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Post by Designer on Mar 21, 2018 17:31:53 GMT
Much has been discussed on other threads about Mark M our recently departed CEO. It is clear that the experiment of appointing a CEO for CFC did not work out as expected. I had a look at the archives of the Chronicle and it revealed that MM was appointed in June 2016 by the CFC board, and Simon O (Chairman - first time around Dec 2015-Nov 2016) explained at the time it was part of the creating a long term sustainable future for the club.
It seems to me that to understand what went wrong behind the scenes over the next 18 months, to end up at near bankruptcy in 2018 needs to be explained by those who are now charting the sustainable future once again. If the headline failures of the past - both financial and recruitment on and off the pitch, cannot be identified then the same mistakes will be made again.
This self flagellation should result in changes in governance to the checks and balances over the commitment of funds and accepting external advice and intelligence over potential recruits for any position.
Finally, all board members irrespective of background/discipline should be sent on a mandatory training course for "directors of companies" to enable them to have confidence in challenging events and decisions. When they come back run a number board workshops to build the team. The workshops could observed by members of the CFU for them to get confidence in the new team.
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Post by Frank Owen’s Paintbrush on Mar 21, 2018 17:40:14 GMT
Some excellent suggestions here, I trust the Strategy working group will be looking at them closely.
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Post by Al on Mar 21, 2018 18:42:26 GMT
Any ideas how a course like that would cost by the way - if it exists at all?
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Post by Designer on Mar 22, 2018 9:45:16 GMT
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Post by Al on Mar 22, 2018 10:11:52 GMT
LOL have you taken one look at the course fees?
Individual Certificate Course Fees IoD Members (2018) IoD Non-members
(2018)
Course I - The Role of the Director and the Board
£1595 £1825
Course II - Finance for Non-Financial Directors
£1850 £2075
Course III - The Director's Role in Strategy and Marketing
£1850 £2075
Course IV - Leadership for Directors
£1595 £1825
Sorry but it's a non starter
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Post by eyeswideopen on Mar 22, 2018 10:22:10 GMT
LOL have you taken one look at the course fees? Individual Certificate Course Fees IoD Members (2018) IoD Non-members (2018) Course I - The Role of the Director and the Board £1595 £1825 Course II - Finance for Non-Financial Directors £1850 £2075 Course III - The Director's Role in Strategy and Marketing £1850 £2075 Course IV - Leadership for Directors £1595 £1825 Sorry but it's a non starter If its training required that is crucial to the role, then maybe we can explore getting a training grant? |
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Post by Al on Mar 22, 2018 10:28:04 GMT
LOL have you taken one look at the course fees? Individual Certificate Course Fees IoD Members (2018) IoD Non-members (2018) Course I - The Role of the Director and the Board £1595 £1825 Course II - Finance for Non-Financial Directors £1850 £2075 Course III - The Director's Role in Strategy and Marketing £1850 £2075 Course IV - Leadership for Directors £1595 £1825 Sorry but it's a non starter If its training required that is crucial to the role, then maybe we can explore getting a training grant? And when would these directors have enough time in their lives to do a course like this when they all have full time work, families, on top of having a directorship role at the football club which demands any and all spare time you can manage? The sentiment is nice, but the reality of it, for price, and time you'd need to invest in this isn't (in my opinion) workable |
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Post by gezzer on Mar 22, 2018 10:49:56 GMT
If its training required that is crucial to the role, then maybe we can explore getting a training grant? And when would these directors have enough time in their lives to do a course like this when they all have full time work, families, on top of having a directorship role at the football club which demands any and all spare time you can manage? The sentiment is nice, but the reality of it, for price, and time you'd need to invest in this isn't (in my opinion) workable And there in lies the problem. How can FT working fans be required to run a £1m+ operation on a few hours a week without the relevant experiences? The experiment of appointing a CEO was not the problem, the problem was that the accountability chain broke almost as soon as the CEO was appointed. If we have any ambition to be a football league club again we need the right people with the proper experience in place as soon as it is affordable and sustainable, its a bit chicken and egg really as these people could make us sustainable more quickly but we cannot afford it. Before anyone jumps in re MM, there are other CEOs who have and are doing a great job at other football clubs also this post is about being fan run rather than fan owned.
