A Board member once told me: “On my Board, it’s a case of `the lower the stake, the higher the argument.’ At our last Board meeting, we spent an hour talking about a $500 expense, and then approved a million dollar budget in 5 minutes…”

Indeed, many Boards get bogged down in seemingly small details, and fail to focus their meetings on “the bigger picture.” Below are 10 proven tips that can help focus a meeting on the organization’s mission, core values, and strategic objectives.

1. At your new members' orientation, emphasize the organization’s mission and strategic goals and the need to focus more time, energy and resources on them. Explain how meetings will be planned and managed to reflect this approach.
2. When planning a meeting, ensure that each agenda item is linked in some way to the organization’s mission and to serving its internal and external stakeholders.
3. Resist attempts to schedule agenda items whose impact on the organization’s mandate is marginal, or ones that should be delegated to specific individualss for decision making and/or implementation.
4. On every meeting agenda schedule “proactive agenda items” from your strategic plan, to ensure that progress on them can be made. The strategic plan (that your group worked so hard to create) should not just sit on the shelf and gather dust.
5. Allocate time to agenda items in proportion to their significance, and thereby reduce the likelihood of `the lower the stake, the higher the argument.’
6. Display the mission statement on a large banner behind the meeting's Chair.
7. Print the organization's mission statement and core values on the backs of name cards placed in front of members. This will constantly reminder them of why they’re there.
8. Display pictures of the stakeholders that the organization is mandated to serve on the walls and/or ceiling. Would these stakeholders be satisfied that they are well looked after by your gtroup? Example: An animal welfare group placed pictures of animals around the room.
9. Include the group’s mission in your opening script: “As a reminder, our mission is _____, and we are mandated to serve ____. We should always make decisions that advance their interests, maximize our opportunities, and minimize our risks. I hope I can count on your support for running the meeting in this spirit.”
10. As the meeting progresses, members should not hesitate to speak up if the meeting is not well focused, e.g.: “I am not sure how well this decision will work for the children that we are supposed to be serving.” or: “Unless there is something new to add, I suggest we move on, so we can have more time available for our strategic discussion later on.”