Developing a Dynamic Agenda for Board Directors Meetings

The past few years have brought waves of change to boards as they adapt to the changing world. From a constant pace of regulatory changes to the COVID-19 pandemic geopolitical upheaval and emerging technologies, board directors are finding new ways to interact with each and fulfill their oversight duties.

The creation of a dynamic agenda is essential to ensuring that board meetings are both efficient and productive. The right combination of management topics and americanboardroom.com/why-board-of-directors-meeting-attendance-matters strategic presentations can help your board reach its goals, while also allowing you to stay clear of time-wasting distractions.

A dynamic agenda for the board begins with the most important items, which will allow your team to start work quickly and stay focused. It also includes a section called parking lot for discussions off topic which can be put off until the next meeting.

Set up your board meeting by providing short executive summaries and board papers instead of lengthy summaries. This will help directors concentrate on the most crucial issues for a rich discussion. You may want to include additional information to help your board understand the issues. This could include market information (such as retention rates for customers and acquisition rates) and financials of the company, key performance indicators, or milestones in product development.

Avoid discussing sensitive legal issues during board meetings when the general counsel is not present. The protection of attorney-client privilege is vital. It protects your company in the event of an action is brought against the board member.