The joy of NFPs versus the company board

Sitting on the board of a large company or a Not For Profit organisation could be compared with the difference between driving an airconditioned Lexus, where you barely need to touch the wheel, to that of an old VW - where you have direct access to the steering wheel.

"Sometimes its really good to be in the driving seat," David Gonski said.

Speaking in the first session of the 1st National Diversity on Boards Conference in Sydney on 28 May 2008, Mr Gonski extolled the benefits of working as a NFP director, saying "it is the joy of my life and can be the joy of your own."

While NFPs are seen as a sound route to private and public company boards, Mr Gonski cautioned delegates against taking a directorship for the reason that it 'would do something for them.'

Thinking in this way, he said, precludes the opportunity to get involved more deeply in the work of the organisation.

"You don't take a NFP directorship to collect points for the hereafter or get an AO - you do it for the passion," he said.

Not for profits a good route into the boardroom - Catherine Fox, AFR 3 June 2008