From Philosophy to Practice: Building a Governance Strategy & Charter
Where organizations can start when making governance real
In my last post, I argued that governance should not be seen as a compliance obligation but as an enterprise capability- a way of working that creates transparency, accountability, and disciplined innovation. That idea struck a chord, and I had some great conversations with peers afterward.
But one question kept surfacing:
“Okay, but where would my organization start?”
It’s a fair question. Governance is often acted upon as an emergency response. During that fire drill, external firms may describe governance in abstract terms, or reduce it to a checklist of regulatory controls. That makes it feel either too heavy for smaller firms, or too vague for larger ones. The truth is that every organization needs structure, whether you’re a big-small company (large ambitions, lean resources) or a small-big company (established presence, still running like a startup).
Structure is what transforms governance from an obstacle into an accelerator.
Why a Charter Matters
Without a single reference point, governance fragments.
Policies end up scattered across SharePoint folders.
Roles get buried in PowerPoint org charts.
Procedures live in people’s heads.
When that happens, governance is either invisible or inconsistent, and in either case, it fails to serve the business.
A Governance Strategy & Charter changes that. It acts as the master document that pulls everything together: principles, objectives, roles, policies, and metrics. It defines the framework while pointing to subdocuments that handle the details.
The result is a living artifact that gives:
Executives confidence that governance is aligned with strategy.
Teams clarity on how to deliver within agreed guardrails.
Auditors and regulators evidence that governance is structured and defensible.
What the Structure Looks Like
To move from philosophy to practice, I drafted a Governance Strategy & Charter template for a fictional company, Thurman Analytics. It draws on TOGAF for architectural alignment, DAMA for data governance, and COBIT for IT governance, blending data and technology governance into one integrated framework.
The Charter is organized into thirteen sections:
Executive Summary
Background & Drivers
Purpose & Objectives
Scope of Governance
Alignment with TOGAF
Guiding Principles
Governance Operating Model
Roles & Responsibilities
Policies & Standards
Procedures & Escalation Paths
Implementation Roadmap (18–24 Months)
Metrics & Success Criteria
References
a Revision History for version control
Each section builds on the last, moving from Why governance matters → What it covers → How it operates → How it matures over time.
Scaling for “Big-Small” and “Small-Big” Organizations
One misconception is that governance is only for large enterprises with entire departments dedicated to risk and compliance. In reality, smaller organizations need it just as much (perhaps more!)
A small-big company (established in the market but still operating like a startup) risks inconsistency, knowledge loss, and audit headaches without structure.
A big-small company (lean resources but ambitious goals) needs governance to scale responsibly without collapsing under hidden risks.
In both cases, a Charter acts as a forcing function. It ensures that decisions are documented, ownership is clear, and guardrails are in place before growth makes governance much harder to retrofit.
Why Governance Accelerates Innovation
Too often, governance is seen as a brake. In reality, the right structure acts as an accelerator.
Transparency makes decisions auditable and reusable, rather than buried in email threads.
Accountability ensures data domains, systems, and technologies always have a clear owner.
Discipline reduces rework, duplication, and fire drills that slow teams down.
The result isn’t bureaucracy, it’s velocity. Teams can move faster because the rules are clear, evidence is built-in, and risk is managed proactively rather than reactively.
Where to Begin
If your organization is looking to start, you don’t need to build all thirteen sections on day one. Start with:
A Charter that outlines purpose, scope, and roles.
A handful of baseline policies (one for data, one for technology).
A cadence for governance meetings to make the structure real.
From there, expand into standards, procedures, and metrics. The key is sequencing: quick wins first, maturity over time.
Closing
Governance is not a cost center. It’s a multiplier. The right structure reduces risks, shortens audit prep, and most importantly, creates the conditions for innovation to scale.
Whether your organization is “big-small” or “small-big,” a Governance Strategy & Charter provides the foundation. It turns governance from a philosophical debate into a practical capability.
If governance is a capability, then this Charter is the playbook.
Find the template here.
Check out my other work at my website.