Board work: the meetings

This is the part of the board work that people imagine. It's not the largest amount of time that directors will spend on the company, but it is where the gold happens.

You've brought these people together, in this forum, to think at a very high level about your company. They'll bring wider perspectives and a longer-term view. They'll help challenge and strengthen your strategy and plans. Because of their experience these people are either expensive to bring in (the cost of independent directors), or expensive in terms of taking your top people away from the business for the day.

But if these meetings are effective their effect on your business can be worth many multiples of that cost. That's why experienced VCs put such a lot of emphasis on them, rather than just telling the CEO of the company they've bought into to keep their nose to the grindstone. They know the value is in stepping away and getting broader thinking.

Frequency and duration of meetings

So how often should you have board meetings?