Creating a Strategic Board Agenda

The preparation for a the board meeting is an exhausting and time-consuming process. It involves coordinating dates with everyone involved, sharing important details, and creating a dynamic agenda for the board in advance. The proper agenda can lead to productive discussions, which will enable you to make efficient decisions and meet your organization’s goals. The wrong one can lead to a dog’s lunch comprising a multitude of items with little time left to have a lively discussion and progress on crucial issues.

Boards should design agendas in a way they begin with long-term plans and then end with operational subjects such as policies and procedures. This can prevent the tyranny of urgent issues from consuming and distracting board members and keeps them focused on what is feasible within the space of a single meeting.

In the ideal scenario, you should allocate an appropriate amount of time for each item on your board meeting agenda. This will prevent your meeting from exceeding time and ensure that each subject receives the right amount of discussion for the desired outcome.

It can also be helpful to include a section titled ‘Nil’ on the agenda for your board meeting for all items that aren’t strategically relevant or require further clarification. Incorporating this heading could encourage other directors to raise new questions that are strategic and worthy of discussion. It can also be used to remind board members ‘why’ (i.e. its mission) they serve the company. This will help them to concentrate on the broader agenda.

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