"Management meetings should be fun!" was the challenge from Dave Norton, originator of the Balanced Scorecard and first speaker at the networking breakfast last Thursday. With the Gauntlet thrown, the fun really began when our guest speakers from Catholic Charities and ACCION told us about the transformation their board meetings have taken since they started reporting their strategic measures on their Balanced Scorecard to the Board. When board members exclaim that they are thrilled, give standing ovations and actually take strategic action – you know you are onto something!

The lessons Ted covered tied nicely to Dave's guidance of "focus, focus, focus". Ted outlined the importance of having a structure to manage performance – Balanced Scorecard, Logic Model, or a homegrown approach – and then use that framework to review results.

The key elements of what does a good management meeting look like included: • Start with an agenda and distribute analysis in advance • Review problem areas • Drill into key areas • Discuss key issues • Make and document decisions.

Our thanks go to Marjean Perhot, Director of Refugee and Immigration Services, Catholic Charities of Boston and Sarah Long, Assistant to the President, ACCION International who shared with the group the trials and tribulations of launching a truly strategic management process. Coming from two organizations who differ in mission, size, reach and culture it was surprising how similar their stories were. The challenges of finding data and the struggle of getting people to share data seemed to be the key obstacles for both. But perseverance and leadership won the day as both organizations have learned their way into a new strategy management process with their board.

The slides from the session are attached for your reference. If you have been able to join our networking session in the past or if you have not been able to manage the schedule, please feel free to let us know what topics would interest you for other networking session. Also, would you be able to stay longer to network with your community peers.

• Nonprofit Network - Exchanging Ideas (October 29, 2008)