Developing a Strategic Board Agenda

A clearly defined strategic board agenda is the basis for each meeting. It helps ensure that each discussion has its goal and prevents getting lost in the details. But preparing an effective strategic board meeting takes more than just a good format for your agenda. Board members must also be prepared for the meeting and be ready to participate in productive discussions.

One of the most important things that a board can do to prepare for a successful meeting is to go through the materials of the board ahead of time. By doing so, they can familiarize themselves with the material and be aware of what they want to ask during the meeting. Furthermore, it is an excellent way to increase participation by encouraging everyone to bring their unique viewpoints to the table.

Another crucial aspect in planning a successful strategic board meeting is to focus on the content, and not the format. Meetings for boards must be effective and focused. It is therefore essential to organize topics logically. Start with the most important and urgent ones. Then, move Board Meeting on to topics that build upon the previous ones. Don’t forget to reserve a section of the meeting for any new business. This is the ideal time for the board members to engage in generative discussions which will help propel the company forward.

With more hands-on activities being asked of Boards in recent years it’s not uncommon for meetings to wander off topics and to last longer than necessary. A good way to prevent this from happening is to keep the information on a dashboard for the board at the strategic level and prioritize it.