Category Archives: Best Practices

Best Practices, community associations, Governance, Meeting Tips

Not Your Father’s Agenda – Meeting Tips #1

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The difference between a productive one-hour meeting and a mind-numbing, four-hour marathon can sometimes be the formatting of the agenda.

Roadmaps help you to get to your destination and get there on time. Your meeting agenda can do the same thing. A few years ago, some co-conspirators and I put on a mock board meeting at a CAI local chapter conference to illustrate the wrong way to conduct a meeting. Here was our agenda (click on the image to enlarge):

Clearly, we used a bit of hyperbole to call out plenty of dysfunction on the Gates of Hell board. There are plenty of nuances (and some not too subtle points) to pick apart. There are two features of this agenda to consider that are commonly used in community associations: (1) the order of business and (2) a missing element. Both can make a big difference.

Prioritize the Important Stuff

The Gates of Hell agenda follows a typical order of business. It does a good job of keeping topics organized, but it can have an unintended consequence. The decision items are the most important things the board will do. Those decisions will have the biggest impact on the quality of life in the community and frequently its financial health. Most board meetings are held in the evenings, with decision items often listed at the end. How fresh and mentally sharp are you at 7PM? And if that’s the start of the meeting, by the time you get to new business, you might be toast. If it’s a marathon meeting, you might be making a six-figure contract approval decision at 10 o’clock at night. How clear-headed will your thinking be while making a decision that will impact the whole community?

The solution? Re-order the agenda. Put action items in as early as possible, before all the reports. Make decisions when you are at your sharpest, not when you might be tempted to get a vote over with as fast as possible because you are tired and cranky.

The Missing Element – A Timed Agenda

A timed agenda can also make a world of difference. If each agenda item is timed, it gives the group a target. It gives the chair a tool to help move the meeting along. Other board members can support that chair by referencing where you are as compared to the agenda. Don’t be a dictator and cut off discussion or reports citing the timing on the agenda. It’s most effective as a gentle nudge and reminder. Simple but effective.

There may be a benefit in taking a hard look at your starting time. I’ve had some clients that intentionally scheduled meetings to start before members have the opportunity to get dinner. Another client Intentionally scheduled their meetings early on Seinfeld night because it motivated them to be efficient. Both of these strategies worked but required board members to be disciplined in another area – preparation. 

Attitude, Best Practices, business life, Emotional Intelligence, leadership

Outer Space

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It ain’t about you.  How many times have we heard that?  And yet, we silly old humans forget.  It’s understandable.  Things go wrong, we feel before we think (a biological fact), and we react.  Those reactions are egocentric.  The chemicals jetting through our bodies are some powerful stuff!  Managing this process so that our outward manifestations take into consideration that we are not the center of the universe requires practice, self-awareness, and perhaps a ton of self-control.  Mastering ourselves can be a huge factor in job satisfaction, not to mention peace of mind.

Me, Me, Me – Oops!

The word “context” keeps popping into my head.   When our context is insular, it’s flawed. We miss things.  We make mistakes.  We hurt others.  We create drama.  There are serious consequences when we fail to recognize others’ experiences, ideas and cultures.

I recall my reaction once in dealing with a particularly egocentric community association member.  After trying to appeal to reason in every way I could imagine, I gave up.  I changed gears and said, “The thing is, there’s only one sun in the solar system for a reason.  If a person tried to be the center of the system, all the gravitational fields would get messed up and the planets might crash. It just wouldn’t work!”  It was so random she actually had to stop and think about it.  I’m not so sure I would recommend such a facetious approach as one of the “magic beans” of communication, but it actually worked.  At least I didn’t get fired.

Finding Context

One antidote?  Slow down.  See the context of things, events, people and the complicated intersections in between.  Perhaps most importantly, find the underlying principles that can apply to the situation.  If we want help to create solutions and have a ghost of a chance for happiness and peace, we have GOT to get outside of ourselves.  The chart of the universe shown above makes us laugh.  But unless we see ourselves, our experience and our attitudes in the context of the larger world, the chart is accurate to one degree or another.

