News & Blog

Where In The World Is Jane Bolin? Leadership Takeaways from EO Nerve 2013

As an EO Member (http://www NULL.eonetwork NULL.org/Pages/welcome NULL.aspx) and part of the leadership board for my chapter, I had the opportunity to attend the EO Nerve 2013 Conference (https://www NULL.signup4 NULL.net/Public/ap NULL.aspx?EID=EONE12E) in Charlotte last week.  As part of my weekly blog series, “Where in the world is Jane Bolin?” I wanted to share some of the key leadership takeaways I got from my participation.

Often when I share with people my full travel schedule, the first question they ask is “how are you able to get away from the office so much?”  It wasn’t always this way and has happened over time with specific intention, focus and planning with my partners who see the value of participation in these events because we are all aligned toward one common vision for the firm.  The other key reason is my participation with the Global Organization EO where I get the opportunity to learn from other successful entrepreneurs who have mastered how to work ON their business and not just IN it.

So back to EO Nerve.  I got to hear amazing speakers like George Boneheimer, Barbara Corcoran, Steve Gilliland, Jack Daly and more.  I was in great company to say the least.

There were so many takeaways but here were a few that really impacted me:

• Business leaders need to have rituals similar to rituals that athletes have to maximize their performance.  Being an athlete and coach myself, I really connected with this.  Super cool.
• Schedule time in intervals rather than in a linear manner. Just like interval training, you can only go full out if you couple it with rest and recovery.  Give yourself time to re-energize between peaks rather than just go all day long and then collapse exhausted.  I’m so psyched to start scheduling my time like this.
• If you want others on your team to handle business development, you need to develop a sales team and have systems and process on how to do it.  This was a big wake up call for me since I handle most of the business development for our firm.  I am so excited to develop our sales team!

This last point – have a system and process for everything – is one that I already adhere to religiously for our firm but what I got as I was listening to the many speakers who hammered upon this is how I haven’t brought this to the Associations and Boards we work with.

It was my AHA moment.  Why aren’t we educating the boards we work with on why they need to create systems and processes for everything and then help them do it?  Imagine the benefits of being able to run your association, work with your management company and other vendors, and deal with issues if you had a system and process for everything.  It seems obvious now but until I heard it this time at this conference, it hadn’t occurred to me before.  Another reason why it’s so valuable to get out of your routine and put yourself in a space where you can hear and be open to new ideas.

I couldn’t be more inspired and ready to add this course to our PeytonBolin MBA Program.

Looking forward to applying all my learnings from the EO Nerve Conference.  If you want to hear more about any of my experiences, send me an email (jane null@null peytonbolin NULL.com?subject=Jane%20Blog) or give me a call and I’d be glad to talk to you more about it.

I hope you enjoyed this weeks “Where in the world is Jane Bolin?”  Talk to you next week.

Where in the world is Jane Bolin? Lawyer, Law Firm Partner, Business Coach, Rugby Coach, Entrepreneur, Board Member, Community Volunteer…….

Week ending 4/12/13

Last week was an exciting week as we officially kicked off our PeytonBolin MBA Program – Mastering the Business of your Association.

On Monday we had an all day strategy session discussing each component of the MBA program.  I am looking forward to sharing those with you in the coming weeks.  We also launched our newsletter where we officially announced the PeytonBolin theme for the year – “The Year of the Association As A Successful Business“ (http://campaign NULL.r20 NULL.constantcontact NULL.com/render?llr=sttb6qjab&v=001VxpbIorwhVPD5h5zDs5PmovtSndqgNTWqkTXLkunPSPlKiYz5Mus5eGAxdGV3R45GQ0dFnC6oCgaPKk6z43rPa9O41Xr6ZkL_gpPGQW4mgEBhZn_t7g0TycqaYCdCStdORVvdwH6JBeI48RzGNyWCwgqxJUUqvRJAs7pwWnW6r3pmsvUFegVfh3l1QYvRmCvHaL_Xr63i8n4o70IXqnHmq1DdhvT1NXAbPmsPL6JXBcXeUGWs_tuwRdbcBG_CdagoFqeldAsbG4TG_axf3SM9VNLkgy8oCsu3C8DJRBhYxqq_Ya-PhHZmD9DN1MlYlsFh35TzaU9gSp4DsGWrHN732Qv1F7xT1B2Oc7urjYWlueEfcgqLpDspjALm7i69V6CaUR3n_RyXiu_kWOyiiDZdMgSXFVjhzsec_IyD2BiR9jPjGmE26_O2BlTtM_LVRJQ-NkEXZQHgrc%3D&id=preview).

Then I was off to our Tampa office where I spent the rest of the week.  I participated in a great board presentation using the PB MBA Program  – our soft launch if you will.

Here’s a recap of some of the highlights:

I met with a board that consisted of a mix of new board members as well as ones that had previously served.

We covered four key ares:

1.  The Legal Obligations/Requirements for an Association in the State of Florida - this covers how associations are established and what is required of associations under Florida law.  It’s a great overview to help new board members understand the associations responsibility plus a good reminder (or in some cases first intro) to previous board members.  This also serves as the board certification for new board members which is a Florida requirement.

