Adani Carmichael Coal Mine Queensland

As a nation goes, how foolish is our government and our bureaucrats?

From a pure governance perspective, any reputable Australian business person, and risk aware financial institutions, would steer clear of an investment in the Adani Carmichael Coal Mine, and it has very little do to with climate change, although from that perspective, this is the craziest undertaking we currently have in this country.

I am looking at this purely from a governance and related risk perspective. The key issues are quite simple, namely:

1. From a deal-making perspective, Adani has a questionable history in its home country
2. Those that are at the helm of Adani, have themselves, a questionable reputation in governance execution in their home country
3. The controlling entity is likely to be domiciled in an offshore tax haven that will be inaccessible to Australian regulatory authorities should there be a need to call upon that entity to rectify any breaches associated with the one development or functions, including those that may breach environmental conditions
4. From a financial perspective, the mine does not appear to stack up. some of the largest and reputable banks in the world have pulled out of the deal, questioning the very fundamentals of financial governance

So here we have an investment proposal that does not stack up financially and has very questionable governance structures, and yet, the Australian government is willing to throw $1 billion of taxpayer funds into the venture, partnering with unknown invisibles, given the offshore structures. All this whilst the Queensland government wants to promise jobs into the future which will probably never actually arise, assuming the mine actually begins any operations. Whilst some jobs will be created during the apparent construction phase, it is well known that the mining sector is capital intensive, not labour intensive.

The other aspect to this of course is that India itself is seeking to expand renewable energy as an alternative to coal, based on their own view as to the long-term sustainability of fossil fuels in the medium to long-term. 

The simple facts of this debacle are these:

1. Adani will not be the economic saviour of Australia. Sustainable jobs will not be created in Qld or anywhere else resulting from this development
2. The Carmichael Coal Mine will jeopardise existing wealth-creating activities associated with the Great Barrier Reef, whose tourism opportunities have as yet, not been fully exploited
3. Australian taxpayers will see little return for their $1 billion investment, socially or economically. 

It would appear that other than coal producers, Tony Abbott and certain members of the Coalition government are the only ones currently in the world who are of the mistaken belief that coal is the future. 

No, in fact, coal is not only the past, but actually jeopardises the future for our children, our grandchildren and generations to come.

2016 comes to a close - Summing up the nonprofit sector and what we can look forward to from OPTIMUM NFP in 2017.

For all of you involved in the nonprofit sector, 2016 has been a very challenging year, and every indication is that 2017 will probably be more of the same.

Activity in the political and economic sphere has seen the sector coming to grips with what it all means for their own organisation. 

• The ongoing roll-out of the NDIS has seen a  myriad of responses, ranging from thoughts of risk and downside through to opportunity and expansion, whilst responding to the financial sustainability challenges associated with a previous supply-driven model moving to a generational-change demand-driven model;
• The ongoing children abuse Royal Commission has seen many organisations tighten their risk frameworks to ensure such obscene activities are not part of their culture, and for those caught up in the findings, an in-depth look into their own organisational mirrors in order to introduce fundamental change;
• The strengthening of the ACNC has seen a degree of confidence introduced into the sector with regards a range of  compliance issues;
• Changes to Australian Disability Employment frameworks has seen many in this aspect of the sector revise their current business models, in line with similar challenges in the disability services sector;
• Ongoing reforms to residential aged care has seen organisations in this sector review their own business models to address long-term sustainability challenges;
• An industry-wide focus on governance within the sector from wide-ranging sources that have resulted in many organisations in this sector carefully looking at what they currently do as compared to what they perhaps should be doing, especially with regards risk management, financial management, and board structure and development.

OPTIMUM NFP has been heavily involved in many of these nonprofit issues and over the 2016 period has further involved itself with many such organisations undertaking projects such as:

• Transitioning Incorporated Associations to Companies Limited by Guarantee;
• Organisation-wide strategic planning activities using a bottom-up approach to develop and launch strategic plans
• Mentoring executive team members;
• In-house board governance workshops;
• Change management planning;
• Structuring boards with new non-executive directors
• Conducting public Action Learning Question Programs
• Delivering 4 post-graduate units at the Australian Institute of Management MBA course, including 1 in Strategic Organisational Change and 3 in Managing Financial Resources

2017 will continue the challenges for the nonprofit sector, as well as bringing new ones, to which the sector will once again be challenged to consider innovative ways of moving forward. The confused nature of public policy will no doubt add to these challenges, in a very unhelpful fashion.

