Most boards meet monthly. Every time they meet, it’s common for the meeting to have the same purpose and agenda. Board packs therefore follow the same format month after month.

Board packs and meetings tend to be lengthy. Meetings often last all day and packs can exceed 150 pages. Big strategic questions are buried in mounds of operational detail and board members end up micro-managing the finer points of what’s put in front of them.

The result? Frustrated board members who feel they aren’t adding value and lack a clear picture of progress against the value creation plan.

This all contributes to a feeling that board meetings are a waste of time.

The solution: two different types of board meeting

We believe there’s a better way. Boards should stop trying to cram everything into one meeting. We advocate introducing two different types:

1. A monthly trading review
2. A quarterly strategic meeting

Monthly trading reviews allow the board to stay on top of operational matters. Members can track the progress of actions. They can also ‘catch falling knives’ by reviewing the metrics that are leading indicators of key risks.

Once a quarter, the board has room to focus on strategy execution. This is where the board assesses progress against the value creation plan without operational distractions.

Personal experience has shown us that this is the better way. In 2018 Rupert’s SaaS business began working with new investors. The change instigated a rethink. Until then, the board had met monthly and meetings were often suboptimal. Strategic questions were set aside to allow for discussion of urgent operational matters.

As part of our rethink, we introduced this new cadence. It meant that everyone went to each meeting in the right mind space – prepared to discuss operational matters or big strategic questions. Frustrations disappeared and we made a lot of progress as a result.

We are constantly surprised that more businesses don’t take this approach. Boards cannot and should not know every operational detail. But they do need to keep track of key actions and catch falling knives. A monthly trading review keeps them up to speed without bogging them down.

We work with numerous boards that have adopted this method. It’s been a lightbulb moment for many.

Below are our top tips for running a monthly trading review and strategic quarterly meeting.

Monthly trading review

1. Hold meetings once a month for a duration of 60 to 90 minutes.
2. The full board attends and the CFO and CRO run the meeting.
3. Use a standard monthly board pack format that is easy to scan and absorb.
4. Include minimal commentary in the pack. Focus on key facts, charts and tables. Look at core, routine KPIs and key metrics.
5. Automate the board pack production process so it can be created immediately and the board can work with fresh information.

Strategic quarterly meeting

1. Hold meetings every quarter. They should last for half a day to a day. This is where you deep dive. Allow enough time for each agenda item.
2. The full board attends and the Chair runs the meeting. Senior management joins the board as and when required.
3. Use a structured board pack that links to the value creation plan and includes richer content like commentary.
4. Include a one-page executive summary from the CEO pulling out the key points from the pack. We call this the CEO View from the Bridge.
5. Include risk management and updates on key initiatives.
6. Review those metrics that change less often than the ones reviewed monthly. Take time to focus on them and look for trends.
7. Incorporate monthly trading as an agenda item in this meeting but spend no more than an hour doing the review. Include the monthly trading review pack as part of the board materials for the day.