“Sometimes you have to give yourself away to get yourself back.” – tw

Yes, the prospect can evoke fear.  The impulse to react from our own standpoint is a form of self-defense.  The willingness to release self-interest for a moment might make us feel vulnerable.  I also see some irony here.  The tighter we hold onto a myopic perspective in order to protect ourselves, the more we put ourselves at risk to our detriment. We are less likely to be effective in working with others, less likely to adjust our course to work with changing circumstances, and less likely to find a deeper satisfaction in work and in life. It is vital to develop and grow emotional intelligence.

As you see yourself and your circumstances more clearly in the greater context of what and who are around you, things start to click.  And you grow.  I love the way the late Jim Valvano put it, “A person doesn’t become whole until he becomes part of something bigger than himself.”

Best Practices, community associations, Human Resources, leadership

EVILuation

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No, that’s not a typo.

The Wrong Way To Do The Right Thing

I read yet another formulaic, extremely detailed performance evaluation the other day. It was everything I detest about human resource management these days. Oh sure, it had lots of buzzwords and high sounding aspirational phrases – pages and pages of them. And it was devoid of any substantive clarity…or hope. It did such a great job covering the supervisor’s butt that I suggested he write a book called Toasty Buns: How to Completely CYA by Managing Without Leading. It set up the organization to have the flexibility to take whatever action it wanted to without getting itself in legal hot water, while simultaneously leaving the employee confused and demotivated. In my opinion, it was a complete waste of a perfectly good tree.

Welcome to your annual review, Mr. Simpson…I’ve been asked to co-present with lawyers for the Community Association Institute on employment practices three times now. Before that, I thought insurance and risk management were the most challenging areas in community association management. Not anymore. Employment law is one of the most complicated and landmine-ridden areas in business. It can be intimidating and it is very easy to run afoul of the law with no malice whatsoever in our heart. Documentation of performance evaluations is a big deal. I get it.

Here’s the problem. Evaluations like the one I just puked through can easily become a vicious cycle and part of a self-fulfilling prophecy. The process breeds defensiveness, which kills motivation. It demoralizes team members. It reinforces bureaucracy and cripples leadership. It protects the organization against lawsuits while simultaneously protecting it against a workforce ever reaching its potential. It discourages staff from helping the organization to become wildly successful, which then requires more negative comments on evaluations, thus completing the cycle. Essentially, the process of evaluating and documenting performance can actually work against what the exercise was supposed to achieve in the first place – optimal performance! The lawyers are the ONLY ones who are happy.

Welcome to your annual review, Mr. Simpson…

Is it any wonder that, according to Gallup, upwards of 70% of American workers are classified as either “not engaged” or “actively disengaged”?

Is it any wonder that companies like Adobe, Dell, IBM, Deloitte, Gap and even GE (yes – the GE of the famed Jack Welch era “stack ranking” evaluation system ) have walked away from traditional performance evaluation models?

Evaluations, as we’ve known them, are EVIL. Hence, the title of this blog.

Can We Get This Right?

I think so. I think you can protect an organization and benefit it by setting the stage for team members to be at their best, thereby contributing to the success of that organization.

Here’s the Cliff’s Notes version of one way to accomplish the task:

