Mark Suster wrote a post about boards of directors last week in which he coined the phrase "the agile board."
I love that phrase. Too many boards meet once a month and that's it. I am on a few boards like that. Some boards I am on only meet six times a year and there is very little involvement between meetings. Those companies might as well not have boards.
I am also on boards where everyone is highly engaged between meetings. These boards are active in email discussions with the team, they are active in recruiting, business development, even strategy. They are agile boards who add significant value.
Entrepreneurs can have it either way. They will generally dictate what kind of board their companies have. Like Mark, I prefer the agile board and I think an active and engaged board ultimately works out much better for the entrepreneur and the company he or she is building.
So go read Mark's post and learn about how to create an agile board.
