The Foundation

What is governance?

If we’re going to talk about building a high-performing organization, the first topic is ‘governance’. So, to create a firm foundation, let’s define governance and understand its goals.

Governance is often discussed as a set of rules. But who creates those rules? To what purpose?

Once we know what it is and what it does, there’s still the question of whether, in the grand scheme of things, good governance actually matters. Clearly, governance involves some degree of effort. So, is it cost-justified? Can good governance help deliver better results? If so, how?

Does culture matter?

Let’s start by coming up with a definition for culture. And there’s the question about whether every organization has a culture. Just one? Maybe more than one?

And, once we’ve defined culture, let’s settle early on whether culture is some squishy nice-to-have or whether it really matters. Because if it doesn’t matter let’s not waste our time.

We should also consider how cultures get built. Can they be intentionally crafted? If so, how? What makes a good culture? Or a bad one?

How do they work together?

Governance and the performance culture depend on each other. Governance is the ‘why’, and the performance culture is the ‘how’.