Board Meeting Decision Making, and Getting Braces

As you likely know, we have several paleontologists and one orthodontist on staff at Zeck. They spend the bulk of their time in the field but a few times a year they gather to collaborate about their work.  

The latest meeting produced two very interesting conclusions. 1). the worst decision made by any character in The Godfather was when Fredo decided to cross Michael.  2). decision making in board meetings is broken. 

Our intention at Zeck is to solve that.  That meaning Fredo.  Actually, that meaning the board meeting.  

At our first two companies, Moosejaw and CrowdRise, our board meetings were mostly lectures.  We sent a PowerPoint a couple days prior to the board meeting and then read through the entire deck when the board was together live.  Entirely unproductive. And, entirely my fault.  

There was never any map for the board meeting so I just guessed at what the process was supposed to be.  

From building the board deck to our live board meeting, every part of the process was time-consuming, really stressful and mostly fruitless for everyone involved.  We eventually solved it all and created concepts and processes that worked so well, we shared them with other operators. All of that was the catalyst to us launching Zeck.

Side note…we have a quick survey that’ll determine how Pro you are at your board meeting.  Please click here to check it out.  

Our primary value adds at Zeck are to 1). save time, 2). drive engagement, 3). solve security and governance and most importantly, 4). drive better decision making. 

I’m confident that Zeck will help you make at least one better decision in your board meetings. If I’m right, the platform is super valuable for your company.  

So, how does Zeck help you make better decisions?  It’ll be so much better to show you all of this than say it, so I’ll do my best to keep this quick and if you want a quick demo, please email us and we’ll make it happen. 

1. Mark Twain once said ‘If I had more time I would have written a shorter letter.’  I love that quote and it aligns so well with the board deck.  
   
   Zeck gets you to write concisely and surface the information that your board actually cares about.  And, unlike traditional decks, you can read it all perfectly on your phone.
   
   The result is that your board actually reads your content because it’s quick, easy to consume and is meaningful for your company and your board members. 
   
   
2. Zeck’s Smart Commenting System (maybe patent pending) drives your board to engage by encouraging ‘em to post comments prior to the board meeting.  
   
   I’ve been on several boards that use Google Slides and PowerPoint. I have never seen a board member comment in the deck with helpful feedback or thoughtful questions prior to the meeting.  Not once.  Ever.  
   
   With Zeck, board members are adding about three comments each, prior to the board meeting. So, if you have five board members, and my math is as good as it once was, you’re getting fifteen pieces of feedback before your live meeting. 
   
   This is crucial for a few reasons.  1). You, as operators, get a chance to know what your board is thinking prior to your meeting, 2). You get a chance to reply to feedback and questions which eliminates going down so many rabbit holes during your live meeting and...
    
3. Instead of spending your time with your board lecturing and re-reading content that everyone’s already read, you can go through your deep dives and the open comments.  It’s the best way to get great banter and make meaningful decisions. 

I’ve seen the change happen in real life.  It works and the result is that you’re actually unlocking value from your board and ultimately driving better decision making. 

Finally, in the interest of helping you procrastinate while you have something important to do, let’s get back to the Zeck paleontologists and orthodontist. 

I never had braces. My parents gave me the choice. I wonder if there’s ever been a kid in history that, when given the choice to get braces or not, they’ve gone with the braces.  My bottom teeth are mostly crooked which prevents me from eating any food that begins with the letter H. 

Okay. I’ll stop typing now. 

Thank you.  And, poor Fredo. Sweet boy.

Decent Humans at Zeck