How to write shorter board reports

Executive Committee (ExCo) members often tell us that they’d like their boards to make decisions more quickly, so that they can move forward with their plans at pace. And yet, board members tell us that they’re slowed down in their decision-making by bloated board papers.

How can boards and ExCos bridge that gap? In this guide, we explore:

• Why writers produce bloated board papers in the first place, and the importance of the briefing process.

• How ExCo members can encourage their team to write shorter papers.

• The bigger-picture benefits of writing shorter papers, on company agility, team morale, and the ExCo’s reputation.

There are several myths about short board papers than encourage people to write long ones. They are:

1. Short papers mean board members will miss out on important information.
2. Long papers are the best way to demonstrate your knowledge of the subject.
3. It's the writer's responsibility to make sure their paper hits the mark.
4. The ExCo sponsor has better things to do than spend time with their team scoping the paper.

Addressing these misconceptions is the first step to tackling bloated papers, and saving time for board members, management, and governance teams.

Myth 1: Shorter papers lead to omissions or blind spots, and board members won’t get the information that they need.

If you give those writing the papers a clear brief from the outset, they'll be able to cover their bases concisely without drowning the reader (or themselves) in detail.

"There seems to be a fear of missing something out which leads to an avalanche of information in the report." - Paul Lester CBE, Chair, McCarthy Stone

Myth 2: Long papers demonstrate that you know enough about a subject to write profusely about it.

Short papers demonstrate that you understand the subject well enough to write about it concisely. If you can't simplify the key points for the readers and highlight what's important for them, you don't knowyour subject well enough.

"People often misunderstand how much information senior leaders need to make an effective decision. Huge narratives don't help the board, we just need to know what is the ask and why." - Guy Dunlop, General Counsel, TSB Bank

Myth 3: Shorter, sharper papers are the responsibility of the paper writer.

Shorter, sharper papers are the responsibility of the ExCo member sponsoring each paper, not the person or team holding the pen.

"As executive leaders, we should own the thought process behind our papers, and think, ‘What do I need to be sharing with the board in this document?’ We get back the quality of papers we deserve.” - John Tonkiss, CEO, McCarthy Stone

Myth 4: The ExCo sponsor doesn’t have time to shape the paper from the beginning.

By investing this time upfront, the ExCo can make sure the paper hits the mark the first time, control the narrative surrounding this paper, and keep the conversation on track in the boardroom.

“Earlier in my career, I allowed others to unduly influence the content of my board papers. This led to discussions on topics that I didn’t consider to be priorities.” - Juliette Tuakli, CEO, CHILD Accra

In 2021, we surveyed 250 C-suite leaders in organisations with over £100m turnover to gather their views on board papers, the board reporting process, and their board's productivity. We also analysed submissions to our board reporting self-assessment tool, which assesses the strengths and weaknesses of board packs and papers. 

This research found that shorter papers drive more impactful boardroom conversations.

• Those with shorter board packs were, on average, more satisfied with the impact of their reports.

• C-suite leaders themselves said that clearer reporting was one of the top three things that would help them move more quickly.

Yet, the majority of those involved in the reviewing process said their reports are lengthy and unclear.

• Over half agreed that finding the key messages in their board packs was like finding a needle in a haystack.

• 56% said that their board papers weren't helping them have focused conversations.

The problem, and solution, is how we communicate with report writers.

• 57% of respondents think report writers don’t receive a clear brief beyond the paper title and deadline.

There are two key actions ExCo members can take to encourage their teams to write more concise and impactful board papers. 

Part 1: The briefing process

To ensure a focused, efficient, and high-impact paper, you need a focused, efficient, and high-impact briefing process.

1. Decide the aim of the paper: Set aside time with your chair to agree on the brief. What’s the aim of the paper and what does it ask of the board? For example, is this a performance report, for the board’s information, or is it a decision paper, for board’s input? Making this clear to the writers will focus their thinking and therefore their writing.

2. Define the remit: How much should this paper cover? Consider what’s been mentioned elsewhere in the board pack as well as in previous committees and conversations.

3. Draft your questions: The above steps will help you define which questions this paper should address. We recommend that you keep these to a maximum of five. Any more will lead to information overload.

4. Test these questions: Do these questions lend themselves to concise answers? Do they prompt answers that don’t overlap with one another?

5. Allow for dialogue: Let your paper writers come back to you with questions before they start writing.

Part 2: The reviewing checklist

Once you've got your first draft back from the writer, check for the following:

1. Does the executive summary fit on one page? Your executive summary is not a lengthy introduction. It’s a snapshot of the paper and should fit on one side of A4.

2. What's the ratio of information to insight? Has the writer pulled out the “So what?” from the information presented or just included reams of data, expecting the readers to extract the insights themselves?

3. Is the writing straightforward? Has the writer avoided unnecessary technical jargon and flowery language? Do the sentences stick to a maximum of three lines? Will your board be able to understand the paper without seeking clarification?

4. Is the structure digestible? Can you grasp the key concepts of the paper at a glance? Has the writer used your questions as headings and, if needed, added subheadings to unpack smaller ideas?

5. Has the writer avoided repetition? Is each section mutually exclusive with others or does the content overlap? Could any similar ideas be grouped?

The benefits of shorter papers are extensive, especially for members of the ExCo.

• You take control of the narrative. By making time to reflect on the contents of the paper from the beginning, you get to steer the boardroom conversation that follows on from it. As Dineshi Ramesh from Board Intelligence puts it: "You have the power to reframe your conversation with the board and improve their perception of you tenfold. How? By telling them what they want to know first; then what they didn’t even know they needed to know. That’s when you’re flying and in charge.”

• You help your business to move faster. A short paper that answers the key questions makes it easier for the board to engage with the issue, and for the chair to navigate a meaningful discussion. You’re more likely to get your decision through the first time, and the organisation can move with momentum. As experienced chair Paul Lester told us: “Shorter papers will help the board to get aligned and supportive of your plan. Being an ExCo member can be a lonely job, so walking out of a meeting and feeling that the board is 100% behind you is a good position to be in.”

• You use your team members' time wisely and keep them motivated. No more wasted hours trying to understand or improve reports that don’t quite hit the mark or lead to any tangible outcomes. As Rachel Turk from Beazley told us, “If you give the board a paper that’s pithy, the feedback will be positive, the impact will be clearer, and you’ll improve the morale of everyone involved.”

• You shine in front of the board. You’ve given the board members a concise paper that tells them everything they need to know — nothing more and nothing less. What’s more, you show them that you’re a sharp, critical thinker who runs an excellent team. John Tonkiss, CEO of McCarthy Stone, described it like this: “If I get a brief, clear, and focused paper from a colleague, my impression of them will go up three notches, and so will the board’s.”

We’ve spent two decades working with FTSE 100 and Fortune 100 boards on their board papers. The result? The Question Driven Insight (QDI) Principle, a methodology for clear, concise, and compelling board papers, and an AI-powered report writing platform, Lucia, that helps put it into practice.

Think board decks that pack a punch. Quarterly business reviews that build clarity and confidence. Investment proposals that are rock solid and green-lit fast. Every time.

Book a demo to see it in action or to speak to one of our board reporting experts.