Board meeting preparation involves a lot of reading, taking notes, thinking/contemplating, and seeking out and asking for additional information. This work improves the overall effectiveness of the board as a decision-making entity and lets them focus their time and energy on strategy, not on procedural concerns. This helps reduce the amount of frustration that directors feel during board meetings that are lengthy and filled with lots of information but don’t offer clear actions.
The best way to prepare for a board of directors meeting is to study the agenda thoroughly ahead of time, and pay special attention to important items. Check the agenda for upcoming topics and rank them according to importance, urgency, and alignment with the company’s goals and strategies. To refine and finalize the top priorities, ask for input from your board chair or CEO. Create the agenda for the meeting to ensure that the most important questions are first discussed in depth. This will allow the board to leave the meeting with an understanding of the decisions that need to be made.
Also, be sure to include any updates regarding the action tasks assigned during previous board meetings and ensure that all required information was provided by the presenters. Finally, it’s important to ensure that all participants will be able to access the meeting via phone, video or other online platform. Distribute the board pack and agenda to all participants after they’ve been drafted. This must be done at least one week prior to the meeting so that participants have time to look over the agenda and make any changes they feel are needed.