CHAPTER NINETEENCommunicating Your Results to Your CFO, CEO, Company, and Board
The first time I presented in front of a board, I had prepared with my executive coach and submitted slides to my CEO in advance. I showed my function's (marketing's) performance, learnings, and our organizational growth plans for the next quarter. I labeled the results to show what was working and what we planned to improve going forward.
The board members said nice things. We'd grown quarter‐over‐quarter since joining, and marketing had 10 times more results since I'd joined. Great, right? I was feeling pretty confident. Then one of our board members asked: “Why are my other portfolio companies growing faster than you?”
My CEO ended up fielding that question. It was fine and we moved on, but I'll never forget the sinking feeling I had and the visceral understanding that board meetings were a totally different ballgame than QBR presentations internally. While this nerve‐wracking first‐time experience was challenging, it taught me that (a) board meetings are a thing I can do and (b) boards are looking for “across the board” insights.
WHY BOARD MEETINGS EXIST (AND NO, THEY'RE NOT JUST TO TORTURE STARTUP FOUNDERS ...
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