Startup Board Meetings: How to STOP Wasting Your Board Members' Time
Board meetings can be very powerful events where founders get valuable feedback, ideas, and strategic direction. Oftentimes, founders dread board meetings and look at them as low ROI events. Keep reading for Dreamit Managing Partner, Steve Barsh’s 5 tips founders can use to get more out of their board meetings and make them a productive and positive experience for everyone involved.
Tip #1: Set the right agenda
Long before the meeting, you need to set the right agenda. What items should you include in your agenda?
CEO update that covers wins and challenges
Core metrics and KPIs
Company financials
Organizational and HR issues
Status of product development and delivery
2-3 key topics to dive deep on
As you create this agenda, make sure to review it with the chairperson of your board. Their primary role is to confirm the board meeting agenda. You should be on the same page with the chairperson before running through the whole update. There shouldn’t be any major surprises for ANY of your board members, but especially not for the chairperson of your board.
Tip #2: Your board meeting is not a status update
When serving on boards, Steve has firsthand experience with witnessing founders write up slides with a “status update,” then spend 80% of the valuable time in the meeting presenting (more like reading) those slides. Reading status updates to board members is a highly deleveraged and ineffective use of time. Instead, founders should spend 80% of the time in the meeting focusing on deep key issues, and only use 20% of the time on the status update.
Founders should create board update documents and send them to board members 2-3 days before the meeting.
When you send out the deck, make sure to mention that you’re expecting board members to read the update in advance of the meeting. Then, during the meeting, you’ll be able to quickly review those slides and answer any questions your board members may have. This will allow you to easily use the vast majority of the meeting for an in depth discussion on the key issues your company is facing. Don’t forget to say that you appreciate your board members reading the materials in advance, so you can spend your time on what matters most when you’re together.
Tip #3: Focus on key issues
How do you know what a “key issue” is? Ask yourself this:
“What’s keeping you awake?”
Think about what’s impacting your sleep schedule. Those items will be the key issues you’ll want to spend 80% of the time in your board meeting focusing on. In your board deck, identify what you’ll be focusing on and include the background information your board will need to engage in a rich discussion. Set aside 20-30 minutes to discuss each issue. It’s typical to see 2-3 key issues per meeting.
Tip #4: Manage your board
As Steve mentioned in his first tip, board members hate to be surprised. In saying that, we’re talking about negative surprises. If you have any negative news, reach out BEFORE the meeting to avoid any negative surprises. Typically, you should do so on the phone, but it doesn’t need to be a long call. Just provide a short briefing on the issue to ensure that the first time your board members get the news is NOT when they get the board deck. Remind them that you’ll have more information on the topic in the board update.
Tip #5: Put the board to work
Board members are there to add value and advice, so don’t be afraid to ask them for it. You CAN ask your board members to take on assignments and to follow-up with you. In fact, you should. During a board meeting, when a board member says they can help you with an issue or if they’re offering advice, ask them if they don’t mind following up on the issue. Make sure that whoever is responsible for taking notes during the meeting, makes note of their commitment. Towards the end of the board meeting, summarize those commitments and get a final confirmation of your board member’s intent to take on those responsibilities.
Those are the 5 tips that will help you get the most out of your next board meeting. Put them to the test, and we guarantee that your next board meeting will be a value-adding experience, and not the dreaded, tedious event it may have been before.
By Alana Hill, Securetech Associate at Dreamit Ventures
Book Office Hours with the Securetech team