OPTIMUM NFP is looking to 2017 with a continued sense of anticipation and optimism, whilst also being realistic in recognising that many nonprofit organisations may face substantial risk if they fail to grasp and implement the governance and strategic planning frameworks that they must seriously consider.

During 2017, OPTIMUM NFP will be focused on the following activities:

• David will be completing his PhD studies at Macquarie University. This has been a long but personally rewarding journey (commenced in late 2010). Currently there are three papers that have been published in international peer reviewed journals, whilst a fourth paper is currently under review. My fifth and final paper is currently being prepared for submission. The papers, by title, have included:
• "Action Leanring Intervention as a Change Management Strategy in the Disability Services Sector - A Case Study", published in the Action Learning Action Research Journal
• "A Longitudinal Qualitative Case Study of Change in Nonprofits", published in the Journal of Management & Organization
• "Applying Grounded Theory to Investigating Change Management in the Nonprofit Sector", published in Sage Open
• "Planned Organisational Change Management - Forward to the Past? An explorative literature review", currently being considered for possible publication in the Journal of Organizational Change Management
• Applying the findings in the PhD research, OPTIMUM NFP will be launching a consulting service that seeks to ensure that nonprofit organisations can undertake an organisation specific change readiness analysis which will outline potential challenges within their organisation that can be addressed prior to changes being implemented, thereby increasing the likelihood of successful change outcomes. The service will be launched during the fist quarter of 2017 and is called the 'CARC' program - Culture Assessment for Readiness of Change, and uses the outcomes of the latest nonprofit specific research derived directly from David's PhD. Watch out for the launch announcement.
• During 2017, OPTIMUM NFP in conjunction with Action Learning International, will launch a further public Action Learning Question Program, which has been critically acclaimed and continues to be supported by the Australian Institute of Management Business School. This will be further expanded as purpose-designed in-house programs for larger nonprofit organisations. Keep an eye out for the program dates.
• In mid 2017, OPTIMUM NFP will leverage its success in executive team mentoring through the launch of its "Manager Development Groups" which utilise Action Learning as a key process in leadership development. Look out for the formal announcement of these.

OPTIMUM NFP will of course continue to focus on its strengths in delivering consulting input into Strategic Planning and Governance.

2016 has been a very busy year. 2017 is going to be an exciting year as OPTIMUM NFP continues to build on its skills and expertise in delivering new and innovative services that will continue to add value to nonprofit organisations, ensuring that the focus on organisational sustainability remains a key deliverable in all our consulting assingments.

I would like to thank my clients for allowing me to be part of their solutions during 2016 and I look forward to being able to adding further value to their organisations in 2017.

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Healthy, Prosperous and Safe 2017.

Fundraising as a Strategic Responsibility - David Rosenbaum Presenting at the upcoming Blackbaud 'Outcomes Conference' - 30th November 2016

My strategic planning work with numerous NFP organisations always seeks to include the strategic importance of fundraising as both a board and an organisation-wide activity. Many NFPs tend to have DGR registration (Deductible Gift Recipient) but fail to use this asset as a strategic one, instead having it remain as a relative non-performing asset and merely accepting the odd, small donation either when it comes their way or to assist in the holding of small events that tend not to attract the sort of dollars that necessarily make it worthwhile.

One of the greatest challenges to the NFP sector, as we are being told, and as governments continue to stress, is long-term financial sustainability. From a financial perspective, such financial sustainability requires a strong and consistent efforts of ensuring that the assets that we hold rewording for us, and delivering at a rate that enables us to deliver our services in a wider context than purely on the assumption of ongoing government funding. The DGR registration is one of those assets which, in many NFPs, continues to liger without much focus.

Whilst OPTIMUM NFP is not a fundraising consultancy, my efforts focus in strategic planning for NFPs, ensure s that at the strategic level, NFP boards and their executive teams understand the importance of their DGRE status and how focusing on its use can add value to their financial sustainability plans, thereby delivering increasing value to the organisation over time.

Following my extensive work in this area, I am pleased to announce that I have been asked to be part of a one-day online conference being held on the 30th November and organised by Blackbaud Pacific Pty. Ltd., one of Australia's leading social-good technology companies, where I join a number of other industry experts to discuss the complexities of outcomes measurement to better understand what supporters and grant makers really want to know about your NFP.

