Choosing the Right Approach for Running a Great Board Meetingby Brady Bohrmann, Partner at Avalon Ventures

About Brady Bohrmann

Brady has over 20 years of experience as a venture capitalist and operating executive in both information technology and biotech. His focus is on early-stage investments and backing talented entrepreneurs.

Throughout his venture capital career, he has worked with over 75 companies. He currently is a director or observer of many Avalon portfolio companies, including Backupify, Chart.io, Cloudant, Inc., Conjur, Indix, Juliet Marine Systems, Kaltura, Kinvey, Memrise, Nanigans, Pingup, Redbooth, Selectable Media, Simulmedia, The Happy Cloud, Twinstrata and Vook.

This topic is the last of a four-part series by Avalon Ventures on how to build an effective board.

How to Run a Great Board Meeting

There are many ways to run a great board meeting. Choose the approach that is right for you.

Finding the right approach

• Talk to other CEOs: see what’s worked for them.

• Consult with your board: find out their preferences.

• Remain fluid: the frequency and structure of your board meetings will need to evolve as the business grows.

. Here are 6 tips to get you started on the right track.

1. Don’t let the inmates run the prison. • As CEO, you have the responsibility AND the authority

to run the company.

• Your directors will counsel you and sometimes strongly disagree with you, but can’t make decisions for you.

• As the leader, you must fight for what you believe in.

• Many times we’ve offered different points of view to a CEO and ultimately accepted and supported their decision.

2. Corporation vs. Kingdom• It is very difficult to make the adjustment

from sole decision maker to being held accountable by your board.

• There are many highly successful founders who have maintained leadership positions in their companies (e.g. Jeff Bezos, Larry Ellison, Mark Zuckerberg).

• Remember and observe the fiduciary obligations you have to your stakeholders and always keep in mind the company is bigger than any one person, including you.

3. Keep it simple• You can’t cover everything in one meeting.

• Provide your board with a well-prepared board package that covers all the information it needs.

• Pick one or two key topics and plan to devote most of the meeting to discussing them.

4. Keep it short• Keep the meeting no longer than two or three

hours.

• Keep it sharp and to the point. A high-intensity and focused exchange of ideas is far more valuable than a low-tempo, meandering discussion.

• Clear the formal board business first, and be prepared to take important (but not immediately vital) discussions offline.

5. Solo artist vs. frontman• Some CEOs play it close to the vest and tightly

control the directors’ access to management.

• Others encourage direct relationships between directors and key members of the team.

• Either approach can work.

• We prefer to get to know the team inside and outside of board meetings; this gives us a better feel for the company and the people managing it.

6. Use your attorney • Ask your corporate attorney to attend all board

meetings to take notes and prepare the minutes.

• Keeping accurate and up-to-date records is a good habit and will pay dividends down the road when you sell the company or take it public.

• Poor record keeping slow downs or jeopardizes the sale of a company, and buyers will use it as a way to chip away at price.

Learn more!Visit http://avalon-ventures.com/blog for more actionable advice on early stage startups, VC funding and other entrepreneurial tips.