  1. Have an intentional culture.
  2. Memorialize the values and the culture in writing. Make it the FIRST part of your butt-covering, legalese-saturated personnel manual. Explain The Why, and how it’s an awesome thing.
  3. In the FIRST paragraph of every position description, memorialize how each team member contributes to those values and the culture, and ultimately to the success of the organization in a win-win paradigm.
  4. Make sure every new hire has a goal list of time-sensitive and key ongoing deliverables that relate to values and culture in order to create a metric and mutual expectation. Help everyone to see what success looks like.
  5. Engage in regular discussion about how things are going. Find people doing things right and reward it. Set dates in your calendar to make it happen. MBWA (look it up).
  6. Plan to have a conversation about how team members are doing, based primarily on the stated values and culture, and highlighting goal list items or other specific, clearly communicated deliverables. Everybody writes down some talking points so they can remember them.
  7. Have a conversation, NOT an EVILuation. Reach areas of agreement on areas of success and celebrate them. Note opportunities for improvement and set a new metric. The goal of the collaboration is agreement, a plan, and ownership. If there are disagreements in some part of the assessment, allow the team member’s dissent to be recorded. Just make sure the expectation moving forward is clear and included in the plan.
  8. Type it up.  Review it together for accuracy. Everyone signs off.
  9. Execute the plan.
  10. Rinse, repeat.

Performance evaluation by discussion and collaborative action plans make sense when it’s in the context of culture. It makes sense when that culture is founded in shared values with personal and group accountability. Culture and the other best practices that set the framework for this model will be the topic of other blogs. But you don’t have to wait to get those things lined up perfectly to change the way you think about and execute your evaluation process. Do that now. The process can help to kickstart an intentional culture.

This is NOT fluffy feel-good stuff. This is hard. And it works. As Tom Peters comments in The Excellence Dividend, “Effective evaluations emerge from a series of loosely structured, continuing conversations, not from filling out a form once every six months or year.” PREACH, Mr. Peters, PREACH!

It’s not a Pollyanna. It’s about getting things done and being grown-ups. You’ll still be able to figure out if people are working out or not. And the written part will keep the lawyers happy. Most importantly, the evaluation process will actually do what it is intended to do – make sure everyone is clear about the organization’s goals and their role in achieving them.

Let’s get this done!

Best Practices, business life, Culture, Emotional Intelligence, Human Resources, leadership

Oops

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What happens when the fecal matter makes impact with the circular air-moving device? How individuals and organizations react in this moment of truth will say a lot about individual and group emotional intelligence and the culture of the organization. The secret lies in the questions asked when a mistake is made and the order in which they are asked.

What Are You Really Made Of?

Here’s how effective people and healthy organizations approach every mistake:

1. WHAT? Exactly what happened? Do we have all the facts? Only when this is clear, go to question #2.

2. HOW? How did the error happen? Have we identified the root cause, differentiating them from the symptoms? After diagnosing the mechanics of the issue, it’s time for question #3.

3. WHY? Was this a system issue, a performance issue, or a combination of the two? Do NOT shortcut this step with assumptions. Now finally…

4. WHO? Time to talk about the lessons learned – a constructive follow-up with whoever may have been involved (INCLUDING BOSSES!). Now we are all a little smarter.

Post mortem, the healthy organization will make adjustments to address root causes. It will improve systems. And it will take opportunities to learn from mistakes. Look for patterns. If all the other questions are addressed and the same “who” keeps popping up, only then is a tough personnel action warranted.

Is that what you and your organization do? Or…

The Flip Side

Guess what question unhealthy organizations and ineffective leaders ask first? ”WHO DID THAT?” Sadly, every single time I’ve shared this concept, the people in the room give me the answer before I have to say it. They’ve all seen it at some point. The problem is that starting with “Who?” makes it difficult, if not impossible, to accurately answer any of the other more crucial questions.

Why?  Because Bang & Blame is a horrid leadership model.  In a culture where blame is the rule, people will rarely stick their necks out to do more than absolutely necessary.  It’s just not worth the risk.  Their defensive mindset kills any hope for excellent performance.  They are unlikely to be forthcoming when things go wrong.  And that applies to those who choose to stay, because Bang & Blame pushes self-starters out the door.

Give Up Perfection To Get Closer To It

I know that might sound ridiculous, but it’s true. Everyone will err from time to time. In the human condition, all mistakes are opportunities to learn. There’s a classic business tome about an IBM exec from the sixties whose ill-fated decision cost the company dearly. Upon being summoned to CEO Thomas Watson’s office, he prepared for the inevitable firing. Watson reportedly asked, “Do you know why I’ve asked you here?”

