By Dan Clark
In times like these, with bottom lines in trouble, I've seen many boards increase the amount of information they request. The belief seems to be, the more confusing things get, more information will help.
The case is the opposite. The more confusing things get, the more focused we need to become.
Getting less information, but all of it focused on what's important to policy makers, is the better course of action. Especially for our volunteer board members. I have great respect for volunteer board members. In my personal volunteer efforts, where I have little contact with the day-to-day, more information has never made me feel better informed; it made me feel less informed and inadequate.
Here are 11 ways for boards to be productive or more productive:
1. Practice punctuality; start on time.
2. Start a meeting with discussion of strategic issues because the most energy the board will have is at the beginning.
3. Define what your board wants in its regular diet of information; focus it down.
4. Insist that proposals be presented days ahead of a meeting; include several viable options, and a clearly reasoned decision the board should make.
5. Allow a little time before the start of a meeting for directors to reacquaint and engage in "small talk," but otherwise keep the meeting on task.
6. Incorporate a "parking lot" discussion period near adjournment; politely park worthwhile discussion topics there until the items on the agenda are completed.
7. Set your meeting days, dates and times such that the majority have the best chance of being on time.
8. Adjourn the meeting when the approved time to adjourn arrives.
9. Keep things moving; gently prod folks to speak succinctly, speak once, and not repeat themselves.
10. Allow for a modicum of jocularity while keeping an eye on the time and the remaining agenda.
11. Do not allow the delay of planned discussion, debate or decisions because a minority of the board is unprepared.
Dan Clark is CEO of Dan Clark Associates LLC, Tallahassee, Fla.
Read more articles by Dan in our Boards archive.
