Board Members

The individual directors that make up a company’s Board of Directors, and how to work with them well.

Mark Goldberg (Index Ventures) argues that most board meetings are a total waste of time and proposes four fixes:

1. Annual retreat vs. quarterly meetings. Once a year, get everyone together in person for a 36-hour retreat (part working session, part social) — rapport from that makes virtual check-ins throughout the year more productive.
2. Loom video vs. live walkthrough. Many teams spend 80% of board time reviewing materials and 20% discussing. Flip it: share materials via Loom before the meeting so the meeting is all discussion.
3. Spend less time creating materials. Run your last board pack by a trusted director and ask what was unnecessary — you’ll cut 50%+ of the prep work.
4. Focus on what’s NOT working. It’s easy to make a board meeting a self-congratulatory session. That’s a waste of time.

Tyler Tringas (Earnest Capital) has asked publicly for the best resources on being a great board member — treating it as an underserved question compared to the volume of content on running companies.

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