"They promised me I wouldn't have to raise money."

I felt she could have kept her voice down just a bit. It was not a pleasant moment.

"I told them that I'd come on the board, but I wouldn't call on anyone for a gift. And I told them that I wouldn't be able to make a gift myself."

And there were all those other board members concurring. It was obvious they were given the same promise when they were recruited.

I was thinking, what would Si Seymour have said in a situation like this. He would have had a wise retort, a perfect response. Oh, Si—where are you when I need you?

I looked at the chairman of the Board, and then the Headmaster. They gave me no comfort. The chair was staring off in space. The Headmaster's eyes were transfixed on a sheet of paper, head buried ó I couldn't make eye contact.

Why the devil had they enlisted board members with the promise that giving and fund raising would not be a function of trusteeship—when this represented the school's most urgent need?

Yes, yes - I know. Trustees can bring qualities other than fund raising that are critical to the institution. The three Ws are still a valid paradigm: Work, Wisdom, and Wealth. Add an additional W—Wallop. You want men and women of influence—Wallop. You seek all four Ws in a trustee, and reverently hope for at least three.

If your institution does not have the financial resources to fulfill its mission (Wealth), no matter how heavily involved trustees are (Work), and no matter how wise they are in their decisions (Wisdom)—you will flag, falter, and fail. Your high ideals and promise will go unanswered and unresolved.

I hear it so often: I give time and therefore I shouldn't be expected to give money. But it's naive for a trustee to think that just giving time will provide the resources necessary to thrust the institution forward. Time alone will not transform a so-so organization into a good one, a good one into a great one. It takes money.

Particularly in today's world where the squeeze is tighter, the funds scarcer, and the budgets more constrained and constricted. The admonition, Give, Get, or Get Off is irrefutably relevant.

At the board meeting I referred to earlier, the school had discussed for years the need for new and added facilities. The school cannot maintain a quality program without the infusion of funds that comes from a larger student body. And this requires new facilities.

The board discusses the need for new facilities regularly. And has for years. The project is one of their great wishes. But that's all it is—a wish. And that's all it will ever be, a wish, until they have the level of trustees who have the capacity and the will to give.

On this board, there has never really been the resolve and the determination to make it happen. "Gee, I wish we could have more classrooms." That's as far as the board gets.

No resolve, no will, no funds. No classrooms!

I grant you, it's not easy being a trustee. Difficult times, these. The legal liabilities, new regulations, and fiduciary responsibilities never end. And there are the concerns about staff. All those objectives that are not reached. Deadlines that aren't met. And meetings, meetings, meetings. Too much to read, but not enough information. How can you make an informed decision?

At one college board meeting recently, a trustee said to me: "All we talk about at board meetings are the three Bs—budgets, buildings, and baloney!"

The future isn't what it used to be! Carpe Diem isn't good enough. Not in today's world. Seize the Day won't do it. For institutions and trustees, in order to keep pace, the credo must be: Seize the Future.

Too many trustees practice analysis paralysis. The parade will pass them by. Certainly there is the need to plan carefully. Of course. But instead of Ready, Aim, Aim, Aim, Aim ... you will have to switch to Ready, Fire, Aim.

There's an expression attributed to Napoleon: "First charge, then let's see what happens." To win and be successful, today's trustee must have a thorough understanding of the future and a strong bias for action.

A Fail-Proof Check List

At times trustees do not perform as they should. Indeed, they may not be properly informed as to how significant it is for them to support, defend, publicize, and strengthen their institutions. Here are 12 criteria you can use to measure your board's performance. These 12 provide an invincible standard for trustee excellence.

1) Mission is Everything.

Trustees work at understanding the institution, its history, and its present program and outreach. They understand that everything that is done by the institution, all new programs being planned, all its visions for the future—must be measured within the parameters of the institution's mission.

As board members, they are prudent stewards of the institution's resources. More than that, they make certain that the use of funds reflects the primary mission of the institution and its unique priorities.

Trustees understand that the mission is the organization's most prized treasure - to be taken out often for public display, to be cherished, and to be polished regularly to make certain it maintains its luster and value.

2) Courage to Challenge.

Trustees must bring to each board meeting a probing, challenging, open mind. They must question the status quo and measure each new program and activity with a searing examination of whether the organization is meeting its mission.

There must be dazzling dreams and glorious visions for the future, all wrapped around the mission. There is no time to loll or relax, or take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Things must be done now. Time will not wait.

3) Faithful Attendance.

Trustees are conscientious about attending board and committee meetings. They participate fully, openly, and with candor.

They come well prepared for all board and committee meetings. This is especially true if they are asked to make decisions that have high impact on the future of the organization and those it serves. They never vote without proper understanding and preparation.

4) Fervor and Institutional Zeal.

Trustees are thunder and thumping advocates on behalf of the institution. At every opportunity possible, they speak with enthusiasm and ardor about the organization.

Trustees can only do their most effective best and give to the fullest extent, both their leadership and dollars—to those organizations where they have deep conviction and raging enthusiasm. Trustees provide the greatest contribution possible when there is a love affair with their organization.

A zeal. A passion. That's it. Passion. A Trustee with passion is a majority.

5) Persuade Others.

