What Every Board Member Needs to Know, Do, and Avoid: A 1-Hour Guide

Andy Robinson is one of America’s preeminent authorities on boards, having spent two decades steering, advising, and coaxing hundreds of organizations of all stripes and sizes.

He has guided these boards in virtually every facet of governance, including fundraising, board development, financial oversight, recruitment, strategic planning, and marketing.

He has distilled this wealth of experience into a focused book that will help any board govern up to its potential. What Every Board Member Needs to Know, Do, and Avoid takes just an hour to read. But in that brief span of time, your board members will develop a sure-handed grip and a workable understanding of each of their important responsibilities.

First published by Emerson & Church this revised edition reflects a change of publisher to Civil Sector Press.

Table of Contents
1. Your Best Board
2. The Evolving Board: How Governance Changes As Organizations Change
3. Board and Staff: The Separation of Powers
4. “Why Did They Ask Me?”
5. “Can I See a Job Description?”
6. Reciprocal Board Agreements: What You Give, What You Receive in Return
7. The Gift of Time: How Much Is Enough?
8. Designing Your Best Board
9. Where Do Board Members Come From?
10. “How do we ask them to join our board?”
11. Board Renewal: Good Work That Never Ends
12. Five Options for Board Orientation
13. Ensuring Future Leadership: Succession Planning
14. Encouraging Turnover: The Value of Term Limits
15. How to Create a Great Agenda (and Then Cancel the Meeting)
16. Building Consensus
17. Deliberation vs. Action
18. Committees: Don’t Overdo It
19. Financial Oversight 101: What Every Board Member Should Know
20. You, The Ambassador
21. Give Generously—People Are Paying Attention
22. Why Board Members Can’t (Or Won’t) Raise Money
23. One Solution: The Board Fundraising Menu
24. Board Fundraising Agreements
25. How to Fix It: Poor Attendance at Meetings
26. How to Fix It: Poor Follow-Through On Commitments
27. How to Fix It: Micro-Management and Confusion about Roles
28. How To Fix It: Personal Agendas and Conflicts of Interest
29. How to Fix It: Inactive Board Members Who Really Need to Leave
30. Evaluate Your Board, Evaluate Yourself
31. If It’s Not Fun, It’s Not Worth It