Board Meeting Details:
Contrary to popular belief, your board of directors do not make the majority of decisions for your company. Although they may have authority in certain areas of significant importance (in a venture backed company they are typically defined in the governing documents as well as investment documents) However, the majority of the important issues are decided either through committees or by the CEO/management with the assistance of the Board.
Board meetings are typically more focused on plan, policy and oversight functions than on business operations. The decisions of a board can have an enormous impact on the business. Therefore, it’s important to plan and run meetings for board members in a way that encourages open discussion and produces results.
To ensure that the board is well-informed it is essential to ensure everyone is aware. Distribute board materials in advance so that the attendees can familiarize with the materials prior to the meeting. Ideally the documents should be simple and concise enough that they don’t require more than an hour to review.
Then, plan a time for the board to discuss. You might want to give attendees the chance to ask questions or offer short remarks in an open forum. Also, schedule time for presentations by external stakeholders. Schedule time for the consent agenda – an area where routine or noncontroversial subjects can be approved by a simple motion and vote.
Lastly, communicate the process of making decisions during board meetings. Make a decision on whether the goal is to achieve boardroomideas.info/what-is-reasonable-notice-for-a-board-meeting consensus or if a formal vote procedure is required and establish clear guidelines to evaluate concepts. This will help everyone to be aware of their roles and the potential negative consequences of making a poor decision.