In this video I talk about how I use a pre-board meeting note to the board as an effective tool to shape the conversation leading into the upcoming  meeting, focusing on honesty and transparency.

In this video I discuss providing context to the note, and getting right to "that thing that is keeping you up at night." Again, focusing on that (brutal) honesty interaction with the board.  

In this video I talk about taking a fresh perspective on your company and thinking about changes you could make. 

With this video I discuss highlighting the positives in your business. 

In this video I talk about noting the problems you're starting see on the horizon, but aren't the immediate things you need to take care of.  

In this video I talk about giving context to your immediate challenges and  decisions.  

In this video I discuss including questions and answers from board members in your pre-baord meeting note. 

Brian Balfour

In this artifact I break down about how I use a pre-board meeting note to the board as an effective tool to shape the conversation leading into the upcoming meeting, focusing on (brutal) honesty and transparency. 

September Pre-Board Meeting Note To The Board

 ⚠️ This is for board and Brian only. This is not viewable to the rest of the team.

As you will read in the September 2022 Board Meeting Notes, 

August was the worst month in the history of Reforge

. In 2021, everything we tried worked. This year has been different and not what we expected. While some of this is due to macro market, I don’t think we should use that as a broad excuse.

So after landing the 2 Year Vision across the team, I decided to zoom out and evaluate - 

If I was a new CEO dropped into Reforge, what changes would I make?

 For the past few weeks I had some brutally honest 1:1 convos across the team and come to some painful conclusions and recommendations.

We have more interest in [redacted] than we thought. We had 20 pitches from the small outreach. Chose 6 with another 5 or 6 waiting in the wings.

Feedback from users in [redacted] continues to remain extremely strong.

We have some strong candidates for our open leadership roles.

Complexities and potential future issues.

The market has declined quickly. Many of our customers have started to execute layoffs and budget cuts. We started to see that impact our numbers this month. It could likely get worse.

Recommendation: Freeze hiring. Cut budget where we can. Monitor the situation for another 1 - 2 months. Consider layoffs if needed (as a last resort).

Immediate challenges that need work and focus.

Our new bet on [redacted] has not made meaningful progress. The project has blown up to too many people and voices slowing it to a crawl.

Recommendation: Fully reset the project. Hand pick a new small team suited for a 0 to one project. Silo the team from rest of company. I’ll lead the team directly for speed.

We have two different products (self serve and cohorts) with two different operating cadences. This has the entire org straddled across both creating operational complexity and lack of focus.

Recommendation: Reorg the teams around the two different products with GM type leaders to drive focus and depth.

[Redacted] team has grown significantly in headcount, but we have not seen a corresponding increase in performance of [redacted].

Recommendation: Address directly with [redacted]. Align on expected performance and timeframe. Consider a leadership change.

 ❓ Drop your questions in the area below.

Why not execute layoffs now? [name redacted]

How long do you expect a reset of [redacted] project to take?

Are there leadership changes you are expecting to make?

Pre-Board Meeting Note to the Board at Reforge

September Pre-Board Meeting Note To The Board

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