
• Emerging ownership issues
• Techniques to activate ownership
• Auditing your communication: do you currently foster ownership?
• Understanding ownership linkage in a new and active way that can impact donorship and volunteerism in the organization.

The Agenda Building Mystery: Developing Perpetual, Annual, and Regular Meeting Agendas
(Code: CED-15, Level: Intermediate)
Presented by: Eric Craymer

Policy Governance writing describes three different agendas: the perpetual, the annual, and the regular meeting agendas. While having these different types of agendas might seem confusing, in reality, all three are extremely related and, when their proper place and function are understood, creating meeting agendas becomes a much simpler task.

Participants will:

• Obtain an understanding of how the three types of agendas are inter-related and fit together;
• Know how to develop an Annual Agenda;
• Know how the Perpetual and Annual Agendas largely set the framework for the Meeting Agenda;
• Obtain suggestions for enhancing the design of their meeting agendas;
• Have a chance to practise what they have learned by developing an Annual Agenda and a Meeting Agenda with the other attendees.

Advanced Ends Monitoring
(Code: CRB-16, Level: Advanced)
Presented by: Dr. Richard Biery

This workshop is designed to help the attendee to think through the development of ends monitoring (and the implicit strategic issues), particularly when the ends appear to be subjective or intangible. Not only is the question simply one of creating the Reasonable Interpretations (RI), but how can one develop supporting evidence, especially of a metric nature, for a subjective or an intangible end? Based on the fundamentals of the monitoring report, this workshop explores various methods for solving that challenge. The workshop will also explore various means of visualizing data that enhance the board’s (and management’s) ability to grasp the implications of the data.
Audience: Ideal for CEOs, board members. Knowledge/Experience Level: Advanced.

Advanced Forum on Executive Limitations
(Code: CEG-17, Level: Advanced)
Presented by: Nanci Erkert and Phil Graybeal

Designed for Policy Governance practitioners with at least two years of experience, this open and supportive session invites participants to share their challenging issues and concerns around Executive Limitations (EL) in a Policy Governance consistent fashion. Expected topics include:

• When does an Executive Limitation cross over into prescription, vs. proscription?
• Is there any way to get away from "shall not fail to" language?
• What if the board has strong values around preferred means?
• How specific can/should the board get in its EL policies?
• Participants will leave this session with enhanced understanding, new information and tools that will enable them to resolve their problems, issues or concerns.

Saturday, May 31, 1:30 p.m. — 3:00 p.m. (Workshop Group D) top ^

Putting Your Policy Manual To Work: Achieving the Peak Performance Promise!
(Code: DEC-19, Level: Intermediate)
Presented by: Eric Craymer

Developing your Policy Governance manual creates the promise of peak performance but, like many other technologies, it has to be applied to deliver on that promise. Boards often invest a lot of time and energy in creating their new Policy Governance manual and then fail to use it as a tool for manoeuvring through their work and for addressing new issues.

One of the powerful aspects of Policy Governance is that your Policy Manual is truly an Operator's Manual for excellence in governance. If you know how to use it, and how to update it as your world changes, it gives you a framework for governing that greatly increases the ability of your board and organization to deliver high-octane performance. This workshop is designed to get you under the hood so that you can diagnose problems, fine tune your governing engine, and know how to achieve maximum efficiency and distance. Its focus will be on both the technical and practical aspects of using your Policy Manual. Some of the mechanics to be covered include:

• Determining if a policy is actually capturing a concept that your board feels reflects the value system of your owners;
• Addressing new issues when they arise: a step-by-step guide;
• Keeping your Operator's Manual current and relevant through the system level;
• Knowing which parts of your manual will best guide you through different types of situations and how to use it to do so;
• Being able to use your manual to get you through times of engine trouble and rough roads.

Advanced Forum on Monitoring
(Code: DFF-20, Level: Advanced)
Presented by: Karen Fryday-Field

Designed for experienced Policy Governance practitioners, this open and supportive session invites participants to share their challenging issues and concerns around monitoring in a Policy Governance consistent fashion. Expected topics include: what does a good monitoring look like? When is it necessary to include a rationale for the interpretation? How do operational definitions work? How much information is too much, or too little? Participants will leave this workshop with enhanced understanding, new information and tools that will enable them to resolve their problems, issues or concerns.
Audience: Ideal for CEOs, board members. Knowledge/Experience Level: Advanced.

Creating Your Own Personal Ends Statement
(Code: DDB-21, Level: All Levels
Presented by: David Ball

This session will use the principles and methods of Policy Governance to craft meaningful "Ends statements" for workshop participants. Attendees will be briefly guided through the meaning of Ends statements and the nature of Ends language, after which each attendee will attempt to craft a personal set of meaningful Ends statements, helping them bring clarity and vision to the issues of their personal lives.
Audience: All types of attendees. Knowledge/Experience Level: All levels.

Practising Good Governance: Using Your Policies as the Board Team's Playbook
(Code: DBC-22, Level: Intermediate)
Presented by: Bill Charney

In this highly interactive workshop, participants will serve on "mock boards" and see how Policy Governance theory is easily put into practice. Using the "board rehearsal worksheet" from The Board Member's Playbook (authored by Miriam Carver and Bill Charney) as a primary tool, participants will be given scenarios, or hypothetical challenges, and will be asked to address the challenge by answering the series of questions on the worksheet.

Participants will learn that:

• No matter what the challenge, a policy manual based on Policy Governance principles has articulated values, at least at the broadest level, about virtually every organizational circumstance;
• Referring to a board's policies as the first step in addressing a challenge expedites focus, efficiency and consistency with board-stated values; and
• Boards, like other teams, perform best when acting in accordance with some sort of "playbook."

Crafting Focused Conversations with Diverse Groups
(Code: DSS-23, Level: All Levels)
Presented by: Sherwood Shankland

“Guide a great discussion with a highly diverse group… Who me?”

Yes…using The Focused Conversation Method®:

• Getting beyond the usual responses to deepen group discussions
• Learn to shape the right questions which enable you to facilitate meaningful conversations
• Discover ways to involve each participant in thinking through difficult issues In this session you will first experience the Focused Conversation Method® and then reflect on how to apply it in your own work.