How-To Guides
Step-by-step instructions for mastering essential board skills
How-To 1: How to Run a Board Meeting That Actually Gets Things Done
Most board meetings are exercises in frustration. They run long, accomplish little, and leave everyone wondering why they gave up their evening. It doesn't have to be this way.
The Foundation:
Send materials 3-5 days in advance - If board members are reading documents during the meeting, you've already failed
Create real agendas with time allocations - "Parking garage repair - 20 minutes, then vote on bid approval"
Start and end on time - If meetings scheduled for 7 PM start at 7:15, you're training everyone that times don't matter
Use consent agendas - Group routine approvals (minutes, regular invoices) into one vote, recovering 15-20 minutes for substantive discussion
Prioritize Strategic Over Operational: Your $400,000 parking garage repair with $300,000 funding gap goes first when energy is high. Holiday decoration policy goes last when people are tired. Most boards do this backward.
The Discipline of Decision-Making: Every agenda item needs a clear outcome: decision needed, information only, or discussion to inform future decision. When discussion reaches the point of repetition, call the question: "We've heard the key considerations. Let's vote."
The full article includes specific techniques for managing dominators, drawing out silent members, handling tangents, ending with clear action items, and creating meetings efficient enough that people don't dread them.
How-To 2: How to Read Financial Statements When You're Not an Accountant
You're staring at a financial statement that might as well be in ancient Greek. The treasurer is explaining variances and you're nodding like you understand, but you have no idea if the building is in good shape or crisis.
You don't need to be an accountant. You need to know what to look for.
Three Numbers That Tell You Almost Everything:
1. Operating account balance ÷ monthly expenses = months of buffer Healthy: 2-3 months. Your building spends $45K/month with $100K in operating? Good shape. Less than one month? No buffer for unexpected expenses.
2. Actual income vs. budgeted income Budgeted $50K monthly, actual is $47K? That's $3K/month or $36K/year missing. Why? Delinquencies or incorrect assessments?
3. Reserve balance vs. reserve study recommendation Should have $850K, actually have $620K? That $230K gap matters when you need $400K for parking garage repair next year.
Questions That Reveal Problems:
"Why did legal fees jump from $2K to $8K this month?"
"What are we spending reserve money on?" (Should only be capital projects)
"Who's delinquent and for how long?" (Under 5% normal, over 10% concerning)
Red Flags You Can't Miss: Operating account declining month after month, reserve contributions below recommendations, persistent deficit spending, delinquency rate increasing, reserves used for operating expenses.
The full article includes line-by-line walkthrough of typical statements, formulas for key ratios, what questions to ask when something looks wrong, and how to spot creative accounting that masks problems.
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How-To 3: How to Handle Conflict Between Board Members Without Losing Your Mind
Board conflict is inevitable when you bring together volunteers with different perspectives to make decisions about other people's money and property. The question isn't whether disagreements will happen—it's how you handle them.
The Four Types of Board Conflict:
Task Conflict (disagreements about what to do) - This is actually healthy. Encourage debate about which contractor to hire or whether to repave the parking garage this year or next.
Process Conflict (disagreements about how to do things) - "We shouldn't vote on this until next meeting." The cure is clear written procedures so you're asking "what do our bylaws say?" instead of debating process each time.
Relationship Conflict (personal tension between individuals) - When two board members simply don't like each other and everything becomes personal. Requires intervention and ground rules for professional interaction.
Values Conflict (fundamental disagreements about purpose) - The rarest and hardest. Return to your governing documents to remind everyone of the organization's established mandate.
Your Emergency Toolkit:
Call for a break when temperatures rise
Name what's happening: "I'm noticing we're going in circles"
Separate positions from interests: "What are you worried will happen?"
Use the parking lot for important but non-urgent issues
The goal isn't to eliminate conflict—it's to transform it from destructive to productive. Want to learn the specific techniques that work?
How-To 4: How to Prepare for Your First Board Meeting in Under 2 Hours
You just got elected to your condo board. Your first meeting is in three days. Here's how to show up genuinely prepared in under two hours.
The 15-Minute Foundation: Four Documents You Need
Meeting minutes from the last 2-3 months - What keeps coming up? What got tabled? Scan for patterns in 5 minutes.
Current year budget - Find total monthly revenue and expenses. Are you running at a surplus or deficit? Look at the reserve contribution. Five minutes.
Reserve study summary - Are you fully funded, moderately funded, or critically underfunded? What's the biggest expense in the next 5 years? Three minutes.
The upcoming meeting agenda - Which items need votes versus just updates? Note anything you don't understand. Two minutes.
The 30-Minute Deep Dive: Your Building's Big Three
Every multi-story condo with parking has three systems that consume most attention: the parking garage, the elevators, and the building envelope (roof, windows, walls).
Parking garage: Concrete deteriorates from water, salt, and traffic. Google "concrete spalling" and look at images—that's what happens with deferred maintenance.
Elevators: 20-25 year lifespan before modernization needed. $150K-$300K per elevator.
Building envelope: When these fail, you get leaks everywhere. Know when your roof was last replaced.
The full article walks you through exactly what to review, what questions to prepare, and how to avoid the rookie mistakes that make new board members look unprepared.
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How-To 5: How to Ask the Questions That Make You a Valuable Board Member
The most valuable board members aren't the ones with all the answers—they're the ones who ask the questions that lead to better answers.
Five Questions Every Board Member Should Master:
"What problem are we actually trying to solve?" Boards waste time solving the wrong problems. Before debating solutions, force clarity on the actual issue. Is the parking garage problem water intrusion, structural deterioration, or both?
"What will this cost over the life of the decision, not just upfront?" The cheap HVAC system costs less today but more over 15 years in energy and repairs. The expensive elevator maintenance contract might save money on service calls. Think total cost of ownership.
"Who's affected by this decision, and how?" If we restrict guest parking to 48 hours, how does that affect owners with visiting family? Bridge the gap between boardroom theory and residential reality.
"What happens if we do nothing?" Sometimes the status quo is acceptable. Force honest assessment of urgency. Is landscaping redesign necessary or just nice to have?
"What would need to be true for this to work?" Transform vague proposals into concrete requirements. Converting a storage room to package receiving—what needs to happen? Staffing? Insurance? Access control?
These five questions will serve you in almost every board situation. The full document includes the wrong questions to avoid, how to frame questions so people actually answer them, and specific questions for different situations (reviewing bids, spending decisions, rule changes).
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