Being A Board Member, Budgets and Numbers

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"Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." ~ Albert Einstein

I love numbers. They offer clarity in a world confusing and ever changing. They provide relief from conjecture and speculation. Sometimes they even produce certainty.

However, it has been my experience that often as not, they are as confusing and unclear as the world itself. Of course, they can also produce more questions than answers. In addition, the answers they do produce can be short sighted and woefully inadequate. Take baseball for instance.

Why hasn't anyone hit .400 since Ted Williams (.406) in 1941? The easy answer would be that there just hasn't been anyone as good as Ted since then. But, even the most casual observer of baseball would say it's a little more complicated than that.

In 1941, most games were played in the daylight. Starting pitchers were expected to pitch the entire game, and the number of quality pitchers was less. Closing relievers like Dennis Eckersley, Rob Nenn and Mariano Rivera simply didn't exist. The game was played differently from a strategic standpoint. Home runs weren't as important. Baseball gloves were smaller.

The list goes on.

So how does this relate to being a Sea Ranch Association Board Member?

To start with, our 2008-2009 yearly budget is in excess of 5 million dollars. That's a lot of numbers. As a board member, I would be expected to deal with those numbers, to assess and prioritize them. That's a big responsibility.

However, and this is a big "however," I do not feel it is the duty of a board member to generate numbers. Here are the 2 major reasons why.

#1. We have a Director of Financial Services, and she does a great job generating numbers. Her name is Ellen Buechner. I took the time to sit down with her and and have an extended conversation about the budget. In my opinion, she's top notch. She's analytical, cautious, intelligent and creative. Beyond that she impressed me as a person with a great deal of integrity, and that's very important. Consider this. Warren Buffett, the "Oracle of Omaha," and founder of Bershire-Hathaway, says that when he is hiring, he looks for 3 qualities: integrity, intelligence and creativity. However, he always makes sure he gets integrity first, because if doesn't the other two will kill him.

Warren Buffett wouldn't have any problem hiring Ellen Buechner. That's good enough for me.

And in any case, why waste Sea Ranch Association time doing something that someone who we pay does better? Seems a bit counterproductive.

#2. Generating numbers is a dangerous game for a board member, whose primary responsibilities are to oversee, guide policy and represent Sea Ranchers.

A strategy of generating numbers for the purpose of guiding or establishing policy is inherently flawed.

A good friend says that there are some who think if you massage the numbers long enough, they will produce the desired result. I happen to think that's true. However, the desirability of the result is not necessarily related to its propriety.

In essence, generating numbers to determine propriety is a little like saying the reason Ted Williams was the last man to hit .400, is because no one has been as good since then.

I'm afraid it's a little more complicated than that. And, it would be naive of a board member to think otherwise. I won't.

A board member needs to think beyond the numbers, and keep his eye on the ball. I will.