Board meetings are scheduled regularly and allow the company's management to meet with key stakeholders in order to discuss key business issues. It is vital that the board of directors remains in contact and on the same page with one another, especially during critical times such as an M&A or a threat to the company's existence. A consistent agenda will ensure that meetings focus on the most important business issues rather than rehashing outdated information.
The most important aspect of the board meeting is discussion of the company's strategy direction. The board should review the organization's strategies and develop an action plan to help move forward. It is also beneficial to work together on any issues the company might face and develop a plan of how to tackle them.
In this portion of the meeting, the department heads or committee heads typically submit a report to the board. These reports might include milestones, financial results and KPI's as well as product roadmaps and improvements, as well as organizational performance. This section is typically used to discussing future strategies and assessing if the organization is on the right course to achieve its goals.
The board will then review any issues that haven't been resolved or require formal approval. Based on the company the board can vote on a wide range of topics including changing the company's articles of incorporation, authorizing certain transactions or ratifying an earlier decision taken by the board. To vote on a topic, it is important that a majority of the board members are present.