The executive replied, “I assume I’m here so you can fire me.”

“Fire you?” Watson replied, “Of course not. I just spent $10 million educating you.”

There are two choices. You can hold everyone to an unrealistic standard, punish imperfection, drive people into butt-covering cocoons, encourage bare minimum performance and build a culture that will aspire to mediocrity at best. Or you can embrace mistakes as opportunities for learning and find that error rate actually decreases as you build a culture of empowerment, personal responsibility, trust and growth. Only one of these is a sustainable model for profit and customer service success.

Best Practices, Budgeting, condo associations, Cooperatives, HOAs, long range planning, Reserve Studies, Strategic Planning

14 Things Your Reserve Analysts Might Not Tell You – And It’s Not Their Fault (Part 3)

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Two weeks ago,,  we shared five focus points to help you analyze property components. Last week, we offered another five, which were practical considerations to discuss with your reserve analysts in order to estimate project expenses as accurately as possible. To recap, we’ve covered:

1. Engineering Study for Stuff You Can’t See
2. Elements Impacted by Code Compliance
3. Piping Systems
4. New Construction Technology
5. Underground Piping and Wiring
6. Project Design & Management Expense
7. Logistics for Limited Access Projects
8. Collateral Damage
9. Items Outside Study Period
10. Strategic Improvements

We close out the series with the last four nuggets. These cover areas where the Board has a level of discretion and help you deal with some thorny cash flow issues.

11. Interior Renovation Upgrades: Interior renovations can take many forms. If you don’t tell your analysts what you have in mind, they are left to guess. For instance, I helped one client to plan for wallcovering, painting and lighting that would last through two cycles of carpet. In another case, the whole lighting plan was to be revised. That specific data had to be plugged into the reserve study.

12. Alternative Funding Options: If the community is behind the ball financially, debt service, special assessments, or a combination of the two might be options to consider. Clarifying the Board’s authority to do either and strategically planning to communicate options to members are absolutely crucial. This will no doubt be the subject of a future blog. Your reserve analysts should be able to help you to run “what if” scenarios, but you are going to have to tell them what those options might be.

13. Big Trees, Drainage & Other Landscaping: I’ve heard arguments that greenspace does not belong in reserve studies. However, mature trees and landscaping can be really expensive to remove, not to mention replace. Over time, surface drainage can become ineffective and might even lead to flooding. A review by an arborist, landscape designer or architect can be a real eye-opener. You can consult with your reserve analyst and auditor to confirm the appropriateness of including such items in the replacement reserve. If it gives either of them heartburn, you have an option. See #14 below.

14. Major Periodic Maintenance: I regularly see five-year electrical panel and switchgear maintenance in reserve studies. I even see the cost for future reserve studies in some reserve schedules. Even though these expenses may not pass the test as a reservable component, it makes sense to flow the funding evenly from year to year. Including such expenses in the operating budget could have significant impacts on fees. The fact that it’s on a schedule and in the financial plan helps Boards to maintain the discipline to actually tackle these vital projects. Depending on the property there might be other major periodic maintenance that is just as vital and has a similar financial impact. Hydro-jetting of plumbing stacks and laterals, dryer duct/vent cleaning, HVAC duct cleaning, and chimney inspections and cleaning can add up. There may be a couple of approaches to consider. If the property can be divided up with a portion of the work done each year, it would flatten out the expense. But if that’s not feasible, you might ask the reserve analyst to include such projects in the study. If the analyst (or the auditor as noted in #13) or the Board is uncomfortable with that approach, there is an option. You can create an operating reserve, set up a schedule of expenses, and calculate a monthly contribution to that reserve in the same manner as the replacement reserve. This will make sure the money is in the bank, keep you from deferring critical preventive maintenance, and even out the financial impact on association members.

