How You Open a Board Meeting
The way you begin a board meeting can be an opportunity to set the tone for a productive and efficient session. This can be accomplished by clearly communicating the reason of the meeting and establishing time limits for agenda items. This will ensure that the board achieves its objectives at every meeting, and also avoids spending time on issues that are not critical.
Start the meeting promptly to maximize every minute. Prioritize the most important issues and ensure that all participants are equipped with the necessary background information. Distribute an agenda that contains all the required documents and information, such as minutes of previous meetings along with financial reports, news on committee presentations, projects and proposals.
Concentrate the discussion on priority issues that are in line with the strategic plan and help manage risk. Limit long reports and other routine business to about a quarter of the meeting so that the rest can be used for discussions about strategy. Board members are encouraged to, instead of reading lengthy reports, to discuss bullet points that summarise the information they require.
Examine the performance of the company since the last meeting, including important milestones and areas where there is room to improve. This will allow the board to decide whether to proceed with strategies try this that promote growth and overcome challenges. This portion of the board meeting also serves as an excellent opportunity to review the upcoming elections for board members as well as provide any necessary orientation and training for new members.
