A well-run board meeting isn't just about providing information and solutions to challenges – it's about collaboration, strategic thinking, and building trust. Board meetings should be strategic discussions, not status reports. When all stakeholders feel engaged and empowered to contribute their expertise, the outcome is a more informed leadership team, a more aligned company strategy, and ultimately, a path to achieving exceptional results for your business and your investors.
With every New Harbor Capital portfolio company CEO, we provide the following basic guidelines and tips to ensure productive and successful board meetings.
Know Your Audience – Stakeholders & Agendas: Board meetings involve a diverse group of stakeholders. Your private equity partner is one of these key constituents. Independent directors also bring valuable and unique experience; thus, leveraging their strengths is essential. In addition, board meetings are also an opportunity for your management team to engage with the board. Let them lead discussions in their functional areas to facilitate deeper dialogue and foster relationships.
Pre-meetings: Discuss your board meeting agenda with your private equity partner at least a month in advance of the meeting. You should also meet individually with each board member at least once per quarter to get their input on specific questions or topics they would like to address in future meetings. These “pre-meetings” allow you to provide a preview of business performance and key topics, ensuring everyone is properly aligned ahead of the board meeting.
Strategy Drives Agenda: Your board meeting agenda should always be strategy and data-driven. Aim to have around five investment objectives as your main meeting construct and ensure each objective is clearly tied to strategy, the agreed investment management plan, KPIs, revenue, and/or EBITDA. Most importantly, focus on telling the story, using data to illustrate your main points. Don’t just dive into data and next steps. Provide background, key context, strategic importance, and let data lead the audience to your conclusions and next steps. This will facilitate better discussion and engage your board of directors to solicit their respective knowledge and insights.
Know Your Data and KPIs: Being data-driven is essential to any effective board meeting. The data should provide a topline review of company performance, as well as tell the story of how the quarter and year have been progressing. Importantly, data should inform decision-making.
Sample Board Meeting Agenda:
- State of the Union: The CEO should set the tone for the meeting by summarizing the company's progress relative to near-term goals and overall investment objectives. Financial performance should be used to illustrate key points. Discuss how the company is tracking against budget, highlight key initiatives driving success, and don't shy away from addressing key challenges and intangible aspects like team culture and external market dynamics. Be open and share what keeps you up at night as a leader.
- Review of Performance: A clear presentation of financial results and KPIs is crucial. Company management must explain the story behind the numbers, outlining what happened last quarter and how it impacted financial performance. Discuss the implications for the future, plans to mitigate any shortfalls or risks, and how results impact your annual budget and strategic plan. Remember, transparency is key. Address both positive and negative aspects – growing a business can be challenging, and your board understands this.
- Strategic Objectives - Current and Future State: This should be the heart of your board meeting, taking up about half the allocated time. Focus on three to five strategic initiatives tied to the value creation plan for the business. For each objective, define the background, current state, and desired future state along with key KPIs that measure progress. This part of the meeting should be interactive, fostering discussion with your board members and soliciting their feedback. The CEO needs to be the discussion facilitator. Share what’s on your mind, as well as what’s on the horizon for your business – what are current market dynamics? What are your competitors doing? What kinds of M&A and strategic partnership opportunities should you be pursuing?
- Operations and Organization: Provide a high-level overview of key departmental successes and challenges. Don't overlook basic blocking and tackling. Highlight any relevant cost-savings or efficiency improvement opportunities. Include an updated organizational chart, highlighting new hires and areas for growth or change. Extend the organizational view beyond senior management so your board can get to know team members beyond the leadership team.
- Non-Executive Session: This session may begin with the CEO present and transition to just board directors to allow for confidential discussions. This provides the board with time to discuss management team performance, address critical or confidential matters, and identify any risks and mitigation plans.
Running a successful board meeting is a key piece of driving successful outcomes for your company. By following these guidelines and fostering a culture of open communication and collaboration, you can ensure that these meetings become a springboard for success. Remember, a well-run board meeting isn't just about sharing information – it's about exchanging ideas, leveraging experience, strategic thinking, and building trust. When all stakeholders are engaged and empowered to contribute their expertise, the outcome is a more informed leadership team, a more aligned company strategy, and ultimately, a path to achieving exceptional results for your business and your investors.
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Questions? Reach out to us at info@newharborcap.com today.
