The board meeting is a key occasion for your business to draw on the experience and perspectives that Important People on your board bring. However, if they be occupied with reading reports, completing administrative formalities and debating on procedural issues your board will walk away with less than they could have.

The most effective board meetings have productive discussions and action items that are concrete. Follow these tips to make your meetings more effective.

Before your meeting, gain a good understanding of the timetables of your board members. Begin by using a tool such as Doodle to locate common open dates in your board members’ calendars. Once you’ve determined the most appropriate time, call those who manage their schedules directly to confirm their availability.

Start the meeting by giving an overview of key issues and inputs that are sought. This will include a summary of the highlights of the pre-meeting conference call as well as the board’s report.

Make https://indexdataroom.blog/streamlining-manda-due-diligence-the-power-of-virtual-data-rooms/ sure that your department’s top leaders and committees the space and time to share important reports and updates. This will keep the board up-to-date and informed. Keep in mind that the board could need to revisit and discuss topics that were not resolved at the previous meeting. It is helpful to assign a specific point person from your team to follow-up on these issues following the meeting. In the end, the board should decide on any critical next steps. This should be clearly documented on the minutes with the deadline and expectations for each item.