Seeking New Board Members Is Important

Seeking fresh perspectives and added experience from new board members:

Perspective

Why should a company actively seek new board members? A fairly simple answer is that markets, economies and the world are changing at an ever increasing pace. This increase in the speed of change means that a company must be prepared to change rapidly if it is to continue to succeed.

The most common reason a new board member is needed is the loss of a current member. This created the opportunity to upgrade the board seat and/or fill a gap in the board makeup. A board members departure  may be for a variety of reasons both of the board members or the company’s choosing.  It is important that boards conduct a regular review of their by-laws so that there are mechanisms for the company to exit an ineffective board member. Another reason to add a member or two is growth. An ideal size of a board for companies under $1B in sales is 7 to 11 members.

A new board member brings a fresh perspective and an eye on the future. Hopefully the company has recruited a board member who has recently traveled where the company is headed. If the new board member has helped grow a company to 2 or 3 times the revenue size that the current organization is recently they will bring great knowledge of what lies ahead. The same is true from a functional experience standpoint like international expansion, mergers and acquisitions or a significant internal challenge like implementing lean, etc.