1. Motion
2. Second
3. Discussion
4. Vote

Four Major Time Wasters:

1. Spreading yourself too thin - Don't try to do too much at once.
2. Being afraid to delegate - Other people are there for a reason.
3. Not wanting to say "no" - Decide what you "must" do.

4. Procrastinating - Do the unpleasant first and reward yourself with the pleasant last.

Source: Dr. Jan Yager, writing in Woman's Own, Harris Publications Inc., 1115 Broadway, New York, NY 10010

Here are some tips on how to run a good meeting:

• Don't compete with group members. Give their ideas precedence over yours.

• Listen to everyone. Paraphrase, but don't judge.

• Don't put anyone on the defensive. Assume that everyone's ideas has value.

• Control the dominant people without alienating them.

• Realize that your interest and alertness are contagious.

• Keep all participants informed about where they are and what is expected of them.

• Give others a turn at running the meeting. Those who learn to lead, learn how to participate.

Source: Financial Times, 14 E. 60th St., New York, NY 10022

During a Meeting, Think Simple - Remember Edison

Many times we get so caught up in all the complexities, that we forget just how simple some things should be.

Thomas Edison had a unique way of hiring engineers. He'd give the applicant a light bulb and ask, "How much water will it hold?"

There were two ways to find the answer. The first choice was to use gauges to measure all the angles of the bulb. Then with the measurements in hand, the engineer would calculate the surface area. This approach could take as long as twenty minutes.

The second choice was to fill the bulb with water and then pour the contents into a measuring cup. Total elapsed time: about a minute.

Engineers who took the first route, and performed their measurements by book, were thanked politely for the time and sent on their way If you took the second route, you heard Edison say, "You're hired."

Source: David Armstrong, Managing by Storying Around, Doubleday, NY, NY, as cited in The Competitive Advantage, P.O. Box 10091, Portland, OR 97210

What It Takes to be a Leader

• They do what they say the will do. They keep their promises and follow through on their commitments.

• Their actions are consistent with the wishes of the people they lead. They have a clear idea of what others value and what they can do.

• They believe in the inherent self-worth of others. And they learn "how to discover and communicate the shared values and visions that can form a common ground on which all can stand."

• They are capable of making a difference in the lives of others - and liberating the leader in everyone.

• They admit their mistakes. They realize that attempting to hide mistakes is much more damaging and erodes credibility. But when they admit to making a mistake, they do something about it.

• They arouse optimistic feelings and enable their people to hold positive thoughts about the possibilities of success.

• They create a climate for learning characterized by trust and openness.

Source: Credibility: How Leaders Gain and Lose It, Why People Demand It, by James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner, Jossey-Bass Inc., Publishers, 350 Sansome Street, San Francisco, CA 94104.

What to Remember When Obstacles Get You Down - Perservere

• After Fred Astaire's first screen test, a 1933 memo from the MGM testing director said: "Can't act. Slightly bald. Can dance a little." Astaire kept that memo over the fireplace in his Beverly Hills home.

• An expert said of famous football coach Vince Lombardi: "He possesses minimal football knowledge. Lack motivation."

• Lousia May Alcott, the author of Little Women, was advised by her family to find work as a servant or seamstress.

• Beethoven handled the voilin awkwardly and preferred playing his own compositions instead of improving his technique. His teacher called him hopeless as a composer.

• The teacher of famous opera singer Enrico Caruso said Caruso had no voice at all and could not sing.

• Walt Disney was fired by a newspaper for lacking ideas and doodling too much. He also went bankrupt several times before he built Disneyland.

• Eighteen publishers turned down Richard Bach's 10,000 word story about a soaring seagull before Macmillan finally published it in 1970. By 1975, Jonathan Livingston Seagull had sold more than seven million copies in the U.S. along.

Source: Chicken Soup for The Soul: 101 Stories to Open the Heart and Rekindle the Spirit, written and compiled by jack Canfield and mark V. Hansen, Health Communications Inc., 3201 SW 15th St., Deerfield Beach, FL 33442.

Think You're Too Old to Participate In Your Resident Council? Think of these:

• Actor George Burns won his first Oscar at age 80.

• Golda Meir was 71 when she became Prime Minister of Israel.

• At age 96, playwrite George Bernard Shaw broke his leg when he fell out of a tree he was trimming in his back yard.

• Painter Grandma Moses didn't start painting until she was 80 years old. She complete over 1,500 paintings after that; 25 percent of those were produced when she was past 100.

• Michelangelo was 71 when he painted the Sistine Chapel.

• S.I. Hayakawa retired as president of San Francisco University at age 70, then was elected to the U.S. Senate.

• Physician and humanitarian Albert Schweitzer was still performing operations in his African hospital at 89.

• Doc Counsilman, at 58, swam the English Channel.

• Casey Stengel didn't retire from managing the New York Mets until he was 75.

Source: Glenn Van Ekeren, The Speaker's Sourcebook, Prentic-Hall, New York, NY