In last week’s guest post Scott Kurnit advised entrepreneurs to put a friend on the Board and keep co-founders off. This week we’ll continue the theme of “who should be on your Board?” with a re-run of a post that Matt Blumberg wrote for Brad Feld earlier this year. The topic is “what makes an…

Continue readingThe Board Of Directors: Guest Post From Matt Blumberg

I am developing a standard format for these MBA Mondays series. I do five or six posts on a topic and then I solicit four or five guest posts to wrap it up. Today we begin the guest posts on the Board Of Directors series we’ve been doing for the past six weeks.

Hopefully everyone who has been…

Continue readingThe Board of Directors: Guest Post From Scott Kurnit

A Board has real work to do. In addition to the most important work which is providing strategic advice, accountability, and feedback to the CEO and the management team, the Board is required to provide oversight on the Company’s financial statements, the Company’s compensation plans, and the ongoing maintenance of the Board.

As such when a Board gets big enough…

Continue readingThe Board Of Directors: Board Committees

The Board Meeting is the primary way that Boards function. This post is about making Board meetings effective and helpful for everyone involved.

A Board cannot be effective if it doesn’t get together frequently. Some Boards meet monthly. I like that approach when the Company is young and there are a lot of changes happening frequently. But for most companies,…

Continue readingThe Board Of Directors: Board Meetings

One of the least discussed elements of a Board of Directors is the chemistry among the Board members. It is critical to a well functioning Board but not always considered in Board construction.

Like a well functioning startup or a top flight sports team, the chemistry between the participants on a Board must be strong. That doesn’t mean they need…

Continue readingThe Board Of Directors: Board Chemistry

Continuing our series on The Board Of Directors, this week I’ll talk about the role of the Board Chair.

The Board Chair runs the Board Of Directors. He or she is a Board member with the same roles and responsibilities as the other Board members. But in addition, the Board Chair is responsible for making sure the…

Continue readingThe Board Of Directors – The Board Chair

Every company should have a Board Of Directors. At the start it can simply be a one person board consisting of the founder. But it should not stay that way for long. Because if you are your own board, you won’t get any of the benefits that come with having a board. These benefits include, but are not limited to, advice, counsel,…

Continue readingThe Board Of Directors – Selecting, Electing & Evolving

This is the first of a series of MBA Mondays posts on the topic of The Board Of Directors. I want to dig into the role and responsibilities of the Board as a way to kickoff this series. But first a few disclaimers. I am not a lawyer and I am not giving out legal advice on…

Continue readingThe Board Of Directors: Role and Responsibilities

John Revay sent me an email suggesting I write a post on The Board Of Directors. I’ve got a better idea, a whole MBA Mondays blog series on this topic. I have come to enjoy the series format for MBA Mondays. It works well.

So I will write a a few posts on this topic:

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Continue readingMBA Mondays Series: The Board Of Directors