Saturday 13 December 2014

G14 Financial Summit 2

There were no helicopters, motorcycle police, barricades or press.  The simple wooden sign confirmed this was the right place.  I parked under the dark trees and found my way into the building through a back door.   To the right, Sam's breakfast of fried eggs on toast smelled delicious (especially since I'd left home before 6am).  To the left, Andrea was loading a washing machine.  I ducked through a low doorway and into Anthem's large lounge. 

This was review day, when all the Exec groups reported back on 2015's budget exercise.  Steve Line, our former audit partner, stepped briskly into the room  and shook hands with all present.  Huw, sitting beside me with a grave expression, was fidgeting.  Jan positioned himself  - probably unnecessarily - on a back row bench.  Hilary gave out neatly clipped bundles of paper for those who hadn't studied their advance copies.  Mick started us off with a song, scripture reading and prayer.  Ed, co-chairing, invited Steve to open.

"I've lost sleep over what I've found here," he announced, referring to Hilary's pack of reports.  "You have some major decisions to make.  It's not all about cost cutting.  It's about heart and head, and which you'll follow.  You share a DNA, and you can all give reasons why things shouldn't change.  And I've known you all long enough to say that you're very good at talking round things, and then doing nothing about them."

"The best way I can describe it is like a funnel, out of which you need to squeeze some results.  But first you have to put in some weighty decisions, like whether you see yourselves - the whole Church community - as custodians or innovators?  These provide the pressure onto your commitments, strategies and actions.  Do your top level Execs make these decisions?"  Steve's emphasis on 'make' suggested that he knew jolly well...

"As we go through these reports and analyses, I suggest you ask, 'So what?'.  'So what?' if you have low community house occupancy, less than a full weeks' wages, etc.  Like I said, it's heart and mind.  I'm here perhaps just to give an outside perspective.  You'll find that uncomfortable.  And I shall make it uncomfortable, or else you'll do nothing."  'Nemesis' may have been the word Steve used, but he was being a good friend.

The Exec reports and analyses were uniformly excellent.  As Steve had predicted, the community issues provoked most cross-conversation, because they were closest to home.   Folks feel more distanced or detached from various Jesus Centres or business subsidiaries.  By now, Huw was looking even grimmer.

Ed ruthlessly drove each agreed decision marker to an action point, and named a responsible person or group.  Steve insisted that the communication of decisions to all involved - across the Church - must improve.  There was tension: it's true there's been buck-passing, stalling and indecision.  Some of us 'retired' business executives, like Kelly, Ed and I, have made our presence more evident among the not-for-profit entities.  I have to say that there's begun to be a sharper culture, but it's only a start.

We wound down to whether and when we should meet again to pick up progress.  Steve, probably feeling that a good day's work was about to slip through our fingers, interrupted: "No later than the end of March."  Then, even with a nice buffet lunch waiting, he apologised for leaving abruptly, 'to get an afternoon nap'.  That man deserves a quality Xmas hamper from Goodness Foods: I hope Ed made a note.

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