Engaged Ownership

Chapter 14Meetings

Meetings

The work of forums is done in meetings. The quality of forum decision making depends on the quality of the meetings that precede the decision.

The work of forums is done in meetings—often in person, other times via video or telephone. The quality of forum decision making depends on the quality of the meetings that precede the decision. The leaders of the Family Assembly and Owners Council may want to keep the following suggestions in mind as they undertake the work of bringing the forums from concept to reality.

Frequency

How often should the Family Assembly and the Owners Council meet? The short answer is: often enough for the group to build the rapport, knowledge, and decision-making skills to do the forum's work effectively.

As a general matter, it is helpful for forums to meet at least annually, to give their members an opportunity to develop the interpersonal relationships necessary to foster consensus building. Many Owners Councils meet semiannually; others, quarterly. An Owners Council seeking to build engagement will likely want to meet relatively frequently, especially at the outset, to develop the shared purpose and vision and to take stock of the core capital. Beyond those recommendations, frequency of forum meetings will depend on what decision making the forum is responsible for and how much education and preparation is necessary to ensure that the group can make those decisions quickly enough to meet the needs of the business. ...