Quorums and Boards

I was recently drawn into a lengthy discussion on quorums and boards. 

Set the quorum requirement too high and a drop in attendance may make it difficult to conduct business. Make it too low and you may find a minority deciding major matters. Permit proxy voting and you can inadvertently discourage attendance at board meetings.

Two items I've found to be helpful over the years:

1. Make the board meetings meaningful. If there is no important business to decide, then the meeting should not be held. Members need to know that their presence is needed.
2. If you do encounter quorum problems, make a practice of holding an executive committee meeting as soon as the general board meeting concludes. [Word the agenda in that manner so you aren't tied to starting at a specific time.] The executive committee serves as a safety net and permits you to handle important business if the board failed to have a quorum,.