Who & When?

We’ve identified a number of capital projects that may require additional professional support to properly plan and estimate replacement costs. Investing funds up front to work with a qualified, structural engineer, mechanical engineer, construction manager, construction estimator, project manager, elevator expert, fire protection system engineer, architect, or contractor can significantly mitigate the possibility of unhappy surprises and create a realistic funding plan. We’ve identified a few areas where legal and audit advice is advisable. Making this a point of discussion with your reserve analyst will help. Some firms that provide reserve studies are multi-disciplinary and may have some of these resources in-house.

The optimal time and depth of study will depend on the projects themselves. Hopefully this series has helped you to take a hard look at the components in your reserve schedule, do a risk analysis and take the holistic approach described in last week’s blog. Once you’ve identified elements that may benefit from further analysis, check the timing. Early on, perhaps you can get some inexpensive thumbnail estimates (hint – plan for the worst, guess high). If you are getting to within about five years of a large project, it might be time to make a more significant investment and hire specialists to take a deeper look. The more complicated the project, the more important this is.

Bottom Line

A truly comprehensive reserve plan can make all the difference in the financial health of a community association and the quality of life of its members. The reserve study is a tool. Your reserve analysts are your partners. See the bigger picture. The better the data, the better the study. The better the study, the better the plan. The better the plan, the better the execution of the plan. The better the execution of the plan, the better the community.

Best Practices, Budgeting, condo associations, Cooperatives, HOAs, Reserve Studies, Strategic Planning

14 Things Your Reserve Analysts Might Not Tell You – And It’s Not Their Fault (Part 2)

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Last week’s blog offered five focus points to improve the accuracy of your reserve plan. Nuggets 1 through 5 help you analyze property components. This week, we share nuggets 6 through 10. These are practical considerations to discuss with your reserve analysts in order to estimate project expenses as accurately as possible.

These all come from my experience working with clients through the years. In some cases, I noticed a disconnect between plan and execution. In their planning process they dutifully used the expense listed in their reserve study. However, once the project got going, additional necessary expenses that were not anticipated in the study were funded from replacement reserves. This made it appear that the projects were over budget, resulting in weeping and gnashing of teeth, not to mention death glares in the direction of their reserve analysts. The truth was that these projects were not over budget, rather they were under planned. In other cases, under planning occurred when clients failed to take a bigger picture or strategic approach to planning projects. The lesson is clear: The more accurately you can see the future, the better the odds you can get there.

Clients who implemented this week’s nuggets planned more realistically and utilized reserve funds to the maximum benefit.

6.  Project Design & Management Expenses: Wise associations elect to engage professional engineers, architects, and/or project management firms to develop specifications, facilitate the bidding process, and provide quality control for major capital projects. Depending on the nature and size of project, the investment can be in the neighborhood of allowing 10% to 15% of the total project costs.

Lately I’ve been encouraged to work with boards that understand the impact of major projects on their management team. Projects that impact residents in an intense way take human resources to make sure they run smoothly. Hiring additional staff or a professional project manager can make all the difference between a great project and one that sucks the life out of every resident, board member, and team member. Too many associations ignore the fact that without that support, something will give – the quality of the project, the quality of day-to-day operations, or both.

Reserve studies may not anticipate any of these expenses. You may need to direct that they be included.

7.  Logistics for Limited Access Projects: If something is hard to access, it’s going to be more expensive to replace or maintain. Sometimes A LOT more expensive. Getting a handle on those costs can be crucial to estimating the total price tag of a project. A cooling tower on top of a 27-story high rise is going to cost exponentially more than one on the ground floor. If a building elevation presents challenges in accessing a roof, the costs of roof or gutter replacement and periodic major maintenance on components like soffits and trim go way up. Contractors and construction estimators can be lifesavers in helping to avoid some gnarly surprises.

