Some boards around here, those that meet monthly or only quarterly, take extended time off between meetings during the summer.  In my state of Utah, where we have two holidays in July, it is a great challenge to achieve a quorum during that month.  While everybody deserves respite from demanding chores, I would like to suggest that board members get some homework while they are on break. 

This opportunity for creativity can be approached several ways.   One way might be for members to write down their most nagging strategic concern and exchange them, so that one other person could contemplate how to address an important issue when board meeting resume in the fall.  Another approach might be to select one unresolved key issue from the current year or the most recent retreat/planning meeting and ask everybody to think about it.  The staff could be asked to come up with three big topics they have been trying to engage the board with and have board members randomly assigned to one of those three questions.  Board members can be asked to think about these on their own, do research, look for an answer from their favorite summer book, ask colleagues or even to consult each other. 

The reporting back can be a fun experience.  Board members can be asked to revisit their grammar school days when students were asked to tell the class “what they did on their summer vacation” and how that helped them think about their homework.  More often than not, members might report that they really didn’t do their assigned homework but that they did gain an insight about their governance activity over the break.  Any insight is helpful and who knows, your board might actually find an answer that facilitates genuine progress.

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