Keep Association Meetings on Track

Far more than a million Americans who serve on the boards of condo or homeowner associations may be wasting untold hours because of unproductive meetings, according to the Community Assns. Institute.

Unproductive meetings create unproductive boards. They increase frustration, destroy morale and make it harder to recruit volunteers.

If your board meetings last more than two hours, if discussions routinely stray from the agenda into irrelevancies, if you adjourn without making important decisions, it’s time to seek help.

The association’s new book, “Conducting Meetings,” can show you how to get back on track. The book reveals the keys to keeping board meetings productive, including tips on defusing gadflies, avoiding gridlock, using parliamentary procedure to maintain order and keeping discussion focused on association business.

You can also get advice on finding a suitable location for meetings, preparing board information packets, recording minutes properly, taping board meetings and knowing when to use executive sessions.

To order “Conducting Meetings: A Guide to Running Productive Community Association Board Meetings” (association members, $9.95; nonmembers, $14.95), call (703) 548-8600 or visit the institute’s Web site at https://www.caionline.org.