Small business governance
Doing vs. talking about doing
There are two reasons for our encouragement that small business leaders periodically review their business status and direction:
- The duty to stakeholders (not just investors) to act prudently and follow appropriate business management standards, and to establish a record that you are following those standards
- Good governance works—and, with the appropriate balance, governance review leads to the accomplishment of the reasons why you work so hard on the operational aspects of the business.
Avoid the nagging-feeling of deferred decisions
Think about who should review and how deep the analysis should be of:
- People: roles, incentives, and leadership
- Money: Financial status, reporting, and planning
- Execution: Operational developments and assets
- Strategy: Big-picture milestones and objectives
- Threats: Risk & liability management
- Governance: Securities, compliance, and documentation
