There is a tendency for some Homeowner Association Boards to "throw the baby out with the bathwater" when it comes to managing association business. With that in mind, consider the following:

A company CEO had box seat tickets to see Schubert's "Unfinished Symphony". Unable to go, the tickets were passed on to the Chief Financial Officer. The next morning, the CEO received a memo from the CFO which read:

1. For a considerable period, the oboe players had nothing to do. Their number should be reduced, and their work spread over the whole orchestra, thus avoiding peaks of inactivity.
2. All 12 violins were playing identical notes. This seems unnecessary duplication, and the staff of this section should be drastically cut. Greater sound volume could be obtained through the use of an amplifier.
3. Much effort was involved in playing the sixteenth notes. This seems an excessive refinement and it is recommended that all notes should be rounded up to the nearest eighth note. If this were done, it would be possible to use "temps" instead of experienced musicians.
4. No useful purpose is served by repeating the passage with horns that has already been handled by the strings. If all such redundant passages were eliminated, the concert could be reduced from two hours to 20 minutes.
5. This symphony had two movements. If Schubert did not achieve his musical goals by the end of the first movement, then he should have stopped there. The second movement is unnecessary and should be cut.

In light of the above, one can only conclude that had Schubert given attention to these matters, he probably would have had the time to finish his symphony.

How does this story relate to community association management?

Micromanagement

There is a tendency for some Boards to hire good people and then hover over them while they work. Micromanagers have a basic mistrust of people or fear that the employee will make the manager’s job unnecessary. A good jockey lets his horse run because the horse was born to run. Constant goading, reining or whipping seldom enhances performance. Good people will do good work. Assigned tasks and goals should be reviewed at Board meetings where thoughtful and constructive input can encourage.

Role Reversal

There is a common misconception that the Board is elected to do the association dirty work including, but not limited to, small repairs and janitorial work. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Board is elected to administrate: hiring and overseeing competent people to complete association responsibilities. This is a big enough task in itself. [That being said, our hats are off to all unpaid community volunteers.]

Butcher Boards

Some boards adopt the "meat cleaver" approach to money management. Butcher Boards assume that whatever the previous board spent was too much and proceed to slash the budget, services or both. This philosophy is very damaging to the association assets. While it is true that money should not be squandered, the Board’s job is to maintain the property responsibly so that the owners’ home market values are competitive. If this means raising fees, that’s what the Board should do. If the budget is adequate, it should at least be adjusted for inflation to keep pace. Prioritize: First, determine the cost of reasonable levels of service, then second, determine the budget. Never set the budget first and try to make necessary services fit (They won’t).

See No Evil

This kind of Board simply refuses to acknowledge the monkey until it becomes an 800 pound gorilla. Small issues grow into unwieldy catastrophes. Using past history as experience, the Board can anticipate and prevent certain situations from mushrooming. This applies to both maintenance and rules enforcement. Be "proactive" and not "reactive". Plan ahead and work the plan.

For more information on this subject, see www.Regenesis.net.

Also See:

Published: June 23, 1999

Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.

Richard Thompson owns Regenesis, a management consulting company that specializes in condominium and homeowner associations. He is a nationally recognized expert on HOA management issues. Regenesis publishes The Regenesis Report, a monthly newsletter for HOA boards, developers and managers. To subscribe, go to Regenesis.net. He can be contacted by email at .