Board management decisions are dependent on a variety information, be it finance, HR, governance or even strategic. This is particularly true for the more complex problems that boards have to deal in, such as M&A and strategy decisions.
These kinds of problems typically require a substantial amount of qualitative input from experts and management to form an opinion and understand all the dangers that are involved. This level of detail should be carefully controlled to prevent the decision-making process becoming slowed down or becoming too lengthy. Most of the time, these decisions can be addressed in more specific board meetings or an organized workshop that can help reduce time and energy needed for other discussions at a strategic level that a board must participate in.
One of the key elements in good decision-making is ensuring that the right people are in the room when board members debate an issue. Groupthink and the tendency of boards to rely on rubber stamps for decisions can be disastrous. The best way to stop this is for boards to adopt a habit of analyzing every decision that is formally brought to them to determine if it is appropriate at the level it is.
To do so it is helpful for boards to think about the different decision-making models that are available. They vary in complexity, but they all have their strengths and weaknesses. It is a good idea for a board to discuss with its management team the advantages and disadvantages of each one in order to decide which one is suitable for a specific decision.