How Boards Keep Score

We have written in this space about the differences between governance of for-profit and  nonprofit organizations. One compelling difference that is often overlooked is the board's relationship with growth. For-profit companies relentlessly pursue growth imperative, much in the same way that academics publish or perish. Measuring growth is one way corporate boards keep score.Independent schools rarely grow, other than during a start-up phase or when recovering from years of declining enrollment or when needing additional students to help amortize debt. Corporations often pursue strategies of acquisition and merger as a way of growing sales and profits; very few schools merge other than well-known examples of single gender schools becoming co-ed.This difference in goal--growth versus sustainability--resonates through some of the most intense board conflicts we have seen. Unlike share prices, test scores cannot go forever upward. Other than normal tuition increases of 3-4% per year, growth in sales is a non-issue. Market share rarely budges--independent schools in general have held about the same share (1%) of the U.S. education market since 1960. How, then, should boards evaluate their work?Our thinking is that it is up to each generation of board members to leave the school better positioned for success ( measured by sustainability and endurance). This, rather than growth per se, is what matters most.