Getting the right result from a board paper

Seven steps to success. If you do a good job of each of these, you're far more likely to get the result you want. It does take some effort though, which is annoying I know! OK here we go:

 1 - Make it easy for board members to understand why they are reading your paper and what you want them to do as a result.

Is this an approval, approval at a later date or just a note? Or are you seeking their input on a decision? And even a step back from that, what do YOU want to get out of it?

If you’re asking for a decision or approval, make sure you’re 100% clear as to exactly what that decision is, and put it up front.

Consider including a checklist of issues, so the board members can see that you’ve thought through the relevant considerations. For instance members’ best financial interests, costs, fit with strategy, risks etc.

2 – WIIFM (what’s in it for me) for each board member?

Otherwise known as ‘know your audience’. Speak in their language, make sure your content is relevant to them as both as board members and as individuals who have different backgrounds, levels of understanding and expertise in the particular topic at hand.

3 – De-risk the decision.

Every time a board member makes a decision, they are taking a risk. You can help reduce that risk by doing the following:

Board members need to make sure they are properly discharging their Directors Duties, so think about whether external legal advice is warranted, whether you should co-sign your paper with head of finance etc. Basically, you need to make sure that your directors have the full picture and will be comfortable making a decision.

At the end of the day, think about what the board needs to know to either make a decision or address a risk. The rest is window dressing and should be removed!

4 – Clear, concise and NO jargon!

You’re not trying to impress the board members by how clever you are, you are there to help them make a good decision for the business. Keep the paper brief – ideally no more than three pages, five at the absolute maximum.

It takes time and effort to produce a quality board report. Plain language takes a lot more work than just defaulting to the usual jargon and technical speak. But it’s worth it. Your board members will be much more likely to sign off on your request if you’ve made it easy for them to digest the information.

If you have a lot of information to include, think about how you can use tables and graphs to get your point across. Again, this takes extra time and consideration but will endear you to your board members a whole lot more than pages and pages of text.

5 – Edit, edit, and edit some more.

"I have only made this letter longer because I have not had the time to make it shorter."

Blaise Pascal, (1623-1662) Lettres provinciales.

The above quote is sad but true.

Once you think you’ve got a finished board report, have someone read/edit it for you. What might be obvious to you, might not be for someone else.

And try not to be precious about it, there’s always another way to write something. I’ve seen people treat their paper/presentation/blog as some sort of extension of themselves, and they get very upset when you suggest changes. Don’t be that person! This is business, not novel writing.

6 – Engage early.

Do not for one minute think that your paper will speak for itself. If your paper is ‘for information only’, then you can get away with a quick phone call to the chair (or the relevant executive who will be tabling the paper if it’s not you).

On the other hand, if your paper requires a decision, then you need to make sure that all the relevant board members or stakeholders are briefed, their questions answered, and they are comfortable BEFORE the board meeting. This might sound like a lot of work, but it’s much better than having your board paper sent back to you with a ‘no’ or ‘we need more information’ (which often means no but has the additional issue of causing you a tonne more work).

There’s a Japanese saying ‘nemawashi’, which means ‘turning the roots’. Basically, if you want to turn a big tree, you have to turn the roots. Likewise, if you want agreement on your proposal from your board, you want to get all the board members in agreement before the meeting.

Of course, I’m also assuming that you’ll circulate your paper in good time before the meeting too. Just checking...

7 – Be prepared on the day.

If you’re actually presenting at the meeting, do not under any circumstances start reading your paper to the board members! Take it as read, and ask the board if they have any questions before making a decision.

If you’ve done your homework, this should all be fairly smooth sailing. Answer any questions and leave when the discussion about your paper has concluded. Oh, and arrive early. (Do I really need to write all that? Hopefully not but I’ve seen/heard some pretty odd behaviour in my time!)