The Board Member's Playbook: Using Policy Governance to Solve Problems, Make Decisions, and Build a Stronger Board

For those conversant with John Carver's Governance approach, this "Playbook" is beneficial in keeping veterans and newcomers to a board focused on their role. One board I am involved with sets aside time every other meeting to review one or two "plays". We also use this as part of our introduction to new board members.

This is an incredibly useful addition to Carver's Policy Governance Model because it provides practical structure to "rehearsing" common Board-Staff-Owner scenarios with concrete examples. There are hundreds of books on non-profit governance but the vast majority just seem to dabble in detail and pop-psychology (unworkable concepts of "shared governance", etc); but the Carver model provides a unique, practical, and internally consistent method of governance. I'd certainly recommend highly all of his books. This one, written by Miriam Carver and Bill Charney, provides practical exercises demonstrating how the Carver model would handle problems Boards face regularly such as: Do Board members have authority over employees?; Should Board members with expertise oversee programs?; Does the Board job include fundraising?; We like and trust our CEO - isn't that governance?; What if the CEO lies?It's amazing to me that "rehearsal" plays a role in virtually every profession (musicians, lawyers - in mock trials during law school, teachers - with student teaching, MD's - with simulated emergencies, etc), yet Board members don't rehearse. No wonder performance isn't always optimal. This book is invaluable. It not only suggests that Board's spend time, preferrably at each meeting, rehearsing governance issues but it also provides a practical approach loaded with wonderful examples. Worksheets are included as are the author's suggested "generic" solutions.Every Board using the Carver Policy Governance Model should have this volume. I can't recommend it highly enough!

This was a confusing book and the scenarios were not helpful. I was not impressed and did not find the information helpful.

This not a book to read cover to cover but it is a great resource. The Carver's are the 'go to' experts on non profit boards.

Great resource for anyone sitting on any type of board. This can keep you from getting yourself and/or your organization into trouble. It helps if the whole board reads it and applies what they learn. This makes the board more effective at their job.

"The Board Member's Playbook..." is an indispensible resource for board members and those interested in policy govenance. The writing is very intelligent, clear, concise; a pleasure to read. A separate section provides a thorough overview of the Carver model for those unfamiliar with policy governance, as well as those needing a refresher. An accompanying CD-ROM is another excellent resource for helping board members with implementation.This book is a roadmap to success for anyone who uses it. The real world examples and worksheets offer a practical, hands-on exercise in policy govenance. After reading and completing the exercises on my own, I felt well-prepared and energized to take on a board-related challenge using the model.While this book brings everything a board member needs to effectively use the Carver model, it is the board members themselves who are ultimately responsible for their success. Board members must commit to being honest with themselves and one another, and be dedicated to the rigors of the process to properly implement the Carver model.This wonderful resource also raises a very important question in my mind - why is the Carver model used predominantly in the non-profit sector? Why isn't the Carver model de rigeur for the for-profit sector? I can only see great benefits and progress ahead should this actually occur.

This book consists of 50 very real-world situations that any board using Carver Policy Governance ® might encounter, with a single worksheet to be used by the board members to logically think through what should be done in this instance. The book calls them "rehearsal scenarios."I used a few of these scenarios with my board, and they thought it was great! It took the policies from dry words on paper to useable skills. They immediately decided to add time to every meeting's agenda to do one of these rehearsal scenarios.As the facilitator of our board, I love it because each scenario comes with proposed solutions that I can use to help guide the discussion. It really cuts down on my prep time. It's a great tool for continuing to build board capability of governance.

A welcomed addition to the "Policy Governance" corpus, "A Board Member's Playbook" provides a clear, concise and easily useable framework for Board practice. Complete with worksheets and an CD Rom, the book helps policy governance Boards work through simulated issues, forming a bridge between the theory of policy governance and its practical application.