Board of Directors meetings is where a company’s most important decision makers gather together to review reports, make decisions and establish the direction for how the company will proceed. These decisions could have a major impact on the company such as determining the management composition to setting company policy and even the approval of stock option grants. This is an extremely crucial time for the company and it will require the collective wisdom of its most influential leaders to steer the organization through the complexities of decision making.
The process begins with determining the date for the meeting that is suitable to enough members to form a quorum, but is also designed to avoid conflicts with the key members who may provide unique insights into upcoming issues. Then it’s a matter of creating a package for the board which includes all pertinent figures, projections and financial information for the meeting. Boards can make use of online tools like Google Docs to create their document, which can be collaborative and incorporate a voting system to make quick decisions.
The board scrutinizes the minutes of its previous meeting at the actual meeting and discusses anything imp source new that has been brought up. Any directors with potential conflicts of interest are required to disclose those and recuse themselves from the discussion. After the main issues are discussed, any other procedural motions such ratifying the minutes are addressed and the board can adjourn.
It’s easy to forget that although your fellow board members are influential, they’re also simply people. They’ll have their own opinions and strengths. They might not be as intelligent or savvy as you think, they might get confused and frustrated, and like everybody else, they’ll be inclined to whine (even the most intelligent ones! ).