[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-1-en-105":3,"doc-seo-246023-105":53,"doc-detail-246023-en":126},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,14,19,24,29,34,39,44,49],{"id":8,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":11,"show_sort_weight":12,"slug":13},11,1,"Template","Presentations",90,"presentations",{"id":15,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":16,"show_sort_weight":17,"slug":18},12,"Resumes",80,"resumes",{"id":20,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":21,"show_sort_weight":22,"slug":23},14,"Invoices",70,"invoices",{"id":25,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":26,"show_sort_weight":27,"slug":28},15,"Posters",60,"posters",{"id":30,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":31,"show_sort_weight":32,"slug":33},16,"Social Media",50,"social-media",{"id":35,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":36,"show_sort_weight":37,"slug":38},17,"Forms",40,"forms",{"id":40,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":41,"show_sort_weight":42,"slug":43},18,"Letters",30,"letters",{"id":45,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":46,"show_sort_weight":47,"slug":48},21,"Paper Templates",5,"papers-templates",{"id":50,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":51,"show_sort_weight":4,"slug":52},158,"General","general-158",{"code":4,"msg":54,"data":55},"ok",{"site_id":56,"language":57,"slug":58,"title":59,"keywords":60,"description":61,"schema_data":62,"social_meta":119,"head_meta":121,"extra_data":123,"updated_unix":125},105,"en","turn-your-agenda-upside-down-better-board-meetings","Turn Your Agenda Upside Down - Better Board Meetings","","Discussion and decision-making in board meetings often lose momentum because procedural and monitoring items consume time early, triggering the “five o’clock rush” where key issues are rushed, deferred, or left unraised. The text proposes reversing this pattern by using earlier energy and alertness to focus on future-oriented, intellectually demanding matters, while routine material is handled later. It provides a suggested agenda sequence: quiet re-engagement, chair opening, confirmation of agenda, governance matters, and a structured flow toward environmental scan, strategic and risk issues, and pre-decision discussions.",{"@graph":63,"@context":118},[64,80,101],{"@type":65,"itemListElement":66},"BreadcrumbList",[67,71,74,77],{"item":68,"name":69,"@type":70,"position":9},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":72,"name":10,"@type":70,"position":73},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/",2,{"item":75,"name":41,"@type":70,"position":76},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/letters/",3,{"item":78,"name":59,"@type":70,"position":79},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/turn-your-agenda-upside-down-better-board-meetings/246023/",4,{"url":78,"name":59,"@type":81,"image":82,"author":87,"headline":59,"publisher":90,"fileFormat":93,"inLanguage":57,"description":61,"dateModified":94,"datePublished":95,"encodingFormat":93,"isAccessibleForFree":96,"interactionStatistic":97},"DigitalDocument",{"url":83,"@type":84,"width":85,"height":86},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/turn-your-agenda-upside-down-better-board-meetings/246023.png","ImageObject",442,249,{"name":88,"@type":89},"Violet","Person",{"url":68,"name":91,"@type":92},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-16","2026-09-12",true,{"@type":98,"interactionType":99,"userInteractionCount":9},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":100},"ViewAction",{"@type":102,"mainEntity":103},"FAQPage",[104,110,114],{"name":105,"@type":106,"acceptedAnswer":107},"Why do many board meetings end with rushed or incomplete discussion?","Question",{"text":108,"@type":109},"Meetings often run out of time after spending the early phase on procedural and low-value agenda items, causing later topics to be rushed, deferred, or omitted.","Answer",{"name":111,"@type":106,"acceptedAnswer":112},"How should the board use its time differently according to the text?",{"text":113,"@type":109},"The majority of meeting time should be devoted to designing the future—covering future-oriented, intellectually demanding matters while routine material is handled later.",{"name":115,"@type":106,"acceptedAnswer":116},"What are the three categories of matters suggested for the “For discussion” part?",{"text":117,"@type":109},"An environmental scan, strategic (including risk) and policy issues, and pre-decision discussions introducing decisions and proposals coming to the board.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":78,"og:type":120,"og:title":59,"og:site_name":91,"og:description":61},"article",{"robots":122,"canonical":78},"index,follow",{"doc_id":124,"site_id":56},246023,1792159048,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":127},{"doc_id":124,"user_id":128,"nickname":88,"user_avatar":129,"doc_module":9,"category_id":40,"category_name":41,"doc_title":59,"doc_description":61,"doc_content":130,"file_id":131,"file_url":132,"file_type":133,"file_size":134,"view_count":9,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":9,"is_downloadable":9,"audit_status":9,"page_count":79,"language":135,"language_code":57,"site_id":56,"html_lang":57,"table_of_contents":136,"faqs":137,"seo_title":138,"seo_description":61,"update_tm":139,"read_time":73},4398048950312,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/400002538284de19e3c?