Board of Directors Philosophy and Operations
  Board Governance

We work within what is known as a policy governance framework. Under this model, in the form developed by John Carver in his book Boards That Make A Difference, the Board focuses on the future direction of PFC rather than daily operations. We do so on behalf of its Member-Owners. We have developed and continually revise policies that define our vision, values, and mission, and provide guidance to our General Manager.

The Board establishes policies in those areas about which it cares strongly and monitors organizational performance through the General Manager. The GM manages store operations within the policy guidelines set by the Board. Management is evaluated only on how well it meets these guidelines and is otherwise free to act as it sees fit. Monitoring is done primarily through scheduled reports from the GM and reviews only those specific areas defined in the policies. The Board defines, delegates, and monitors but does not carry-out the Co-op's work.

The policy governance approach makes Board work more interesting and challenging, and frees the Board to concentrate on the future. Rather than reviewing details of financial statements or lengthy descriptions of store activities, the Board spends most of its time planning the future and crafting the policies that will guide us. It also frees the GM and the management team from some of the time-consuming work of preparing complicated reports, allowing them to concentrate on operating PFC more efficiently and effectively for its Member-Owners.

To sssummarize what we believe to be the four main areas of Board activity we use the acronym LEAP: