Condo Media - January 2010 - 32

COVER STORY 5. Ask for advice before making decisions. Want to make an attorney cringe? Preface a question by saying, “after we signed the contract.” “There’s not much I can do about a contract a board has signed, other than tell them why they shouldn’t have signed it,” notes Ellen Shapiro, a partner in the law firm Goodman, Shapiro & Lombardi LLC. It is almost always more difficult and expensive to resolve a problem than it would have been to obtain the legal (or other) advice that might have avoided it. “Asking for advice is not a sign of weakness,” Shapiro insists. Failing to seek advice in order to save the association money is never prudent and rarely cost-effective. communications tools. Managers staring at e-mail in-boxes crammed with hundreds of messages can be forgiven for wondering if we have harnessed communications technology or been “The more elaborate our means of communication, the less we communicate.” — Joseph Priestley, theologian and scientist cost-effective, means of providing information to residents. Virtually all the information they need can be available whenever they want to access it. Because Web sites have the potential to be broadly comprehensive and easily accessible, they can do much to create a sense of openness and nurture the community spirit that associations strive to maintain. 2. Restrict access to some of the information displayed on the Web. The association’s Web site is primarily an internal communications tool aimed at community residents, but its accessibility to the public also makes it an effective marketing vehicle — and a potential security risk. Some information — the names, addresses and phone numbers of residents, association financial information, contracts, minutes of board meetings and other business information, for example — should be available to residents only on a password-protected section of the site. Some Communication Tools Cell phones, e-mail and PDAs hadn’t been invented when 19th century scientist Joseph Priestley was working, but he could have been referring to any or all of these now essential and ubiquitous enslaved by it. You measure the effectiveness of communications tools not by their existence, but by their application; and not by the amount of information they generate, but by the quality of that information, its utility and its results. 1. Create a Web site and use it effectively. There is no more effective, or Opening the Door to Bottom Line Stability As the recognized industry leader of Commercial Multi-Peril coverage, GNY knows its business and yours. Our level of expertise in the Real Estate Insurance Market is recognized among the property managers and owners we serve. With a strong balance sheet, an “A+” Superior rating from the A.M. Best Company, as well as an “A” Rating from STANDARD & POOR’S, and the use of quality reinsurers and an experienced underwriting team, GNY provides bottom line stability with superior protection, broad coverage and outstanding claims handling for its clients. Insure your valuable assets with one of the most experienced and recognized insurance leaders in the business GNY. Experience, Stability and Integrity. 617-847-5200 GNY Insurance Companies 400 Crown Colony Drive, Quincy, MA 02169 FAX: 617-847-3003 | WEB: www.GYN.com CONDO MEDIA • JANUARY 2010

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Condo Media - January 2010

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Condo Media - January 2010