Voting matters should be socialized prior to the board meeting. Don’t surprise board members with a vote they haven’t had time to think through, especially if the matter goes beyond typical employee option grants and meeting minutes approval.
Send board material 48 hours prior to the meeting. Even if just a draft, it’ll make your meeting far more productive if your board has time to prereview materials.
Don’t go over 3 hours. The 3 hour mark is usually when exhaustion kicks in. Keep quarterly meetings to 3 hours or less. Monthly meetings should be no more than an hour to 1.5 hours.
Make sure the board is adding value. If information is going only one way (you presenting to the board), and information isn’t flowing to you (the board giving you real feedback and advice), then after the meeting, email board members individually or call them and let them know you aren’t getting what you want out of the meetings. If the meetings continue to be one way, then you’ve got a board you’re only reporting to. In the case, make the meetings as short as possible.
sammy@blossomstreetventures.com
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