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Board Meeting Facts:

Contrary to popular belief, a board of directors doesn’t take the majority of business decisions. While they have authority for some high-impact areas (in a venture-backed company most of the choices are described in the investment and governing documents) most important issues are made by committees or the management team, with input from the board.

Board meetings are usually focused on planning, policy and oversight and not business operations. However, a board’s decisions can have a major impact on the company. It is therefore crucial to plan and run board meetings in a manner that encourages discussion and produces results.

To ensure that the board is well-informed it is crucial to ensure that everyone is informed. Distribute board materials in advance to allow attendees to familiarize them with the material before the meeting. The documents should be brief and simple enough to not take more than an hour to review.

Then, you can allocate time for board discussion. You might want to consider allowing attendees to submit brief remarks or queries in an open forums, and arranging time for guest talks from outside stakeholders. Reserve time for the consent agenda – one section where routine or noncontroversial issues can be approved with a simple motion and vote.

In the final meeting of the board discuss the procedure for making decisions. Decide whether the goal is to come to a consensus, or use the formal voting process and establish clear criteria for evaluating any new ideas. This will allow everyone to understand their role in the process, and the possible consequences of a decision-making process that went wrong.