A VC in Vacationland

I know this is a controversial topic.  Should CEO’s "shop" key decisions among board members prior to a meeting?  Many of my fellow VC’s want "equal and simultaneous" communications about corporate issues at board meetings so that "meaningful and fair" discussions can then take place. From my perspective, I hate to spend a lot of time on "collective education" in precious board meetings.  I much prefer that we spend time looking forward and seeing how to make the company successful, rather than trying to solve problems that are best handled by management outside of the board.  Don’t get me wrong, however, there are certainly numerous times where a full and fair Board discussion of a topic or crisis is very necessary.

But I find myself constantly reminding the CEO’s in my portfolio companies that they need to better communicate what’s going on regarding less critical, but important, topics with their board members, or worse, having to "order" them to talk to members up front on certain difficult topics to avoid disasters and wasted time in the meetings. Avoiding these topics with Board members, or springing surprises at the Board meeting is a good way to get a CEO fired.

So, please, Mr or Ms CEO, do yourself a favor–use your Board effectively as well as to help you be successful.  Make sure Board members are well informed between meetings and also that they are aware of the background around key decisions before Board meetings so that all will be most productive.