How To Produce Great Board Packs
– Simple Hacks to get ahead in the Board Game –
Co-written by: Katy Tuncer, Joanne Roberts, Rosemary Harper, Richard Gibson
A great board pack gives the members clarity on the state and needs of the business and the ability to direct their input efficiently – for maximum business value creation and to manage risk. But does it have to be time-consuming for the exec to produce such a pack? No!
This should be excellent news, because in the scrappy growth stage, where demands on time are pushed to the limit and the pressure to hit every milestone is felt, putting together a regular and delightful board pack may not be in your comfort zone or attention span.
Here are some simple hacks to get ahead in the Board Game and increase the value of your pack:
1. Know and be clear on what you want
The value your business gets from the board can vary from astronomical to negative (value destruction). Your starting point has to be absolute clarity in your mind, and in turn theirs, as to what this value could be. E.g.:
- Regular feedback on whether we are meeting their expectations, based on agreed milestones
- More strategic insights on (1) fundraising and exit strategy; (2) best practices from their portfolio for specific areas of our venture activities
- Clarity from fund representatives on what they expect us to have achieved prior to the next funding round
Make sure you put this in the board pack. Even if you’ve said it a thousand times, it’s obvious, or the board already knows it. Clarify, and be clear – is this paper in your pack for:
- Discussion?
- Decision?
- Assurance?
“Not the role of the board to be headmaster/ mistress – they are there to enable them to achieve the strategy. Not there to judge and mark homework” – Fergus Hay, NED*
2. Get in their heads (or shoes?)
What do the directors want from us?
You board members do not spend as much time as you do thinking about your business.
Some sit on 17 boards.
Their own investment committees, or team mates, or partners, expect them to manage their time and energy for optimising for a range of things, not just your business.
The good news is that 100% of those we interviewed expressed a desire to add more value to the boards they sit on.
Remember that most board members could choose many other things to do with their time, and they’ve chosen to sit on your board. They want the business to succeed, and you’re on common ground with wanting to get the best ROI from their time and energy invested.
“We shouldn’t just have a nice chat or a good time. We need to start with the big difficult questions and be authentic, challenging and not just friendly.” – Anonymous*
3. Be consistent and coherent
Help board members connect the dots and contribute purposefully:
- Use a clear, logical structure that aligns with past discussions
- Provide clear links between decisions, insights, and next steps
- Maintain uniform formatting, data presentation, and terminology
- Ensure key messages are reinforced, not contradicted, across documents.
The easier it is for them to find all the information they need to form an informed opinion, the more value will be created in your board meeting.
“The very best boards are the ones in which the documents circulated contain everything you need to be able to evaluate current performance and hold the management team to account. They are transparent and honest regarding successes and failures and try to pre-empt questions. The meat of the meeting can then be devoted to forward looking discussions and strategic decision making.” – Simon King, Partner, Octopus Ventures*
* Quotations taken from Villains vs. Value: What Really works on scale-up boards?
4. Less is more
Deliver the operational information they need.
Reduce anxiety by having a short board pack, organised in a logical order. Papers should contain short sentences in everyday English. Avoid jargon, explain technical terms and provide excellent sign posting to what they need to read carefully, and what is additional detail.
What good looks like*:
- 1 x content page
- 1 x page exec summary (red/ amber/ green or a similar variation)
- <3 pages product/ tech
- <3 pages commercial
- 3 – 5 pages finance (P&L plays variance analysis, B/S, cash flow projection, finance and business KPIs, other matters)
- Notes for discussion items
- AOB items
- Board pack should be 15 to 20 pages total
*Source: Article on Startup-Focused Board Pack (Forward Partners, now part of Molton Ventures, link no longer available on the internet)
Download the Board Pack Template
5. Transparency now, less pain later
Even if it’s bad news, make sure it’s clear and accurate. Analyse the risks and likely consequences of proposed actions (financial, reputational, resource etc) and also what might happen if no action is taken.
Remember that the biggest frustration reported by board members is not being listened to. When capturing actions, show listening by playing back what was decided, opined or contributed earlier.
6. Headings and signposting will set you free
Make an excellent table of contents and make the agenda very clear.
Against each item, put the timing and say what the outcome needs to be from the time the board will invest in the item (reference all sections of the board pack against the relevant agenda items).
Be clear that discussion items require a different style of management than an update item (sharing of information). For the Board to be able to discuss the value-add items, a proper amount of time needs to be allocated, and you need a good facilitator (your Chair?) to manage the conversation. You also have to be prepared for disruptive comments (intentional or unintentional), so having clear timings is good practice, but allow for flexibility.
7. Consult to create buy-in
Ask the board for feedback on the board pack – on ones you’ve sent in the past and proposed structure and approach for future ones. Show listening and point out how you’ve incorporated their requests.
8. Take care of Process and comms
The perfect board pack can fail in its mission if you send it late the night before, forget to send it to some of the board members, kill their printers, or write a confusing email subject so they can’t find the email in their inbox.
Pay attention to the service and experience you give them. After getting the board pack out in good time, (at least three working days is ideal), someone from the exec team should speak with the NEDs to clear any questions. This helps create better alignment from the start of the meeting. It is also a tool to ensure that the NEDs have read the deck.
A board pack is only as good as the group of people in the room, particularly the Chair! So, for a look at a more conceptual framework for directors to serve effectively on a growth business board, including the most effective behaviours and ways of thinking, check out our Villains vs Value research, in partnership with St John’s Innovation Centre, and to experience the full content from our ‘Valuable Boards’ workshops; get in touch to hear more and discover our programmes.