Your board can, and should, be much more than a formal requirement. Done well, a board serves as a strategic arsenal that can support and guide you through your next stage of growth which is all the more important when you’re rapidly growing.
Here are a few specific ways to supercharge your board to work best for you:
Seek Out Diversity & Engagement
It all starts with recruiting the right board for you. Aim for a board rich in diversity, encompassing a range of experiences and viewpoints that align with your strategic objectives. Set clear expectations for engagement upfront; board members should be active contributors, not passive participants. They should come prepared, be present, and drive strategic discussions.
Capitalize on Your Board’s Network
Don’t be afraid to ask your board for what you need - that’s what they’re there for. By making explicit 'board asks', you can leverage their connections for introductions to potential partners, industry experts, or even customers, which can be crucial for your growth and development. We suggest including these as a page up front in your board deck, where your entire management team can add top-of-mind items.
Make Your Content Consistent & Transparent
Pick a format and stick to it every quarter. We encourage companies to adopt a “4-box” page for each department which highlights what’s working, what’s not, key initiatives & key metrics. This format forms the basis of the board deck’s department updates and allows your board to quickly grasp the current state of affairs. On top of that, be open about any challenges you’re facing; being upfront allows your board members to focus on creating solutions versus understanding what’s happening.
Prioritize Strategic Topics
Giving your board members adequate time to review a pre-read allows you to focus the majority of the time with your board on strategic deep-dive topics. Aim for 1 to 3 strategic topics per meeting, depending on their depth, which could include items like Annual Planning & Budgeting, Product Strategy & Roadmapping, or Customer Churn Insights. These topics can be a great way to bring additional functional members into the conversation and give them exposure to the board.
Optimize Your Pre-Meeting Preparation
Most of us have been a part of a pre-board meeting scramble, where the deck barely gets out before the meeting; that’s where having consistent content helps. Once your team is used to a format, the time to pull materials together dramatically changes. We recommend having 2 deliverables for a board meeting: 1) a shorter pre-read (an agenda, any board requests & those departmental “4-box” pages), and 2) your full board deck. By having a shorter pre-read, it’s often an easier lift to get out in advance as opposed to the full-length deck. In an ideal state, we recommend sharing your pre-read 5 to 7 days before a board meeting, and your full board deck 2 to 3 days before. The more time you give your board members, the more productive the discussion will be.
Have the Right Team in the Room
Board meetings are a great place to give your entire management team time to interact and engage with your board members. With that, there may be certain topics that need to be discussed in a closed session, ie. with only the CEO. When setting your board agenda, lay out who you plan to include for each part of the meeting, and leave sufficient time at the end of the agenda to wrap up all confidential discussions with your smaller group. Empower your functional leaders to drive the discussion for their relevant topics and any questions received on their departmental updates.
About Our Team
Five Elms’ Value Creation team helps empower portfolio companies throughout their growth journey with best practices, functional expertise, and a network of resources. The team is comprised of ex-SaaS operators and functional experts who have lived and breathed the challenges of high-growth companies at this stage of growth and beyond. These team members work closely together to support portfolio companies across their entire investment lifecycle to ensure successful outcomes for management teams.
About The Author
Lauren Janek is a member of the Five Elms’ Value Creation team, leading the Strategic Operations pillar of the team. She spends her time working closely with Five Elms’ portfolio companies to identify and execute high-priority strategic & operational initiatives. Lauren has spent her career focused on B2B SaaS and joined Five Elms from LogicGate, a GRC software company, where she was responsible for leading its Strategy team and driving cross-functional strategic initiatives. Prior to LogicGate, Lauren worked in investment banking at William Blair focused on sell-side M&A transactions in the software & broader technology sectors.