CMC-Today April 2017 Issue

The Governance Journey
© ICMCI & Sorin Cain, CMC   

When we discuss governance, it seems it is the component of the social and economic life where innovation, the driver of the day, is least present. But it is not fully correct and I am just contemplating the developments around ICMCI in the last years.

Transitioning Your SME Business to Next Generation

CMC-Global is pleased to launch this month one of the new features of our Academic Fellows initiative – the creation of a “library” or reference documents, white papers and other resources on our website. 
Transition Readiness in the SME Sector. Author is Mike Thompson FCMC, CMC-AF, and Assoc. Professor, Faculty of Management, Royal Roads University, Victoria, B.C. Canada.
Summary Article
Full White Paper

Nordic Corporate Governance

A new book by one of our Academic Fellows, Flemming Poulfelt, and his colleagues. The authors describe their research into how corporate governance actually takes place, in practice, in large Nordic companies. 

Asset Management for Directors

A new book by one of our CMC candidates in Australia, Dr. Monique Beedles.

Asset Management for Directors aims to provide a clear framework for directors to address their asset management obligations.

Governance Trends & Issues Around the World

© 2017 CMC Today Featuring Lyn McDonell, CMC (Canada), Tim Millar, FCMC (Australia) & Doug Macnamara, CMC (CMC Today Editor) 

This month, CMC Today went out to two of our leading CMC practitioners in the realm of Governance Consulting. (We did try to find a third CMC colleague in Asia, to engage their perspectives on the various trends, challenges and issues they see their clients wrestling with in 2017.) In the end the following came out of dialogue between Lyn, Tim and Doug.

Bringing Theory to Board Governance

© 2017 CMC Today and Dr. Blaize Horner Reich, Academic Fellow, Professor, Beedie School of Business, Simon Fraser University, Canada 

Many directors have disciplinary hats on during Board discussions; being accountants, lawyers, or former CEOs. As a professor who is both a consultant and a board director, I sometimes find myself trying to contribute at the Board table without being a specialist in the domain of governance. 
    
My suggestion to CMCs who consult to boards or executive teams, is to consider using various theories and models beyond governance theories and models, to add depth and context to decision making situations. 
 

Dictator or Facilitator? Tips for Board Chair Excellence 

© 2017 ICMCI & Doug Macnamara, CMC

The Board Chair has several specific and unique responsibilities, no matter what “model” of governance you follow:
• Official Spokesperson of the Board/organization
• Board Meeting Agenda setting and time management
• Ensuring Board has clear, timely, accurate information
• Ensuring constructive relationships amongst Board members
• Discipline of Board members (in absence of a defined mechanism)
• Chair of member/shareholder AGM & special meetings

However, just like any regular Board member; the Board Chair has no authority as an individual unless conveyed upon him/her by the other Board members. This makes the role of Board Chair a ‘balancing act’, and one that can make or break the Board as an effective governing body. So, how do you see yourself as a Board Chair? Are you there to advance your own agenda/priorities/insights; or are you there to facilitate engagement, dialogue and consensus amongst Board & senior staff… or some point in between? 

Dear Members,
This month, we are including photos from the ICMCI Board Face-to-Face meeting that took place in March 2017.

The meeting was hosted with much thanks by our Austrian members, WKO.

Summary of board meeting minutes is available HERE.

Join Us

September 4-7, 2017!

The 5th Annual International CMC Conference and ICMCI Annual Meeting website is now live and building out the information as fast as possible.

The Registration system is now operational and interested delegates and CMC Conference attendees can now start to sign-up!

Visit the event website HERE

1. IMC USA Annual Consulting Conference; Atlanta, Georgia; October 20-22, 2017.

The Institute of Management Consultants USA (IMC USA) announces that its 2017 annual international consulting conference, “Add Value for Clients to Build Your Practice”, takes place on October 20-22, 2017, at the JW Marriott Atlanta Buckhead Hotel in Atlanta, Georgia. 

2. IMC-Nigeria: Towards Expanding The Development Of Management Consulting Profession In March 2017, the Institute of Managements Consultants, Nigeria (IMC-Nigeria) successfully conducted the Second Session of its 2017 scheduled IMC Roundtable Seminars.

3. IMC-Korea – April 2017 Newsletter 

4. Preparing for Int’l Consulting Day – June 1, 2017 .

5. Feedback Requested: Int’l CMC Promo Campaign Initiative.

6. CSE Success Story in Austria.

Marketing & Advocacy Committee (MAC) – April 2017 Update 

Our committee is currently working on several initiatives, each of which is part of our MAC 2020 Strategic Plan and the 2017-18 Strategic Plan of the Board. These include:

1. CMC Today Newsletter & 5th Annual CMC International Conference
 

2. Worldwide CMC Identity Campaign
 

3. CMC-Global Social Media – LinkedIn and Facebook and other.
 

4. CMC-Global Website & CMC Designation/Service Marketing Materials.  

This month’s Quick Quiz addresses elements from the feature articles.

Q1 – What is the #1 focus in governance for the Board you sit on/work with?

a) Determining/Delivering measurable outcomes with performance oversight of Mgt.
b) Showing clear impact in the community/society for the resources invested.
c) Keeping up with technologies – when to disengage from old tech practices/stds and when to shift/update to new tech impact and expectations?
d) Increased expectations for transparency means Board members are increasingly having their decisions scrutinized and second-guessed by public or interest groups. Are the decisions “fair”? Were the processes fair or appropriate?
e) How do we provide value for fees, or should we be moving into social enterprise?
f) “Unlocking Value” – how do we take our assets and what do we do with them to truly unlock additional or new “value”? 

Some videos on Governance as reference for IMC Boards as well as for those providing governance consulting:.

OECD Principles of Corporate Governance
A short video to explain how the OECD Principles of Corporate Governance are structured.

Building Better Boards 
CEO Talk Radio interview of Dr. David Nadler, author of Building Better Boards.

The Policy Governance Model
Interview with author John Carver.