February Office Hours Agenda

Soundbites for Survival

This month, David and Tim will be talking about the ever present "showdown" at a meeting, whether a physical meeting or an online meeting. Managers will sometimes encounter owners who may want to challenge the board, management, or both, in an aggressive or hostile manner. While we cannot offer a way to eliminate this type of conflict, we will discuss the types of catabolic (negative) energy that often accompany these challenges, offer suggestions for defusing the negative energy in the situation, and suggest positive solutions for advancing a productive conversation. The goal is to create a meeting atmosphere where differing views can be exchanged in a respectful manner, to the benefit of all. We will then discuss the most common management accusations that we experience at meetings and will offer appropriate, sincere, and honest responses (soundbites) that might be able to redirect the conversation so that the business of the Association may be conducted. We will also improv proposed responses to objections raised by attendees—so bring your most frustrating scenarios to the call and see what we can make of them!