April 2, 2026
Hi Everyone,
In most board meetings, about 80% of the time goes to updates and 20% goes to decisions. The ratio should be the other way around.
A certain type of written pre-read moves the updates off the agenda entirely so the meeting can focus on what actually needs the wisdom in the room. Not a slide deck emailed the night before, but a proper document that directors can read, absorb, and comment on days in advance.
Here's how to build one.
Write sentences, not bullet points
Jeff Bezos banned PowerPoint at Amazon in 2004 and replaced it with six-page written memos.
Bullet points let you skip the hard thinking, but full sentences force you to explain cause and effect, connect ideas, and address the weak points in your own argument.
The same applies to board materials. When your pre-read is written as a memo, directors can read it on their own time and show up ready to discuss rather than sit through a presentation.
If your board pack is currently a slide deck, try converting one section into written prose for your next meeting and see how that changes the discussion.
4 sections that cover everything
A strong pre-read follows a simple structure. Keep the total to 12-15 pages of core content, with an appendix for anything else.
State of the business (1-2 pages): A written letter from the CEO covering highlights, lowlights, and the few things keeping you up at night. Cover what went well, what didn't, why, and what you're doing about it.
Decisions requested (1 page per decision): List the decisions the board needs to make at this meeting. For each one, write a short memo covering the problem, your options with trade-offs, your recommendation, and the risks.
KPI dashboard (2-4 pages): The fewest metrics needed to show where the business stands. Use trend lines rather than isolated numbers. Knowing revenue is €5M matters less than knowing what drove the drop from €7M last month.
Appendix: Financial models, product details, historical data, cap table, etc. Directors can reference this when they need it, but it stays out of the main document.
Label every item so directors know where to focus
For each item in the pre-read, add a tag:
- For Information
- For Discussion
- For Decision
This tells your directors where to spend their preparation time. Information items get a quick scan, discussion items need some thought, and decision items need full attention.
Send it 7 days out, not the night before
Your board pack should land seven days before the meeting. That gives directors time to read it, think about it, and comment.
Then call each one individually a few days before to walk through the toughest item on the agenda. The live meeting runs much more smoothly when concerns come up 1-on-1 first.
Try this before your next board meeting
If you want to test this, start with the next board meeting. We put together a template that follows the four-section structure above.
Download it here, replace the placeholders, and send it to your directors seven days before the meeting.
Go deeper
👉 First Round Review: The Secret to Making Board Meetings Suck Less – a playbook on running board meetings as working sessions rather than presentation marathons
👉 Bain Capital Ventures: The 10 Keys to a Successful Board Meeting – advice on pre-reads, deep dives, and getting updates handled before the meeting starts
👉 Board Intelligence: The State of Board Effectiveness in 2025 – the data behind why board packs are getting worse and what the best-performing boards do differently
👉 McKinsey: How Boards Can Make Better Decisions – consent agendas, decision categorization, and how to stop spending meeting time on the wrong items
Coming up tomorrow
Tomorrow, we'll look at how to know when you've tested enough, and it's time to commit.
That's it for today!
P.S. Know someone whose board meetings run too long? Forward this to them.