2. Board member roles and responsibilities. I outlined what the key positions were and what each was accountable for.

This particular association had previously been self-managed but had just brought on a Property Management Company so the next key area we covered was:

3.  How to work with your Property Management Company effectively.  This is really part of a bigger presentation we do called:  How to work with your key vendors successfully where we cover how to maximize your boards relationship with your Management Company, Attorney and CPA.

The last part of the meeting was spent on:

4.  Decision Making in Associations as a Business because of an upcoming decision they needed to make.  This presentation helps frame a process for boards to use when facing any Association decision.

I’d like to highlight the specific topic this board was facing as I think it is so relevant.  They were grappling with whether or not to invest money in doing a reserve study.  This is an important business issue for associations and one they need to understand in order to do it correctly.  Many times what will happen if a board is trying to determine whether they need a new roof or some other property replacement or enhancement is they will put a quote out to get the replacement value of the roof today.  These quotes are presented back to the board and everyone feels like they understand what the cost will be if they need it some time in the future.  This is not how a proper reserve study should be done though because unless you are in fact replacing the roof today those numbers mean nothing anytime out in the future.  To do a proper reserve study you need to hire a professional which will be an engineer who will take into account the replacement value in the future using national averages, cost of materials, cost of labor, grading issues and more.  It’s an investment today so you know, as closely as possible, what the real investment will need to be in the future.  It’s not a quote from 3 vendors.

One of the things that came up during our conversation in all the areas was the feeling by some previous board members that based on the information they were getting today, that they had not always made the best decisions for the association.  My feedback to them was move forward not backwards.  They now have the information to create an exciting future for their association that they can help make reality.  They were excited and so was I.  I’ve done these presentations before but not using the PB MBA Program as the context.  I found that by helping board members reframe their thinking of their association as a business, the conversation was much more productive and everyone was on the same page.

Well I’m out of Tampa back to the Fort Lauderdale office for a few hours and then I’m off again.  I’ll be spending time next week in Charlotte, NC as part of EO Nerve Conference. (https://www NULL.signup4 NULL.net/Public/ap NULL.aspx?EID=EONE12E)  I’m signed up for some exciting sessions that I  can’t wait to share with you all in my next post!

PeytonBolin Reads Official Guardian ad Litem Proclamation for the City of Davie

PeytonBolin, PL Managing Paralegal and Client communications Director, Nate D. Handley, read the Official Proclamation declaring April 5, 2013 as “Guardian ad Litem Day” for the City of Davie.  As the 2012 Guardian ad Litem of the Year, Nate was asked to read the proclamation as part of the 2013 Guardian ad Litem Appreciation Luncheon held at the Signature Grand in Davie, Florida.  ”It was an honor to be asked to read this well deserved proclamation in recognition of the program’s efforts to bring permanency to the children who need it the most,” said Handley, who has been a volunteer Guardian ad Litem for approximately 5 years.

Also in attendance at the luncheon were Chief Judge Peter Weinstein, Judge Marina Garcia-Wood, Judge Kenneth Gillespie, and Judge Laura Watson.  Former Democratic Senator Nan Rich was the keynote speaker for the luncheon.

The proclamation serves as yet another reminder and reinforcement of how valuable the Guardian ad Litem program is to the community.  Every day, Guardians ad Litem advocate inside and outside of the courtroom for the thousands of Florida children in out-of-home care due to allegations of abuse, neglect, or abandonment.

PeytonBolin Give-A-Bag Campaign

On average, between 950 and 1200 children are removed from their homes each year in Broward County alone. Many times these children are removed and placed into foster care or other sheltered care environments with nothing but a garbage bag or plastic bag full of their belongings. It is hard enough on these children to be taken out of a familiar environment (no matter how traumatic that environment may be) and placed somewhere new with simply a garbage bag full of memories.

To aide in the removal process, PeytonBolin is proud to kick off the Give-A-Bag (GAB) campaign. From now through August 30, 2013 we will be collecting:

• Book bags
• Backpacks
• Personal Item Bags

These bags will be distributed to children that are removed from their homes or foster care placements due to allegations of abuse, neglect or abandonment. The bags given to the children will be theirs to keep. PeytonBolin will be working with ChildNet, Guardian ad Litem and the Broward Sheriff’s Department Child Protective Services Unit to ensure that all children removed have a special bag to call their own.

Please send or drop bags off Monday through Friday, 8:30am – 5:00pm to:
PeytonBolin, PL
4758 W. Commercial Blvd.
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33319

We have attached this flyer so you can print it out and distribute in your office or email to others in your community.  Thank you!!!

Join the PeytonBolin Team for the 5th Annual Marine Industry Cares Spin-a-thon

On Friday, April 19th from 1pm – 7pm, the 5th Annual Marine Industry Cares (http://www NULL.marineindustrycares NULL.org) Spin-a-thon will be taking place to benefit Kids In Distress (http://www NULL.kidinc NULL.org/portal/)and Children’s Diagnostic & Treatment Center (http://childrensdiagnostic NULL.org).  Join the PeytonBolin Team for this great cause and super fun event.

Register, Donate, Ride and Make a Difference.  (https://2013spinathon NULL.blacktie-athon NULL.com/selfregister NULL.cfm)

(https://2013spinathon NULL.blacktie-athon NULL.com/selfregister NULL.cfm)

PeytonBolin 5th Annual Spin-a-Thon