8.  Collateral Damage: This can be a tricky one. Technically, the association may have limited or no responsibility for replacing unit components. But what if they are altered to access common element replacements like pipe risers? My favorite example to illustrate the point: Let’s say the only way to replace a piping system is to go through 1950’s era ceramic tile. You’ll never match the old tile. Will the Board repair the plaster only? Tile one mismatching wall? Or replace all the tile in the unit? Multiply the expense by all the units in that tier. The answer might make a significant impact on project costs. Here, your first call may be to association counsel to be clear on your responsibilities and options. Then you’ll have to make a business judgment. Just don’t wait until you start the project to decide. Get clarity in the planning process and plug the info into the reserve study. That is not your reserve analyst’s responsibility, it’s the Board’s.

9.  Items Outside Study Period: Many studies include only those components that have useful lives within the period of the study (usually 30 years). The rationale is that if you conduct studies every three to five years, the component will eventually make its way into the study. But some major components such as electrical switchgear, transformers, or piping systems may have useful lives of 50 years or more and they may be major expenses. Waiting to fund those expenses over only 30 years could create a big bump in required funding levels when they magically appear in the study. Plug them in now.

10.  Strategic Improvements: Instead of replacing components in kind, it might make sense to rethink and plan. For instance, a property may have high-maintenance components such as wooden exterior soffits, fascia, and rake boards. These require repainting every few years and eventually sectional or full replacement. It might make sense to replace them with low-maintenance materials. More expensive up front, but much less expensive in the long run. Original gutters might have been undersized and should be replaced with larger ones. If gutters and downspouts are being replaced, it might be the golden opportunity to replace wood trim with low-maintenance material. The Association could pay only once for mobilization for two projects and save money in the long run. Better yet – think strategically and tie these projects in with the next roof replacement to get to best bang for the buck. Take a step back and see property components in a broader context. Adjust the plan accordingly and make sure the data gets plugged into the reserve study.

Perspective

No one wants to increase fees. It can be tempting to ignore the potential for additional expense, even if it means losing out on savings in the long run. Making the best use of members’ assets is a key element of the board’s fiduciary duty. Think strategically, plan wisely.

“Leaders keep their eyes on the horizon, not just on the bottom line” –Warren Bennis

Next…

Next week we close out this series with the last 4 nuggets. These will help you to recognize areas where the board has a great deal of discretion in the planning process. Many community associations are facing the tough realities of under funding and have to include options such as loans and special assessments in their funding plan. We will help you to partner with your reserve analysts and other professionals to develop scenarios and choose the best plan for your community.

Best Practices, change management, community associations, condo associations, Governance, HOAs, leadership, Uncategorized

Dear Boards: Suck It Up and Be Transparent

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James Dyson developed over 5,000 prototype designs for his revolutionary vacuum cleaner between 1979 and 1984. Nobody cared until 1983. An Italian appliance maker agreed to sell them by mail order. It was not exactly a success; only about 500 units were sold that year.

But Dyson was undeterred. He never forgot his unhappy experience with a typical vacuum in 1974, when he noticed it seemed to lose suction easily and required a lot of maintenance to maintain optimal performance. He knew there had to be a better way. He was sure his “cyclonic separation” technology was the answer.

Who Wants to See Dirt?

One of the key features of the vacuum was its clear plastic dirt collector. Market research at the time said people would hate it. But Dyson sensed that people would want to see the results of the vacuum’s performance, no matter how ugly it might be. So in 1991 he launched Dyson Appliances Unlimited. Was he right? Today Dyson is a multi-billion pound (British) company employing over 8,500 people. But you don’t need to know statistics to see his impact. Take a look at the appliance shelf at your local department store or Amazon page. How many competitors copied him?

