My Very First Board of Directors Meeting.
I could make up a terrific story about this, but I won’t lie – I had avoided (as in postponed, side-stepped, procrastinated) having a board of directors until now. Frankly, I had visions of having a group of old, cranky, humorless men telling me what to do.
Of course I was just being lazy, too. I would rather be out making products and building a business than sitting around trying to make sense out of Excel files, charts and graphs, and essentially being bored to death in the process.
Our company, however, has reached the point where “proper governance” is important…even necessary. The “let’s do it because we all think it’s a really good idea” mentality had to go. We really needed to be able to show that all of our shareholders were represented in our decision making – and represented fairly.
So I asked my business mentor and close friend, who knows and understands our industry very well, to be the first member of the board of directors. Now let’s be clear – I didn’t ask him because he’s my “friend.” That would have shown very poor judgment, and frankly, friends don’t always make the best business advisors. I asked him because he’s already the one person who advises me on all “board-type” matters, anyway!
So imagine this: I felt like a “big grown-up boy” in long pants, carrying my briefcase filled with notes, reports, Excel printouts, etc., to my first board of directors meeting on Friday, February 15, 2008, at 2 PM ET.
If you are picturing a large dark paneled room with a long table, think again. Outside our “boardroom” were chickens, squirrels, birds, and other creatures – large and small, wild and domesticated. Inside the “boardroom” (besides the board members) were a dog (a.k.a. The Wolf), two cats (a.k.a. Puffy and Fluffy), and five children. Yes, we were in my friend’s home, gathered around his kitchen table.
March 14 2011 | Corporate Governance The Role Of Board Of Director In Terms Of Management And Financial Accounting | Comments Off