Stop thinking of your board meetings as opportunities to just update the members.

Turn your presentations into pitches, where your ask is for their support in your actions, whether through votes of confidence, introductions or actionable feedback. 

Your board members’ job is to help your company succeed by holding you accountable for your strategy and your staff’s execution.

Board meetings can devolve into a dog-and-pony show where you bring out key staff members for updates, expecting that the members will understand the context and relevance of each in supporting your plans.

But very often, the context you experience every day is invisible to your board.

They may appreciate the positive points shown and still miss the big picture, and how your team’s advances fit with the strategy.

Properly framed and delivered, your team’s board presentations can make these critical meetings more useful and the members more supportive of your strategies, even when you are going through challenging times.

Whether you have a new company or a new product in a hot space, a market analyst can make or break your reputation. Or just ignore you.

Whether you reach out or they call you, be ready with a clear, concise and compelling presentation that will make them want to include your news in their latest reports.

Don’t do what many young companies do today:

A market analyst recently told me that companies that wanted to raise their profile would call and pitch him with their innovations. But lately, they call and say, “So, what would you like to know about us?”

His answer? “I don’t know. You’re the one who called me, remember?”

Market analysts, as a rule, are very smart and well-educated, excellent writers and overworked.

They can help make your reputation in the marketplace, or leave you in oblivion. Make it easy for them to recognize your value. 

All-hands meeting announcements can be greeted with fear or annoyance. Employees rarely look forward to them, because they expect to hear a sanitized version of reality with little relationship to their own jobs.

Make your all-hands meetings relevant and engaging by avoiding filler material and instead focusing on the points they care about, in a context that is meaningful to them. 

If you have to announce a difficult time coming in the near future, present it in a way that encourages them to pull together.

If they are getting a reward for helping with a big success, show them how their contributions fit into the big picture and get buy in for doing it again.

Don’t waste their time. Make it shorter – more clear and concise – with a message that resonates for them – so it is compelling.

Investor pitches have a reputation for being too long and detailed or too short and superficial.

A great investor pitch is one that delivers the right level of detail addressing all the investors’ potential red flags in a way that is consistent, comprehensive and compelling. 

You should feel as though you are telling your story in your way. That is what makes you come across as authentic and trustworthy – and investors only invest in people they trust.

Many innovators use other startups’ successful pitches as templates… which just means that they are telling their story in someone else’s way.