Historically, vacuum cleaners trapped dirt in a hidden bag that was removed and thrown away. The clear dirt collector went against the grain of conventional wisdom at the time. In his ebook Who Do You Want Your Customers to Become?, Michael Schrage quoted Dyson: “The interesting thing is that when I did this, all of our competitors just fell about the floor laughing; they were actually delighted that I’d been so stupid. And the retailers wouldn’t have it . . . We went into the stores, and our vacuum has all this (expletive deleted) in it. The retailers are absolutely hostile. They say, ‘No, no, no, it’s a complete mistake—make it smoked or tinted or something.’ But I persisted, because I found it really fascinating that you could see exactly what was happening; you could actually see the nature and texture and type of dirt you’ve picked up.”

Schrage concluded, “While Dyson’s transparency defied the industry’s conventional wisdom, customers knew they could see with their own eyes how well their innovative technology worked. Dyson offered a simple, easy, and inexpensive user experience that invited customer confidence….Transparency creates trust. Dyson’s contrarian innovation was an investment in trust. Dyson empowered his customers to come to their own real-time conclusions about his product’s performance. “

What’s This Got to Do with Community Association Governance?

Too many boards of directors of community association are nervous. Nervous about contention. Nervous about bad PR. Nervous about looking unprepared. Nervous about being wrong. Reflexively, they retreat into secrecy, even when state or local statutes require open meetings.

I get it. People can be tough. Most communities have hard cases living in them. I remember Elvira, a unit owner in a particularly contentious condominium I once managed. She was the Board’s harshest critic, never missing an opportunity to call out any and every imperfection. When I asked her why she didn’t step up and serve on the Board, it became clear she didn’t want to be accountable. She just enjoyed holding others accountable.

I also remember my first condo management job. I was a contracted, interim building manager for a small and elite condominium in Washington DC. I went to work every day with a knot in my stomach, certain I would blow the building up. At the end of my tenure, the whole community threw me a going away party. It was amazing. I cornered one of the board members and said, “I don’t understand. This was my first management job. I made plenty of mistakes. Why were you so happy with me?” I’ll never forget the answer.

“Tom, you told us about every little thing that went wrong. We knew if anything really bad happened you would be honest about it. You have no idea how valuable that was to us to have a manager we could trust.”

“Transparency creates trust”
– Michael Schrage

Humility and openness are invaluable. They set a tone and can change the game. My mentor Arthur Dubin, President of Zalco Realty, and I still recall a president of a condominium we helped turn around back in the day. The condominium had been the victim of paralysis by analysis. This was due in no small part to egos that got in the way of seeing reality and being responsible for decisions that might not work. A brilliant oncologist, this president was always willing to admit when he didn’t understand something. He asked the questions others were afraid to. His standard line was, “talk to me like I’m 5 years old.” The board became more comfortable discussing matters openly and sharing information on topics in progress with owners. All their dirt was in the open. Nobody got sued, the community came together, and stuff got done. More than 20 years later, Arthur and I still reminisce about “Dr. Bob” moments every so often.

Consumers pay good money for a vacuum and want to see the results. They trust their money was well spent, even if what they see might be a bit distasteful. They know the technology works. Seeing the results allows them to draw their own conclusions. Community members pay their fees. They want to have confidence that the organization they are funding is working well. They want to have confidence in the process, even when the news is a less than pleasant. Seeing the process unfold allows members to buy in for themselves.

So your gut reaction may be to stay “safe” in the shadows. This is a fear-based decision. You already know those don’t work out too well (FEAR = False Evidence Appearing Real). You may make assumptions about how members will react to seeing the dirt. And it’s true that in our litigious society there are reasons to be discrete. But knowledge gaps will be filled by the rumor mill. The Law of Omitted Data (i.e. if a percentage of information is omitted or missing, bad data will spread at an exponential rate over time) runs amok. This creates a vicious cycle of distrust, secrecy and dysfunction.

So yes, it can be tough ESPECIALLY in challenging times and with bad news. Take a deep breath and be as open as circumstances permit. Change the game and begin to turn vicious cycles into success cycles. This is not theory. It works. Give it a shot – suck it up and be transparent. When the results start to flow you’ll be glad you did.