I’m a big believer in being part of an association, especially when the association’s meetings are meaningful rather than a waste of time.
This issue of Realty/Builder Connection is about the many associations in the North Florida real estate and construction industries. Each exists for a good purpose, not the least of which are to increase professionalism among the members and promote success in the industry.
And every association has a mechanism of getting their members together to achieve those two important purposes.
I’ve been to quite a few of these associations’ meetings over the years.
Most conduct their meeting affairs in an orderly, business-like way, respectful of the time pressures on attendees.
That’s important. I suspect that if you surveyed our associations and took a hard look at the ones with attendance issues, they also are the ones that run a sloppy meeting where there is more baloney than red meat. People aren’t dumb, especially professionals in our industries. We’re just too busy-even in a slow economic environment like this-to want to waste our time or be bored.
Running a good meeting is not that difficult. Like most everything else, it takes focus, preparation and often teamwork.
Having said that, let me suggest some meeting rules that I’ve found useful over the years-in hopes they might also help you if your in involved in planning your association meeting. (First, let me emphasize these are “rules,” not “guidelines.”)
1. Have an agenda that is well thought out and makes sense to your members. Start with the question: What is the most important thing we can or must accomplish? Then, build your meeting around the answer to that question.
By preparing an agenda, you are forced to think ahead and prepare for any contingency. You should gut check every item you list and make sure it is something that is relevant, or important, to your members.
In preparing an agenda, eliminate the opportunity for “drift.” Give some serious thought to how much time should be devoted to each item. If you do that, and you focus on the agenda during the meeting, you will eliminate the kind of rambling conversation that throws everything off track...and just as important, you will end the meeting on time with business accomplished.
2. Begin the meeting on time. You show me an association that continually starts its meetings later than announced and I’ll show you an association that has a lot of other issues. On the other hand, an association that starts when it is supposed to begin and then follows its agenda will be one that is focused, energized and probably very productive in other areas.
3. Follow your agenda. After all, you’ve put a lot of thought into its preparation. Staying on track will eliminate surprises and it will keep members focused.
4. Prior to the meeting, make sure that anyone participating on the agenda knows the rules and what’s expected. Better yet, make sure they know what is not allowed. For instance, just because someone has the microphone that person does not have permission to hijack the meeting by getting off topic and dragging on and on. Once an individual knows the rules and ignores them, then maybe you want to ignore that person next time.
5. End the meeting on time. If the meeting is running on and on, chances are pretty good your members are looking at their watches, shuffling their feet and moving their chairs around. That’s not a very good sign that things are going well. Just like I said in the beginning, start on time...now cut it off when it’s suppose to end. If you’ve had a good program, it’s really good to leave them wanting more.
And, of course, in planning your meeting make sure it’s held in a location that’s reasonably convenient, including parking. Finally, if you have any influence on the kitchen, make sure the chicken’s not too tough and the mashed potatoes are not cold.
Planning and conducting a good meeting is not rocket science. But, it is important if you want to have an effective association that gets things done. These rules don’t just apply to the real estate and construction industries. We all know civic clubs and government organizations that could improve if they just followed these simple rules.
Now, it’s up to you.
- Jim Bailey is president of Bailey Publishing & Communications Inc. and publisher of Realty/Builder Connection.