Why I Don’t Like Policies

Did you know that according to www.crazylaws.com it is illegal in California to set a mouse trap without a hunting license?

In New York, the penalty for jumping off a building is death.

In Danville, Pennsylvania, all fire hydrants must be checked one hour before all fires.

In Oklahoma, you can be arrested for making an ugly face at a dog.

Whether it is a municipal law or the policy of an organization, there are is no shortage of edicts which are unrealistic, unenforceable, unreasonable or just plain stupid.

One of the problems people see with Policy Governance^® is that it contains the word “policy”. Just the use of that word conjures up all kinds of negative impressions. Policies are often equated with carefully worded restrictions which are placed in a binder, never to be seen again until someone drags it out and arbitrarily uses it to their advantage.

To avoid boards getting hung up on policies I start by asking what it values; what could happen or not happen within the organization that would concern or upset the board? What does it deem vital to be accomplished or is critical to be avoided?

A board with which I am familiar recently received a letter from a government department indicating that the organization was behind on remitting employee deductions. The board members were alarmed to find out that they could be ultimately held liable for these obligations. However the board had no policy that required the leader to make those deductions; it just assumed the payments were being made. Because this detail is important to the board, it would have helped if the board had a policy such as “the leader shall not allow government ordered payments to be overdue or inaccurately filed”. However it is of limited value if the board does not monitor that policy by asking regularly if the leader is in compliance with the policy.

 A board does not need to become obsessed with policies. All it needs to do is decide what it values and then articulate those values in the form of a policy and follow up to ensure that the leader complies with the value-based policies of the board.

No need for crazy rules, irrelevant edicts or dusty policies. State what you value and monitor what you state.