Are You Ready for Company (2008)

Company's coming! In the small-town, pre-Internet, pre-videogame world that I grew up in, those words were almost always good news. It usually meant that friends or relatives were on their way, and that our family would enjoy visits with people of importance to us. Or sometimes, the would be more official in nature, such as the local priest or minister, or someone calling from a community business. But nonetheless, it was always very nice to welcome someone to our home--except for thing. That one thing, to which I refer, would be my mother's last minute call for us all to pitch in to make sure that our house was for company. My mother demanded that things be straightened up, not for us, but for the company, for she had a knack of looking at our home through the eyes of the visitors and seeing things that were out of place. I must admit that our family occasionally balked at the scramble to put things in order before the arrived, but we often marveled at how much better things looked once we did so. In the cooperative world, looking at day to day operations from a different perspective is a hard thing to do, but, as in my family's example, can be rewarding. And, in the case of cooperatives, it may be imperative to do so because company really is coming. Cooperative leaders devote much of their time communicating their desire for others to respect the cooperative business model. Cooperatives have justifiably boasted their ability to deliver a wide range of food, utility, housing, financial, and other vital services to member-owners efficiently and economically. But, the cooperative story is still relatively unknown in mainstream business, academic, and consumer circles. That lack of awareness is ripe to change, and in part because of the current economic conditions, it just might. Witness the recent appearance of National Cooperative Business Association (NCBA) Vice President Adam Schwartz on CNN's Issue #1 new program devoted to rising food prices. Adam did an excellent job promoting the ability of food cooperatives to provide an economical food distribution alternative, and he also put in a good word for member controlled cooperatives in all cooperative sectors. Adam, in effect, used CNN as a platform to invite consumers, the press and others to look us over. One the hand, the cooperative movement had to be thrilled with Adam's initiative. But, are we ready for the scrutiny? Better yet, is your cooperative ready? Who might be looking at your cooperative? Prospective members, public officials and the media are all candidates to be the first people through the door trying to learn more about you. But my advice is to be even more ready for inquiries from your present members. Anticipate that there may well be cooperative members with a new or renewed interest in their own cooperative. How should a cooperative prepare for such increased interest? What are the questions that the cooperative should be asking itself in preparation for company? In every issue of the Cooperative Business Journal there is a listing of the seven cooperative principles. For any cooperative doing a self-assessment, the first questions have to be: Are the cooperative's business and governance practices in accordance with the cooperative principles? …