Trustees bring to bear all of the influence possible to persuade others to act on behalf of the institution. They help get gifts from others—friends, colleagues, and neighbors. They are enthusiastic advocates, movers and doers.

I tell board members that once every day, they should talk to someone about the great work of their organization. I give them weekends off. That's five days a week. I even give them the summer off. That's only forty weeks a year. But that means 200 contacts a year. Just think of a roaring ripple effect. But that's just one board member. Multiply that times the number of members you have on your board.

6) Excellence is Everything.

Trustees settle for nothing less than the best. They make certain that all activities and offerings are the highest quality possible. They understand that the institution's success is in direct proportion to the Board's commitment to excellence.

It is indeed a very strange phenomenon of trusteeship—when you are willing to accept mediocrity in staff work and programs, you will get mediocre work. Board members understand that they do not have the luxury of mediocrity.

7) Good Business Judgment.

Trustees must bring their wisest business acumen and judgment into the boardroom. They decide what is the very best for the cause, and they fight for it. After the vote is taken, they act as an adult—even if they were against the action.

If they simply can't tolerate the decision and it becomes a matter near impossible to deal with, they give serious consideration to leaving the board. None of this snit nonsense!

And mixed heartily with their good judgment, trustees should bring compassion, sensitivity, and heart, combined with a strong business sense and a financial point of view.

What an organization really wants in a board member is a combination of the compassion of a Mother Theresa and the business sense of a Warren Buffett.

8) Know the Competition.

Trustees develop a good understanding of the competition. They make certain that their organization is out front. They don't like to lose. They are winners. They understand that a good loser is a loser. The key to win-power is want-power. Board members must want their institution to be the best. Trustees who want something badly enough will find the win-power to achieve it.

The thrust must not necessarily be to get ahead of others—although this is indeed an important benchmark. What is important is to get ahead of ourselves, to break old records, outstrip our yesterdays by today. Hard work. To think the possible.

9) Work Hard at the Job.

Trustees volunteer. When assignments come up, even those that are difficult and fairly time-consuming—they offer to take them on. At first, this shocks their fellow trustees. But after a short while, that kind of spirit catches on. It is contagious.

10) Applause for the Staff.

Trustees provide accord and acclaim for good performance. Trustees have a right to expect the very best possible from staff and the chief executive officer. The truth is, however, that not every organization has a staff that comes up to this high expectation. When it does, trustees have a responsibility to let the staff know about it. It is amazing, the wondrous things that can be achieved when a staff receives its proper recognition. Even salary recognition!

11) They Give.

Good trustees give sacrificially. Ouch! You knew I was going to get to this. Trustees are expected to give to the very best of their abilities. No one ever tells them how much to give. But it is certainly expected that they do as much as they possibly can because they are a trustee. If trustees don't give, and don't give devotedly—why should anyone else? Albert Camus said: "And if you true believers don't help us, who else in the world can help us do this?"

12) Concentrate Their Effort.

Trustees need to take a good look at their own volunteer workload. It is possible that they may not be able to serve on more than a few boards at one time.

It is hard to be a roaring advocate and a sacrificial giver to a large number of organizations. And it is difficult to give the kind of time that is necessary. Time and energy should be carefully rationed for those boards and institutions that trustees love the most.

One day, speaking to a gathering of thousands, Mahatma Gandhi warned his people of what he called The Seven Sins of the World.

He described these sins as: "Wealth without work. Pleasure without conscience. Knowledge without character. Commerce without morality. Science without humanity. Worship without sacrifice. Politics without principle."

I have a list to suggest, also, appropriate and relevant for board members—The Seven Sins of Trusteeship.

Acceptance without commitment.

Membership without attendance.

Affiliation without dedication.

Meetings without participation.

Decisions without integrity.

Involvement without advocacy.

Association without giving.

Trustees and staff, working together, must have the will, the fortitude, and the resolution to dare. There must be a systematic pursual to plunge, to speculate, to inquire, to imagine, to doubt, to explore.

And trustees must encourage the staff in this regard. The greater the risk, the greater the reward. The institution that dares believes in the doctrine of the possible. To take the initiative—that's what counts. To accept the lead, to lust for the risk.

There must be a willingness to attack the bold, arduous, seemingly impossible undertaking.

This will mark the truly effective board and successful organization.

Board members seek the explosive opportunity to take a chance and run with it. And win! There is no time to doubt. Trustees and the staff, joined in this courageous venture, make the impossible possible, and succeed where ordinary prudence fails.

But it's not always easy. And most often, it requires funds—new funds.

The institution that is willing to forge the unknown and place new ideas in confrontation with the old may be taking a leap of faith into new budget requirements. It requires trustees with a spirit that welcomes nonconformity, and yes—zeal, exuberance, and ardor for the unexplored. Breaking new barriers and seeking new frontiers. And no matter what the cost, the travel is worthy of the travail.

There are four levels of board members. Those who make things happen, those who watch things happening, those to which things happen, and those who don't even know what's happening. You want board members who make things happen. Eschew the others.

History will deal kindly with your institution if your trustees and staff have an abhorrence for everything that is dull, motionless, and unrisking. No rigidity. No timidity.

Trustees must give their heart, and their spirit, and their funds—to the terror, the surprise, the fear, and the exhilaration of the unexplored.