Board Meeting Facts

Board Meeting Details

Contrary to popular belief the board of directors of your company does not make the majority of decisions for your company. While they have authority for certain high-impact aspects (in a venture-backed firm most of the choices are described in the governing and investment documents) most important issues are determined by committees or by the management team of the CEO with the input boardroomideas.info of the board.

Board meetings usually focus on policy, planning and oversight instead of business operations. However, a board’s decisions can have a huge impact on a business. This is why it’s important to design and run board meetings that allow for constructive discussions and results.

To ensure that the board is well informed, it’s crucial to ensure everyone is aware. To ensure that the board has productive conversations make sure to distribute the board’s materials in advance so attendees can get familiar with them prior to the meeting. These documents should be concise and simple enough to not take more than a half hour to review.

Then, plan a time for the board to discuss. Make sure that attendees have the opportunity to ask questions or provide brief comments in an open forum. Also, plan time for presentations by outside stakeholders. Reserve time for the consent agenda – an area where routine or noncontroversial issues can be ratified with a single vote and motion.

Lastly, communicate the process of decision-making during board meetings. Determine whether the objective is to reach consensus or use an official voting procedure, and set specific criteria for evaluating new ideas. This will help everyone to understand their role and the possible consequences of a bad decision.