Hello, leaders.

That’s a wrap on board (meeting) season for the quarter. As a point of reflection, we want to share a little about how we approach the preparation for, facilitation of, and follow up to board meetings.

First, let’s identify the purpose of the board meeting and define what success looks like.

Purpose

As with any meeting, gathering, or interaction, one of the main goals is to build relationships. It’s also a nice forcing function for the business leader (we’ll call them CEO) to breathe and take a real-look at the status of the company.

For the company itself, board meetings are primarily held to discuss the progress you’re making against the strategic plan and associated key activities. Or, as Steve Blank sought to answer:

Do the metrics show that the business model you’re creating will support the company you’re trying to become?

And answering the above question entails reviewing financial health and key metrics of the business, as well as handling top issues.

Note. Every business has issues. Even the successful ones. Board meetings enable the leader to identify one-to-three of the most pressing issues and work toward a solution.

Finally, the board meeting is a good time to address housekeeping items, like scheduling future events, signature approvals, and other financial matters.

Preparation

Before diving into board meeting preparation, double-check the details and confirm calendar invites, location (virtual/in-person), and reservations and food if applicable. Best to confirm the logistics a few weeks ahead.

Calm Capital wants our leaders to think deeply about the business they lead, versus over reporting or adding busy work. Therefore, gathering and updating the usual data works great:

• quarterly financials
• cash flow forecast
• key metrics for sales/marketing, operations, people/product
• If it’s the first quarterly board meeting of the new year, include two additional things:
  • year-over-year analysis and trend
  • annual operating budget plan

In our experience, the best reflections and insights come via re-reading your notes. If you keep a journal (recommended) or write weekly summaries, pull those out and review them.

Try to get out of the weeds and look objectively at how things are going compared to the plan. Create a short list of discussion topics —— What’s the main thing? Once that is identified, consider adding a secondary and tertiary topic you can get to if time allows.

Now it’s time to pull everything together into meeting materials and an agenda. A good board meeting agenda will address any housekeeping items as well as your discussion topics.

You are the one leading the flow of the conversation. What is the most important way to use the time? If there’s a key blocker or timely opportunity, let that guide your meeting. Create a small set of slides that includes the agenda, talking points, and any visual aids needed to support the conversation.

Consolidate the data and your insights into a brief report that can be sent three days before the meeting. We know this is hard. Businesses change every day, yesterday’s data is old, etc. Trust us when we say the value of having materials in advance far outweighs updating your data with last minute changes.

As a board member, it’s your (our) responsibility to be prepared for the discussion. The CEO doesn’t need another meeting on their calendar to hear themselves talk. They depend on their board to be wise counselors and accountability partners.

We’ve found scheduling time on our calendars in advance to read the reports and agenda, and review our notes from the last board meeting helps come prepared with questions and ideas.

The Meeting

As the CEO, it’s your meeting. Lead it. Review the agenda with your board and how long you want to spend on each item. Remember, everyone in the room is on your team. Their incentives are aligned with your success.

Come to the meeting with humility. Listen. Your board likely has more and/or different experiences than you that could unlock something you’ve looked for or didn’t know in the first place.

At Calm Capital, we aim to conduct our board meetings with a balance of patience, accountability, collaboration, grace, and optimism.

Our typical meetings are one-to-three hours in duration, depending on the business. However, when they’re done, we end. There’s no need to take more time than necessary.

We begin almost all board meetings with a few minutes of catching up before diving in.

Our segue into the agenda begins with scheduling the next board meeting, if it’s not already on the calendar. It seems much easier to coordinate a date at the beginning. At the end of the meeting, people tend have their next thing to go to.

Once you’re into the discussion, it’s easy to lose track of time. Keep tabs on it. Make sure you’re getting through the core items on the agenda. Remember that one thing, that top priority? Protect it.

Jot down any action items and follow-ups to questions you couldn’t answer or need further thought.

A good board meeting is one where:

• everyone experienced teamwork, collaboration, humility, and levity (business has a proper place in the big picture)
• the members were informed
• the CEO was able to articulate the real state of the business
• members asked questions, provided ideas and/or connections, encouragement, tough love (if needed), and accountability
• the CEO left the meeting armed with solid direction, wise counsel, and a renewed feeling of camaraderie and support

After the meeting

We recommend letting the meeting digest for a day or two after. Give yourself a brief rest. Take a day off if you can. The build up from preparing for and having the board meeting can leave you drained.

You’ve learned more about your business from the preparation. You took notes, captured decisions, and gained direction from the board meeting. Review and ask:

• What do I need to change about the key activities?
• What do I need to communicate to my team?
• Are there any open items or follow-ups for the board I must get completed?

If done well, these quarterly meetings are a disciplined rhythm, reminding the CEO he/she is not alone. They get to operate with a group of incentive-aligned advisors to set goals, plan, establish key activities, and measure success —— while “getting real” with how it’s playing out.

View each of the board meetings as a reset, like the “trip” function on an odometer.

You wrapped up the previous three months (however it went) and are beginning a new journey for the next three months. If things went well, ponder why that is and stay the course. How can you amplify those root causes? If things didn’t go well, what adjustments can you make? How can you get your team focused on the right things for the next three months?

As a final note, remember you don’t have to wait until a quarterly meeting to get help or discuss ideas. If you need a second set of eyes on something or have a question, your board is only a phone call away.

Ever,
Marty & David