 The virtual event features six presentations including:

• Philanthropic Services Manager at Philanthropy Australia - Chris Wootton
• NDS panel expert from OPTIMUM NFP - David Rosenbaum discussing the role that strategic planning plays in donor funding
• Outcomes futurist Jayne Meyer Tucker, and
• CEO of Cystic WA - Nigel Baker presenting his case study on outcomes measurement following a very successful funding round of $5.4 million.

The agenda has been structured as follows:

• 10:00 a.m. - Why outcomes...and why now?
• 11:00 a.m. - Strategic planning for outcomes
• 12:00 p.m. - Intelligent funding - How to evaluate the impact of your giving
• 1:00 p.m. - "This just isn't working" - An outstanding outcomes case study
• 2:00 p.m. - What funders want
• 3:00 p.m. - Demonstrating and communicating your impact
• 4:00 p.m. - Innovations in outcomes measurement

Tickets cost $50 for the entire day and delegates can login for the sessions of interest or join them all. Visit the Blackbaud registration site at  http://fundraising.blackbaud.com.au/events/ to register for the "Outcomes Online Conference".

Contact David Rosenbaum at drosenbaum@optimumnfp.com.au  or on 0411-744-911 to arrange a no-obligations meeting to discuss your NFP strategic planning requirements and how OPTIMUM NFP can assist your organisation in developing a Strategic Plan that can support your future financial sustainability.

I look forward to hearing from you and to your attendance at the Conference

Is a Questioning Culture in Your Organisation? - If not, you may be missing out

A fundamental element of Action Learning is the ability to ask insightful questions. You know the ones I am referring to. Not questions that merely have single dimensions to the answers, and not ones that offer little scope for discussion and analysis. Not ones that merely provide the questioner with the answers they were seeking or expecting. And certainly not the ones that fail to promote learning which can result in real change.

Asking the right questions in the right manner, at the right time, and in the right way, can provide some very substantial organisational benefits, which are both long-lasting and productive. The problem is that in a world where leadership is often mistaken for leaders having the solutions to all organisational challenges, leaders tend not to ask the questions throughout the organisation that will get people to really think and reflect before responding. Usually there is not the time to do so. The pace of change warrants an immediate response - or so people think. In fact, the best response could be the delayed one, especially when seeking solutions to complex challenges that should be the focus of such insightful questions.

Knowing how to ask the right question should be one of the many fundamental tools in a leaders' toolbox. Without these questions, are leaders really getting the right input and feedback that ensures the picture they have of the situation is the correct one, rather than a distorted view based on their own biases?

Sydney Finkelstein noted in his 2004 article entitled "Zombie business: How to learn from their mistakes", coined the term 'zombie companies' which he said such a company was a "...walking corpse that just doesn't know yet that it is dead - because this company has created an insulated culture that systematically excludes any information that could contradict its reigning picture of reality." In this sense, the challenge for leaders is not to avoid questions that result in deep and meaningful answers, but rather to see such questions as learning opportunities, opening an organisational culture that is constantly putting a mirror to itself and responding through informed change.

Ed Oakley and Doug Krug in their 1994 publication entitled "Enlightened Leadership" suggested that "... the better we as leaders become at asking effective questions and listening for those answers to those questions, the more consistently we and the people with whom we work can accomplish mutually satisfying objectives, be empowered, reduce resistance, and create a willingness to pursue innovative change."

So how do we best define and develop a questioning culture in our organisations? Michael Marquardt in his 2014 publication entitled "Leading with Questions - How leaders find the right solutions by knowing what to ask", suggests that a questioning culture is "... a culture in which responsibility is shared. And when responsibility is shared, problems are shared and ownership of results are shared. When an organisation develops a questioning culture, it also creates a culture of we, rather than a culture of you versus me, or management versus employee." 

Marquardt suggets 6 defining characteristics of a questioning organisational culture. These include:

1. People within it are willing to admit that they don't know the answer
2. People within it go beyond allowing questions, they encourage them
3. People throughout the organisation are helped to develop the skills needed to ask questions in a positive, rather than negative way
4. People throughout the organisation focus on questions that empower others, rather than disempowering them
5. People throughout the organisation are expected to focus on asking questions and searching for answers, rather than merely always finding the elusive 'right' answer, and
6. People throughout the organisation are recognised for taking calculated risks in pursuing the organisational goals and objectives.

