Board Members should lead the residents and not make demands or secret decisions that are to their detriment.

“Pulling” is a motivational technique that means creating conditions that the residents can be comfortable with the knowledge they themselves have contributed to the final product.

“Pushing” is a non productive technique often used by overbearing and uncaring directors who want to impose “their will” over the residents resident’s concerns regardless of the consequence or the legality of their decision.

“Pulling” means YOU deciding rather than The Board deciding. Example – 51% is a reasonable number to expect for the residents to reject a budget.

“Pushing” means The Board deciding rather than YOU deciding. Example – 90% is an unreasonable number to expect for the residents to reject a budget.

Most methods of persuasion are based on creating pull rather than push, which is generally coercive in nature. Pull creates desire. It is about making the other person want what you are offering. It is subtly changing how they perceive the world such that they see what you have and want it. Once you have created desire, then the internal tension set up in the other person will lead them in the right direction.

Push and pull are a matched pair: Pushing is the whip and the club. Pulling is fishing rather than shooting. Pulling is creating desire rather than creating fear. Pulling is creating attraction rather than repulsion.

In motivation, pushing is a business management method used by tyrants of industry, while pulling is used by leaders of society.

Pulling is more difficult than pushing, but is ultimately more effective. When you push, you do not know what direction the other person will take. It is like the sheepdog running into the flock of sheep: they all head off in different directions. Pulling has just one direction. It is like being the shepherd, towards whom the flock will move.

The new board members must learn from the mistakes of the past board members. They must learn to pull. Creating pull means creating desire. Creating desire means knowing not only what the residents want but how they decide what they want. Creating push will only cause more of the same divisiveness and discontent that we have witnessed. The choice is theirs to make. The residents all have a voice and they have rights they will not relinquish just because the board members happened to win an election. In the end the laws will govern, not men (or women). If the laws are disobeyed, and the rights of the citizens are diminished, we all lose.