February, 2025
The vast majority of board meetings are pointless for one main reason — they are intention-less. Board meetings shouldn’t be just about reporting numbers, filling decks with information and leaving without clear next steps.
The CEO must come with a crystal clear narrative(s) that is 100% grounded in truth. Convey that to the board. In the best run boards, the board members know these narratives almost by heart. The board must pressure test that narrative. Ask for supporting evidence. Either accept or reject that narrative. If rejected, the CEO must do more work to convince the board. Once the board is on the same page, the CEO and company move on.
At the next board meeting, the CEO must start with the narrative that we all agreed on last time. How he/she has performed against that narrative. And share a continuation plan of the previous narrative or a new narrative.
Narratives must be thought of as bets.
At each board meeting, you want to discuss bets the company is making; description of the bet, why the company is thinking of making it, vision of the company in the future once these bets pay off, what the odds of winning are, what the resources needed are, who the necessary people are, etc.
As mentioned earlier, you also want to discuss previous bets — hear their progress, strategise on their future path, and help discard the failures.
As a board, you also want to make sure these bets make financial sense and keep a check on cash.
Lastly, you want to ensure that there aren’t too many ongoing bets in opposing directions. Focus is key.