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Preparing for board meetings: how?
The ways board directors prepare for board meetings is changing. Gone are the days when most directors simply turn up for the meeting, open the supplied packs and rely on their instinct as they sit through presentations by management (read: work it out on the fly). Most directors these days are well-intentioned, having diligently read papers before the meeting (having received them via a portal tool, PDF stack or thick package of printed materials). Some of these directors augment their reading with additional enquiries, in an effort to fill in blanks or formulate suitable questions to ask during the meeting. Though a small coterie still rely on their instinct to listen carefully and discern in real-time (read: work it out on the fly, during the board meeting), the world is moving on, and rapidly so. The emergence of AI assistants is proving a boon for smart directors: they are embracing a new generation of tools to enhance their preparation—on the basis that better preparation is an antecedent of better decisions.
Preparation takes time, of course, and many directors say, "It'd be fine if I had the time." My response is curt: "Given the duties you owe, and the importance of governing with impact, what else might be more important than preparing well?"
In the spirit of collegial learning, how useful are Shekshnia and Yakubovich's insights, and how are you using AI to augment your board meeting preparations (if at all)? Please comment below.
Also that, even after reading, the whole paper should never be placed into any free AI platform. If the product is free, you (or your information) are the product !
Given the duties you owe, and the importance of governing with impact, what else might be more important than preparing well? - good question. Bringing a prepared mind, but not one that is closed to input from your colleagues.