By Rolf Crocker

Have you ever seen the movie Groundhog Day, with Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell? The premise is simple but ingenious. Murray plays a sarcastic, sardonic TV weatherman named Phil Connors who is rude to everyone, particularly his new producer, played by MacDowell. For the fourth year in a row, Phil is forced to make the Feb. 2 pilgrimage to Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, to pay homage to that bastion of winter forecasting, the groundhog Punxsutawney Phil. When the shoot is completed, Phil the weatherman can’t wait to get out of town. Lo and behold, he and his crew get snowed in, and they’re forced to spend the night in Punxsutawney.

 When the alarm goes off at 6 a.m. on what should be Feb. 3, Connors discovers he has woken up on the day before—Groundhog Day. Further, he finds he is in an endless loop of Groundhog Days. No matter what he does to himself or to others, he wakes up on the same day, Groundhog Day, and relives the same events with the same people. But finally, he begins to learn some important life lessons, which allow him to break free of the Möbius loop and lead a richer life.

 Hmm. Why does that scenario sound so familiar?

GOODBYE, MÖBIUS
Maybe because your community’s governance procedures are entirely too Groundhog Day-esque. It’s pretty easy to tell. Do your board meetings leave you feeling like the same people are making the same observations about the same agenda items over and over again? Can you take a set of minutes from a year ago, cross out the date, write in the date of last night’s board meeting, and have the same meeting?

 Too often, boards find themselves in an endless loop of successive meetings, discussing the same topics month after month, yet never feeling like they’re making any real headway. In fact, when you’re trapped in Groundhog Day, you spend most of your time “almost” making decisions, but never bringing them to execution. How do you break out of the Möbius loop, begin to have productive meetings, and finally start making important decisions?

 To go in a different direction, you have to alter your route. First, stop saying the seven dying words of an ineffective board: “We’ve never done it that way before!” Remember, if you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten. Second, aim high. Don’t just promise yourself that, from now on, your meetings will be shorter and more productive. Instead, commit to limiting your meetings to one hour—yes, 60 minutes. It is possible.

 How? The key is as simple and profound as this: Make a plan. Your meetings won’t shrink themselves, and to make sure they stay shrunk, you need to take time to save time.

SIXTH POWER
Here are six tools that will help you plan your way out of the Möbius loop and into a one-hour board meeting.

 1. Annual orientation/workshop. This is where it all starts. Your board members and other community leaders need a chance to gather in an informal setting and discuss where you’re going as an association, what goals and major projects you want to accomplish, and the path that will get you there. If your association doesn’t already have vision/mission statement, craft one—a concise statement that reflects why the association exists, its values, and what you hope to accomplish. This then becomes the board’s compass, its “true north” in deciding the validity of any task it’s considering. The end-product of the annual orientation should be an agenda for the year that sets out goals and deadlines.

 2. Monthly meeting preparation. Prepare the agenda for your monthly board meeting in advance. Start by pulling items from the annual agenda that are slated for that month. Just be aware of the board’s saturation point and avoid overloading the agenda. Distribute board packets at least four to seven days in advance. Make sure each board member reads through the packet ahead of time and asks clarifying questions of staff before the meeting. Remember, you’ll get out of it what you put into it, so it’s best when everyone shows up prepared to discuss and decide.

 3. Setting the stage. To set the stage for a successful one-hour meeting, make sure the room is comfortable and well-lit. Use a timed agenda, and note on the agenda itself those things that need to be decided at that meeting. Have copies available for members in attendance. If you have an open forum during which residents can speak, be inviting in your willingness to take input, but limit comments to a pre-set time limit—for example, two minutes per person. After the open forum, limit discussion to the board only.

 4. Running the meeting. Relying on some form of parliamentary procedure, even an informal version, should also help you move the meeting along. The president or board chair should be a facilitator, not a director, making sure everyone has an opportunity to contribute. Keep discussions succinct and relevant to the subject at hand, and work on hearing, not just being heard. Once an issue has been decided, move on to the next issue. Maintain civility at all times.

 5. Meeting review. Always leave time to evaluate and celebrate. Take a few minutes at the end of the meeting to review what you’ve accomplished, evaluate what worked and what didn’t—and develop a plan to improve the former and change the latter. And remember—when it’s over, it’s over. When you’re done, get the heck out of Dodge.

 6. Show appreciation for service. Always thanks staff members, owners, and vendors for their support and input. This small acknowledgement will bring those with whom you work closely back to the table when you need them.

 You don’t have to keep reliving Groundhog Day. But you have to plan to change. And the one-hour board meeting is a goal any community can embrace.

Written by: Rolf Crocker, AMS, CCAM of Community Association Banc
Editing assistance by: Chris Durso
Originally printed in the March/April issue of Common Ground, reprinted with permission.