Board Meetings: Facts
Contrary to what many believe, boards of directors don’t make most of the decisions in your company. They are, however, able to make decisions on a few high-impact areas (in the case of a venture-backed company most of the decisions are made in the governing and investment documents) The majority of the important decisions are made by committees or the management team, with input from the board.
The majority of board meetings are focused on policy, planning, and oversight functions rather than business activities. However, a board’s decisions can have a significant impact on a business. This is why it’s crucial to organize and conduct board meetings that allow for constructive discussions and results.
The first step is to make sure that all board members are well-informed. In order to facilitate productive discussions ensure that the board materials are distributed in advance, so that attendees are able to familiarize themselves with them before the meeting. The documents should be concise and clear enough to take no more than an hour to review.
Next, set aside time for discussion at the board. Consider allowing 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 items can be approved through a simple motion and vote.
Also, during board meetings and board meetings, you should explain the procedure for making decisions. Decide if the purpose is to achieve consensus discover this info here or if a formal voting procedure is used and set clear criteria for evaluating the ideas. This will enable everyone to understand their role in the process, as well as the possible consequences of a decision-making procedure that has gone wrong.