_k=1778320343897328908","For Better Board Meetings ‘Turn Your Agenda Upside Down’!  \nTerry Kilmister and Graeme Nahkies  \nFirst published in Good Governance 47, September-October 2005  \nThe problem with many board meetings is that they continually run out of time. Just as the board starts to get into the substance of a really interesting and, more to the point, important topic of discussion, time runs out. Later agenda items are rushed or deferred. Important, often quite fundamental, issues are glossed over or not even raised because people don’t feel they can prolong the meeting. The board’s dialogue is incomplete, left hanging as board members start leaving the meeting for other commitments. This is a phenomenon we have previously referred to as the five o’clock rush. From our experience, this can occur no matter whether a board meets for two hours or two days. It is common to many, if not all of these unsatisfactory and frustrating situations, that the greater part of the meeting has been used up dealing with comparatively low value discussions and agenda items instead of those that become squeezed for time. The traditional board meeting agenda deals with a lot of procedural and monitoring matters atthe start of the meeting. A great deal of this initial phase covers topics to do with immediate, relatively tangible matters and reviewing past performance. On these boards there is often a sense that members feel they have to get those topics „out of the way‟ first before they can progress onto dealing with future-oriented (and often more abstract, uncertain) matters. Often by then, however, exhaustion has set in, concentration has waned and people’s thoughts have turned to their next appointment.  \nThis is the complete reverse of what should happen. Because a board can only influence those things that have not yet happened, the greater part of its meeting time should be focused on designing the future rather than reviewing history (and even trying to re-write it at times!) . While its members are all present, energetic and alert aboard should deal with the more intellectually demanding and future oriented matters it should be concerned with. More routine material (usually covered in pre-circulated, written form anyway) should be dealt with later. It is not important if the board doesn’t quite get to those topics. Relatively little is lost.  \nThe following is a suggested agenda sequence. Boards we are familiar with that are following this sequence (or something similar) report significant increases in satisfaction and productivity.  \nPre-meeting meeting (see Quiet Time – When the Board Meets Alone) . This is  \nsome scheduled time for the board to meet ahead of the meeting to re-engage with eachother (perhaps over coffee or a meal) and to limber up for the meeting ahead. Some boards invite their chief executive to join them at some point during this session. This can be informal or relatively structured.  \nChair’s opening remarks – an important opportunity for the chairman to set the tone for the meeting and to emphasise where the board should focus its attention. Confirmation of the agenda – even the best planned agenda may be out of date by the time the board convenes. This is an opportunity for the board as a whole to consider the best use of its time on the day. This is also the opportunity (if not taken earlier – say under Item \\#1) for individual board members to flag any matters of particular importance to them. This is to help the chairman guide the meeting and to avoid any later sense of ambush if important matters or serious concerns were to be raised without warning.  \nGovernance matters – the routine procedural matters that constitute good housekeeping. For example, apologies, disclosures of conflicts of interest, board administrative matters (perhaps arrangements for future meetings), etc.  \nMinutes – ideally, a brief routine confirmation only. Draft minutes (and accompanying action sheet) should have been circulated shortly after the previ","cbCaioLpRzhfNd7i","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaioLpRzhfNd7i","pdf",178583,"English","# Suggested Agenda Sequence\n## Pre-meeting engagement\n## Chair’s opening remarks and agenda confirmation\n## Governance matters and minutes\n## For discussion: environmental scan, strategic issues, pre-decision discussions\n## For decision: proposals requiring board approval","[{\"question\":\"Why do many board meetings end with rushed or incomplete discussion?\",\"answer\":\"Meetings often run out of time after spending the early phase on procedural and low-value agenda items, causing later topics to be rushed, deferred, or omitted.\"},{\"question\":\"How should the board use its time differently according to the text?\",\"answer\":\"The majority of meeting time should be devoted to designing the future—covering future-oriented, intellectually demanding matters while routine material is handled later.\"},{\"question\":\"What are the three categories of matters suggested for the “For discussion” part?\",\"answer\":\"An environmental scan, strategic (including risk) and policy issues, and pre-decision discussions introducing decisions and proposals coming to the board.\"}]","Turn Your Agenda Upside Down - Better Board Meetings | PDF",1789232822]