How does your organisation stack up? Do you have a questioning culture? Are you asking the right questions and are your staff well versed in the power of questions?

OPTIMUM NFP in conjunction with Action Learning International launched the Action Learning Question Program in the Australian NFP sector in 2013. The Program runs both as public and in-house sessions and its success has been well documented by those that have participated. It is predicated on resolving organisational challenges and developing staff and leaders by asking the right questions.The Program has been formally accredited by the Australian Institute of Management Business School.

Contact David Rosenbaum at drosenbaum@optimumnfp.com.au or on 0411-744-911 to arrange a no-obligation meeting to discuss the Action Learning Question Program and how it can help your organisation take on the question culture that many recognise is needed in the modern organisation.

Board Practices - How Does Your NFP Stack Up?

Much is being written regarding the state of NFP Board practices across the western economies. It makes for some interesting reading and provides some good comparisons and benchmarks for your own NFP board. The latest "Leading with Intent" survey from the united States, which commenced annual collection in 1994, reflects board responsibilities across 10 leading indicators. Whilst it covers the board, the chair and the CEO, it is the board evaluation which I think provides the greatest challenges if considered in the light of the substantial strategic and operational issues that Australian NFPs face over the next 10 years or so. Despite  a number of social, economic and legal differences between Australia and the United States, there remain many similarities, and so it is worthwhile considering the output in this context.

Overall US NFP boards were generally better at technical tasks, such as financial oversight and compliance but less so at adaptive work related to strategy and community outreach. This measure was undertaken against a backdrop of great similarities between the two countries, namely economic challenges, declining government funding and continued growth in service demand.

As a moving indicator that has been measured over the last 22 years, it provides a good analysis of both improvement and decline over that period, meaning trending becomes important. In the case of financial performance of medium organisations, being those with turnover greater than $1 million but less than $10 million, 53% of those surveyed improved their results, 38% remained the same whilst 9% had in fact deteriorated. Those with operating budgets greater than $10 million reflected a similar profile excepting 36% were about the same whilst 11% reflected deterioration.

In the work that I do with boards reviewing their overall governance, I use a custom designed 100-point on-line survey covering board roles, board processes, board behaviours and board membership. The most challenging aspects of performance that I have tracked since the first use of the tool in 2010 across a number of varying sized NFPs, has been strategic planning capabilities, board accountabilities, board membership issues associated with the appropriateness of relevant skills, effectiveness of relationships with the CEO and mission alignment in terms of the board decision-making processes.

The overlap between US characteristics in this sector and the Australian experience appears to be at the strategy level. In the context of the current and future challenges for Australian NFPs, this is potentially concerning as the market and funding challenges require, in many instances, a rethink of the strategic future direction of many of these organisations. So a key question therefore must be, to what extent are Australian NFP boards ready to address the strategic direction of their organisations?

OPTIMUM NFP has developed a strategic planning process and board governance review mechanism that responds to conditions that many have described as volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous and diverse. Conditions that demand your board operating at levels that inform a potentially new strategic direction.

Contact David Rosenbaum at drosenbaum@optimumnfp.com.au or on 0411-744-911 to arrange a no-obligations meeting to discuss how OPTIMUM NFP can add value to your NFP by ensuring your Board has the skills and capabilities to adequately steer your NFP through these challenging market conditions. The experience of OPTIMUM NFP could be exactly what you need at this point in time.

Strategic Planning - How Does Research Inform Our Practice?

Strategic planning is undertaken in many different ways in the various nonprofit organisations that I have interacted with and consulted to over the years. Whilst the various approaches all focus on some level of engagement across the organisation, methods of such engagement, depth of engagement, and timing of this engagement, vary quite widely. The one thing that they have in common is the desired output - being some sort of strategy plan, the format and structure of which, also varies quite widely.

In an attempt to bring this variety into some broader context, I noted with interest, an academic article in the July 2015 British Journal of Management entitled "Off to Plan or Out to Lunch? Relationships between Design Characteristics and Outcomes of Strategy Workshops" by Healey, Hodgkinson, Whittington and Johnson (of Manchester Business School, Warwick Business School, and Lancaster University Management School). Having delivered one of my research papers, entitled "Action Learning Intervention as a Change Management Strategy in the Disability Services Sector - A Case Study" at the 2013 British Academy of Management, to which the British Journal of Management is linked, the article on strategic planning attracted my attention.

