What I've learned through 21 Board Meetings so far
Last week we had a Lively, Inc. board meeting. This was the 21st board meeting after receiving our first major round of financing. Our board meetings have come a very, VERY long way as some of our early participants can attest to.?I've tried to capture some of my learnings here.?
Many founders dread board meetings because of the obligations it carries. For me, it’s something I look forward to. It is a place to step back and evaluate progress from another perspective. It’s when you get to have strategic conversations and ask your board members for their thoughts, advice, and knowledge based on their experience having seen way more scenarios than you have as a founder.?
My opinion of what a “good” board meeting is has changed over the years. I originally thought that getting through a board meeting without much disagreement was a win. But then I realized that “comfort” isn’t the goal of a board. It is to guide founders & executives to maximize value through a series of investments & experiments. It is also to provide a level of oversight, guidance, and structure to help propel a business forward. Disagreement, disappointment, and tension are all natural and expected as part of that journey. But the actions of a board during those moments make for the best possible conversations.?
Based on the learnings of those last 21 board meetings, here is what we do now:
1??? Ask your Board for input at least 45 days before the board meeting on the topics they would like to hear about. This helps to ensure that you are not wasting time talking about things no one wants to hear about. If you are a founder that is on the Board, your opinion matters too! It’s not just non-exec board members, it’s the whole Board.?
2??? Start to prepare for your board meeting at least 30 days before your meeting. Our Chief of Staff (Patrick Connelly) leads this process and pulls in our Executive team and key stakeholders to lay out a list of deliverables and timelines. This keeps things efficient.?
3??? Leave time to review and iterate on the complete board package and narrative. Oftentimes, each section is put together in a silo (which is natural), but when all the pieces come together, it might change how you talk about things. As such, leave time to review the story and the materials and make sure it conveys what you want it to convey.?
4??? Send out board materials at least 1 week ahead of time and be very specific with your board participants on how you want to spend the board meeting. The reason to send out materials ahead of time is so you can have every pre-read materials. This way you leave the majority of the time for strategy discussion vs. reading off a slide. If you find yourself regurgitating what is on a slide word for word, you are wasting very valuable time.?
领英推荐
5??? After sending out the board materials, hold a board prep call with the board directors if possible. If a joint call isn’t possible, do it one-on-one to get each person’s reactions to the materials and any follow-up that may want to see to enrich the discussion. This helps socialize important information and as a founder, you receive valuable information on sentiment and expectations which helps you prepare.?
6??? The day of the board meeting, have all of the relevant folks who will be presenting to the Board ready and on call to participate in the discussion. Our board meetings happen quarterly?and are for 4 hours. They typically follow this structure (Items #1 and #6 are reserved only for Founders, Board Directors, and Corporate Counsel):
7?? At the end of your board meeting, ask for help and/or assign out deliverables. Your Board is there to help you. If you are not taking advantage of that, you aren’t utilizing your Board effectively.?
This is very much a work in progress for us. We’ve made plenty of mistakes along the way and we continue to learn. I hope some of our trials and tribulations can be helpful for other founders who are on their journey!?
#boardmeetings #boardprep #startuplife #employeebenefits #livelyhsa #founders
Solving Problems To Create Engaging Board Meetings | Sharing insights on Life, Work, and Tech |
1 年Shobin Uralil These are great insights and callouts around the board meetings. Our founders really struggled with the preparation process and driving productive engagement which is why the built Zeck. It'd be great to connect with you to share how we are trying to solve for this at Zeck and learn more about your experience with the meetings. Or, if you know anyone else trying to improve the board experience, we are always here to help.
Senior Director at Costanoa Ventures
1 年Thanks for sharing - I wish I’d had this to guide me years ago!
Principal Consultant | Insurtech, Employee Benefits, Sales Strategy
1 年Excellent observations and advice. "Comfort is not the goal"... love it. ?I think most Board meetings can be concluded in a two-hour period if people are focused on being efficient.
Strategic Planning & AI Advisory | BIG, Co-Founder | Podcast Host | Keynote Speaker | DM me to Unlock BIG Growth?
1 年In my experience, the most significant source of stress often arises from not proactively soliciting agenda items early on. This oversight tends to compress the rest of the schedule, leading to last-minute scrambling to adjust presentation materials to shifting targets. Rather than viewing board meetings as isolated events, I encourage founders to see them as integral chapters in a longer narrative that spans multiple years. While some meetings may go smoothly, and others may present challenges, maintaining this long-term perspective adds valuable context and helps maintain a focus on the company's overarching goals.
This is such an important part of corporate governance and ultimately protecting and delivering shareholder value.