Planning a Board Meeting

Planning a board meeting is an immense task. You must set an agenda that is clear, distribute all materials well how to present your field-tested plan before the meeting, and ensure that everyone attends the meeting. Keeping the meeting focused is vital but this doesn’t mean you can’t make it enjoyable. In fact, the best method to encourage high participation is to tap into the knowledge of your board members.

A note outlining the expectations of attendance is an excellent idea to send out before the board meeting. This will help prevent the possibility of last-minute cancellations and ensure all participants are well-informed to be productive at the meeting.

Another key part of the process of preparation is to review previous minutes of board meetings. This will help the board to know what was discussed in prior sessions, and allows them to structure their discussion topics in line with this.

The most popular topic for board meetings is a discussion of the company’s performance since the last meeting. Discussions may cover sales figures, marketing traffic and other relevant metrics. It is important to highlight any milestones and achievements, but also examine areas for improvement, such as missed targets or rising expenses.

It’s also important to consider the legal and compliance aspects, such as ensuring adherence to laws and ethical standards. This is a situation where having a designated record-keeper could be very beneficial, as they can capture discussions and decisions to be used in future meetings.