A range of very interesting findings were presented in this research, which was based on a detailed questionnaire survey that was distributed to a random sample of 8,000 members of the UK's Chartered Management Institute, from which there were 1,337 respondents, being a response rate of just under 17%. Those that had not participated in a strategic planning workshop in their current organisation were then excluded from the analysis, which left a total of 846 valid responses from which the findings of the research were drawn.

These findings may be of interest to your organisation, especially as you may be planning your next round of strategic plans and considering the vagaries of workshop alternatives to enhance the process and inform the production of your strategic plan. The findings focused on what was identified as three concepts related to outcomes of strategy workshops, identified as follows:

1. The research identified the organisational outcomes that were linked to the formal workshops. The researchers defined organisational outcomes as the impacts that the workshops would have on the organisation's strategic direction, including its vision, values, business plan and business processes. Here they suggested that the formalities of the event itself provided a rare forum for examining and changing the goals of the organisation as well as defining the communication strategies around this. They supported this by suggesting that a process of open and frank discussion concerning the long-term logic of the business, underpinned any switching of the strategic focus.
2. The research identified the interpersonal outcomes that were linked to the formal workshops. The researchers identified the team-building and organisational development impacts that such formal workshops enabled. The bringing together of individuals to collaborate on the common issues, facilitated these outcomes, reversing the sense of disengagement and the absence of shared feeling that some experience if they have not been involved in such formal workshop events leading to the development of the strategic plan.
3. Finally, the research identified what they referred to as the cognitive outcomes that were linked to the formal workshop processes. Cognitive outcomes were described  as the understanding of the organisation's strategic positioning and direction, the strategic issues that it faced and the wider business environment that informed the full range of strategic outcomes.

What practical guidance can be extracted from this type of research and what, if any, are the implications for your own organisation as you consider the workshop structure, process and aftermath, as you commence your strategic planning activities?

• I think it is reasonable to assume that your workshop design should consider the interplay of all outcomes identified by the research, namely organisational, interpersonal and cognitive;
• I believe that from a structural perspective, the outcomes of the workshop should ensure that opportunities to strengthen the internal organisational communication lines is maximised;
• The strategic inclusion of relevant personnel from across the organisation must be considered in order to maximise the sense of inclusion and to pave the way for well considered strategy content;
• Strengthening key internal relationships should also be identified as an outcome that can deliver benefits in both strategy-inputs as well as strategy-implementation; and
• The success of your strategic planning processes is potentially predicated on the adequacy and depth of your preparations.

OPTIMUM NFP has developed a strategic planning process that has responded to many of the issues identified in this research and has successfully executed the process in many nonprofit organisations. Contact David Rosenbaum at drosenbaum@optimumnfp.com.auor on 0411-744-911 to arrange a no-obligation meeting to discuss your organisation's strategy planning process. Make the most out of the research that, when used well, can be to your organisation's benefit.

Change Management Podcast - David Rosenbaum and the Australian Institute of Management Business School

David Rosenbaum being interviewed by Professor Elizabeth More, National Academic Director, Australian Institute of Management Business School

1st AIM Business School Podcast series

  

Change management is one of those issues that resonates with just about every organisation, irrespective of industry sector, and irrespective of the organisation's positioning. It is one of those challenges that has been in existence for decades and the extent to which organisations continue to be challenged by it, is recognition of its complexity. In truth there is no simple answer, nor is there a prescriptive approach that guides successful organisational change.

In my own PhD research into change management in the Australian nonprofit sector, I have identified a number of factors which are considered ingredients in successful change, and findings from this research has now been published internationally.

In the first of AIM Business School's podcast series, Professor Elizabeth More, National Academic Director of the Australian Institute of Management Business School interviews me to discuss this very broad topic, both in my capacity as a consultant in change, a researcher and author on change, and as National Unit Coordinator for the Australian Institute of Management MBA Program in the Unit entitled Strategic Organisational Change.

You can access this podcast by clicking on the following URL link:

https://soundcloud.com/user-797298966/david-rosenbaum-change-management

Please feel free to contact David Rosenbaum of OPTIMUM NFP on 0411-744-911 or at drosenbaum@optimumnfp.com.au to discuss change management in your organisation or to obtain further information about the Strategic Organisational Change Unit at the Australian Institute of Management Business School.