What is business governance and why does it matter?
Good governance is about structuring, operating, and controlling a company with a view to achieving long-term strategic goals for shareholders, creditors, employees, customers, and suppliers. It allows the company to realise its desired vision and purpose due to achieving the required results and outcomes operationally in the business.
Why is good governance so important?
In a nutshell, good governance allows a business to keep operating:
- Shareholders continue to invest money and time.
- Funders continue to fund the business.
- Suppliers continue to supply and allow credit because they sense a stable business environment.
- Regulators (if any) allow the company to continue, as compliance matters are being met.
- Customers continue to support the business by buying from it.
- Employees continue to have faith in the business and continue providing their services.
How big does a company need to be to benefit from a governance process?
The majority of companies, even smaller ones, would benefit from more effective governance.
When a business is small, governance tends towards ad-hoc and laid back. On the other hand, when a business is large, governance is often overly bureaucratic.
The best governance, for all sizes of business, involves:
- Everything that’s needed; nothing that’s not
- Intense professional will, with deep personal humility
- Consensus without ‘groupthink’
“A big business starts small.” – Richard Branson.
Have questions about what governance should look like for your business? We can help!