When I served as an executive director of a pregnancy care center, one of my board members would constantly warn me about pabulum at board meetings. Pabulum is defined as worthless or oversimplified ideas.

Simply put, this board member didn’t come to board meetings to waste time. He wanted to be part of fulfilling the ministry's mission and he wanted to move forward at every opportunity. To him, time was important. He didn't want to use it without gaining a positive result.

Perhaps if we took a look at the time spent at board meetings, and the worth of that time, we might come to meetings with more urgency, more focus. For instance, is our time worth $25 an hour? $50? $100? More?

A two hour board meeting is worth, to each board member, anywhere from $50 to $200 or perhaps much more. And let's not forget our travel time -- and the fuel it takes for the trip. Our families too, are worth something. How much are we taking from our families to attend board meetings? Can we even put a price on that?

This isn't to say we should drop our board commitment, not at all. It is a high calling to be sure. But let's make sure we come away from every board meeting with results in keeping with the commitment we've made. Here are a couple of ideas:

Start with a plan
Every board meeting needs an agenda, but let's take an extra step and have a plan for working through the agenda. For each agenda item, we need to know why the item is on the agenda, what our discussion will concern (are we deciding something or gathering information?) and an approximate allotment of time.

If we say, 20 minutes on this subject, let's do our best to stick to it and move on. If the discussion is going to run longer, let's move to the next item and come back later if we have time. A plan in place keeps us on track.

Do all we can in advance
The minutes of the previous meeting should be in the pre-meeting packet sent to each board member. When the meeting begins, the chair should be able to say, "I assume everyone has had a chance to take a look at the minutes. Any changes? Move for approval? All in favor? Opposed?"

If there are no changes, our first agenda item is gone in a minute (or perhaps less). The financial report, statistics and committee reports can be approved the same way. Some will require more questions, but the concept is the same: getting our pre-meeting homework done allows us to move on to big picture items.

Great board meetings start with prayer and planning. An outstanding board is a visionary group that refuses to be bogged down in the pabulum. It has little time for minutia, placing its focus on those things that will positively impact the ministry in the coming year, three years, even ten years.

Make planning a key part of the process of producing board meetings. The result will be energized, more productive board members and meetings.

Boards of Excellence is a service of LifeTrends
If you want to know about Publisher Kirk Walden, contact him at waldenk@bellsouth.net