The Operator Weekly: Board Meetings

As a small business owner, it's important to regularly hold board meetings in order to keep your team on track and moving in the right direction. But in order for your board meetings to be effective, they need to be properly formatted and focused on strategy.

Even if you do not have a formal board, you can have advisors and people invested in your success meet several times a year to discuss how the business is going. A great example of a board meeting format is Girdley's blog post on the topic and how he oversees dozens of businesses.

Board meetings should have a specific agenda that is distributed to all attendees beforehand. This will help ensure that everyone is on the same page and that the meeting stays focused. The agenda should include the date and time of the meeting, the location, and a list of topics that will be discussed. It's also a good idea to include the expected duration of the meeting and the name of the person who will be leading the discussion for each topic. If you are comfortable, you can bring key employees into the meeting to dive into their area of expertise.

Once the meeting begins, the person leading the discussion should provide a brief overview of the topic at hand and then open the floor for discussion. This is where the strategic aspect of the meeting comes into play. All attendees should be encouraged to provide their input and offer suggestions for how the business can move forward. This is a great opportunity to gather fresh perspectives and come up with creative solutions to any challenges the business may be facing.

It's also important to designate someone to take notes during the meeting. These minutes should include a record of all decisions that were made, as well as any action items that were assigned to specific individuals. Make sure these are sent out afterwards. This will help ensure that everyone is clear on their responsibilities and that the business can continue to move forward even after the meeting has ended.

Something to note, make sure to finish discussions in the board meeting. But remember not all board meetings are final. Just like your business will evolve, the board and management will grow together. You must bring things up if something major happens between regular meeting cadence. Some meetings or quarters will feel routine and some will feel like a whirlwind to update everyone on.

In conclusion, effective board meetings are essential for the success of any small business. By focusing on strategy and considering the advice of people you trust, you can ensure that your team stays on track and is able to overcome any challenges that may come your way.

Thanks to Everest Brady for his help, writing, and research in assembling this week’s newsletter.

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Guesswork also will be at SMBash in April!

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This Week on Think Like an Owner

Our guest on this episode is Richard Reese. Richard took over as CEO of Iron Mountain, a physical records management business, in 1981. He ran the business as CEO through going public in 1996 before retiring from the role in 2013. Revenue over that period grew from around $3 million in 1981 to $3 billion in 2013.

Our discussion focuses on incentivizing teams with cash and stock, something Richard has thought deeply about over many decades, developing compensation plans, working with private and public investors, and a few stories from the early years of running Iron Mountain.

This episode Q&A featured Ravix Group, a fraction CFO, outsourced accounting, and HR consulting firm serving small and large businesses alike. CEO Timi Okah joins us today and answers the question, "What would a client use Ravix Group for?" To learn more about Ravix Group, head to their website and tell them Think Like An Owner sent you.

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Ravix Group - Ravix Group is a fraction CFO, outsourced accounting, and HR consulting firm serving small and large businesses alike. Whether you or someone you know is getting started, searching to buy a business, or building out an organization, Ravix will help on the journey. To learn more about Ravix Group, head to their website and tell them Think Like An Owner sent you.

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