Board Meeting Facts

Board Meeting Details:

Contrary to what many believe, the board of directors don’t make the majority of the business decisions. Although they are in charge of certain high-impact areas (in the case of a venture-backed business the majority of these choices are described in the investment and governance documents) The majority of the important decisions are decided by committees or the management team of the CEO with the input of the board.

Board meetings are usually focused on planning, policy and oversight tasks instead of business operations. Nevertheless, a board’s decisions can have a profound impact on a business. Therefore, it’s important to organize and conduct board meetings in a manner that encourages constructive discussion and produces results.

To ensure that the board is well-informed it is crucial to ensure that all board members are aware. To foster productive conversations, distribute board materials prior to the meeting so that Board Meeting Facts attendees can familiarize themselves with them before the meeting. The documents should be brief and clear enough that they do not require more than an hour to review.

Next, schedule time for the board to discuss. It is possible to allow attendees to share short comments or ask questions in an open forum, and planning time for guest presentations by outside stakeholders. Make sure you set aside time for a consent agenda -that is, a section of the meeting where routine or non-controversial topics can be approved by a simple motion and vote.

In the final meeting of the board discuss the procedure for making decisions. Determine if the objective is to achieve consensus or if a formal vote procedure will be used, and establish clear criteria to evaluate concepts. This will help everyone to recognize their roles and the potential negative consequences of making a poor decision.