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Post by Al on Mar 22, 2018 11:30:29 GMT
And when would these directors have enough time in their lives to do a course like this when they all have full time work, families, on top of having a directorship role at the football club which demands any and all spare time you can manage? The sentiment is nice, but the reality of it, for price, and time you'd need to invest in this isn't (in my opinion) workable And there in lies the problem. How can FT working fans be required to run a £1m+ operation on a few hours a week without the relevant experiences? The experiment of appointing a CEO was not the problem, the problem was that the accountability chain broke almost as soon as the CEO was appointed. If we have any ambition to be a football league club again we need the right people with the proper experience in place as soon as it is affordable and sustainable, its a bit chicken and egg really as these people could make us sustainable more quickly but we cannot afford it. Before anyone jumps in re MM, there are other CEOs who have and are doing a great job at other football clubs also this post is about being fan run rather than fan owned.
We can't appoint another CEO as the position has been made redundant. Which is the same regards a Commercial Manager as we made that position redundant too. I disagree regarding paid roles. We've got the Working Groups setup and working well regards new initiatives and making things far more professionally run. Many hands make light work as they say. There is a LOT more work going into the club now then there has been for a number of months or even years thanks to the efforts, in particular of the fundraising working group, Commercial have already launched the Pitch Networking group and next seasons home kit is being sorted out. And all this work and effort costs the club nothing in terms of a wage. |
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Post by Captain Duff on Mar 22, 2018 12:06:54 GMT
We can't appoint another CEO as the position has been made redundant. Which is the same regards a Commercial Manager as we made that position redundant too. Not strictly true. If the business need or financial position changes for an employer who has made a position redundant then while they would need to be careful to be able to show and prove this there would be nothing legally to prevent redundant posts then being re-established and it would not then mean tat the previous redundancy would be deemed unfair. In relation to the points made elsewhere, for me the creation of a CEO role was not wrong, and it would still be sustainable had the on field problems not created the financial crises we have had to deal with where we make a loss even on our home games due to low gates. There does need to be a balance between the employed staff on the Ops Board and the elected Board that direct and manage them. As it turned out we could not sustain both a club secretary and a CEO, but we need one or the other. In terms of training, yes, it is difficult for volunteers to monitor a d remotely manage a business as a volunteer board member. This is no different to being a school governor or a trade union branch lay officer. Training will only take you so far, the best training in any role like this is experience and 'learning the ropes' from those who have been in post longer than you. I am confident that we have the right people back in day to day control of our club, but the tanker will take a while to turn. |
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Post by Frank Owen’s Paintbrush on Mar 22, 2018 12:35:09 GMT
I think Al is wrong to be so dismissive of the idea. Obviously the cost of the course and the practicalities of part-time directors being able to attend renders it unsuitable but I can understand where the OP is coming from. We just now have to have faith that the current, and future board members have the capabilities to make tough, correct decisions and hope there is a key framework for all future board members to step into and adhere to.
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Post by Al on Mar 22, 2018 12:49:24 GMT
I think Al is wrong to be so dismissive of the idea. Obviously the cost of the course and the practicalities of part-time directors being able to attend renders it unsuitable but I can understand where the OP is coming from. We just now have to have faith that the current, and future board members have the capabilities to make tough, correct decisions and hope there is a key framework for all future board members to step into and adhere to. I understand where he's coming from as well, but it's just not practical to blow a significant amount of money on training courses when every penny that has been raised has been done so to secure the future of the football club.
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Post by Frank Owen’s Paintbrush on Mar 22, 2018 12:55:42 GMT
Yes that is a fair point.
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Post by gezzer on Mar 22, 2018 14:40:52 GMT
And there in lies the problem. How can FT working fans be required to run a £1m+ operation on a few hours a week without the relevant experiences? The experiment of appointing a CEO was not the problem, the problem was that the accountability chain broke almost as soon as the CEO was appointed. If we have any ambition to be a football league club again we need the right people with the proper experience in place as soon as it is affordable and sustainable, its a bit chicken and egg really as these people could make us sustainable more quickly but we cannot afford it. Before anyone jumps in re MM, there are other CEOs who have and are doing a great job at other football clubs also this post is about being fan run rather than fan owned.
We can't appoint another CEO as the position has been made redundant. Which is the same regards a Commercial Manager as we made that position redundant too. I disagree regarding paid roles. We've got the Working Groups setup and working well regards new initiatives and making things far more professionally run. Many hands make light work as they say. There is a LOT more work going into the club now then there has been for a number of months or even years thanks to the efforts, in particular of the fundraising working group, Commercial have already launched the Pitch Networking group and next seasons home kit is being sorted out. And all this work and effort costs the club nothing in terms of a wage. Mark Maguire was the 2nd CEO we have made redundant, the other being Pat Cluskey. Hopefully the working groups will continue to be well volunteered for many years to come but as history has shown volunteering can go down as well as up and I applaud you all for stepping up but it still leaves us well short on experienced football club operators. |
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