The Scariest Meeting I Had as a Founder/CEO: The Board Meeting

There were very few moments in my life that were scarier than the very first time I went into a Board meeting as a CEO. That’s hard to admit, but it’s true.

I had been part of Board meetings before as a Founder, but never as the CEO. I was never the one on the hook for the meeting before. I was never the one who was scared shitless of looking like an idiot who didn’t know what the hell he was doing in front of his investors before. Imposter syndrome had never been so real for me before.

After many years of running and fearing Board meetings however, I started to learn a few key strategies that helped my navigate the fear and build a good CEO/Board dynamic.

Know your target audience:

Just like any good sales game, you need to put yourself in the shoes/chair of the other person, understanding their pain, goals and ambition, and then provide solutions without ‘selling.’ It’s the same with Board members. In most cases, they are investors, and they gave you money expecting to get significantly more back. If you forget that this is their primary goal and driver, then you are failing from the start. And while that’s their primary driver, there are many subtexts to the relationship that you, as the CEO, also need to serve.