Better Board Meetings

1. Recruit at least one non-executive director to give an objective view. Someone outside the day-to-day running of the business can provide valuable, independent ideas.

2. Agree each board member’s role in advance and make sure that all the skills they bring are complementary. It’s also worth blending optimism with pessimism and youth with experience.

3. Set a clear objective or objectives for the board meeting - for example, to agree company strategy for the next six months

4. Focus on the company’s objectives, not the everyday minutiae. Make it clear that board members should stand above their own day-to-day interests and think strategically about the future of the business.

5. Put together a detailed agenda - and stick to it. Keep it to a manageable length for the time you have allocated for the meeting and highlight everything you need to discuss to achieve your objectives.

6. Brief all board directors in advance. It is worth putting together detailed board papers (including management accounts and minutes of the previous meeting) and distributing them by an agreed date before the meeting

7. Find a suitable location. Holding the meeting away from the office will help everyone focus more on strategic issues and less on day-to-day operational ones.

8. During the meeting, before moving on to the next item on the agenda, summarise what has been said and check there are no misunderstandings.

9. Agree action points and allocate responsibilities - and check at the next meeting that these have been carried out.

10. Hold board meetings on a regular basis. Agree the date of the next meeting at the end of the last one and stick to it. Holding regular board meetings forces every member into the discipline of carrying out the agreed actions, rather than letting the good ideas and strategy evaporate.

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Do's & Don'ts:

Do:

Circulate the agenda well in advance.

Prepare thoroughly.

Set and stick to the timetable.

Handle each item separately.

Control the discussion.

Agree detailed action points when appropriate.

Circulate minutes soon afterwards

Don’t:

Spring unwelcome surprises on participants.

Prejudge or dominate discussions.

Allow discussions to be sidetracked.

Plan marathon meetings or allow meetings to drag on.