Jordan Cooper: The Transition

THE BIG PICTURE

The first thing you need to learn is that you are there for the building. You’re not there for your own agenda. Being a board member doesn’t require a certain skill set. What it requires is involvement. If you’re a financier, if you’re an artist, you know what the building is all about. It’s the culture. It’s working with your managing agent and empowering him or her to do the job that he or she has been hired to do. This is what will lead to success as a member of a board.

The best members of the board are people who care, who want to develop a happy building, a building that will go on to succeed. Not one that is regimented. That’s what a good board does.

BE SMART

The way you start is the way you need to finish, whether for an extremely long period of time or for a short duration. And you need to be engaged. When you show up at the board meeting, be prepared. Review the meeting minutes, look at the financial statement, and be ready to engage in the agenda. You should have received an agenda in advance so that when you show up, you’re ready to roll on the items that are being discussed at that meeting.

When you’re ready to leave the board, the transition to a new board director is critical. You need to let them know where you are on projects, what the goal of the project is, and how you expect the project to be completed.
The same level of effort that went into getting elected is what you need to bring to the table each and every month at the board meeting.