Avoiding the Board Book Headache

If you’ve ever served on a board of directors, chances are good that you have a lot of experience reading and interacting with board books, which are also known as board packets. They have long existed as the centerpiece of a board of directors meeting.
dreamstime_xs_40588886

Typically, these books contain all of the information that board members will need for the meeting at hand, which usually translates to printing an excessive amount of documents—a practice that is continually growing out of date for these reasons and more:

It’s not environmentally friendly or cost effective

For most large-sized organizations, printing board books means spending thousands of dollars on printing supplies and reams of paper.
Continue reading

In the News! – How banks work with Bham tech companies

Birmingham Business Journal Logo

Directorpoint was recently mentioned in a Birmingham Business Journal article about banks working with Birmingham-based technology firms.

Specifically, Larry Waters, the senior vice president and chief technology officer at the National Bank of Commerce touted NBC’s recent decision to start using Directorpoint.

“Waters said the bank recently signed an agreement with Directorpoint LLC to provide a cloud-based meeting portal, which allows meeting participants to access their information via a device, such as a tablet or PC, rather than in paper form.”

You can read the entire Birmingham Business Journal article here.

You can learn more about the National Bank of Commerce here.

Free Access For Board Members’ Assistants!

By Caity JohnsonCaity Johnson

At Directorpoint we constantly seek innovative ways to improve board communication and access to key information. Granting free accounts for board member’s assistants is one such innovation we are particularly excited to introduce.

Although the vast majority of our clients use the Directorpoint mobile app to access information, we have many clients that rely on their assistants to print materials from Directorpoint before a meeting, add new events to their calendar, and respond to surveys, votes, and discussions.

Continue reading

Brasfield and Gorrie Sticks Close to Its Southern Roots

Engineering News Media Logo

Brasfield & Gorrie is one of the largest general contractors in the United States, widely respected for its innovative practices and industry-leading quality. In an Engineering News-Record article about Brasfield & Gorrie the company listed Directorpoint as one of the innovative new technologies it has recently incorporated. Directorpoint is used by Brasfield & Gorrie’s board of directors and senior management team to securely manage strategically important information and enhance leadership team collaboration.

You can read the Engineering News-Record article here.

You can learn more about Brasfield & Gorrie here.

Directorpoint 2.0 is Coming Soon

We are thrilled to announce the upcoming release of Directorpoint 2.0!  With lightning fast performance and dozens of innovative new features, Directorpoint.com is truly the premier collaboration platform for leadership teams and boards of directors.

Enhancements include:

Continue reading

Board Software: How Much Money Can You Save?

Money Growth. Flat design illustration. Business person watering money tree

Going “green” is good for the environment, but it can also be good for your organization’s bottom line. When it comes to purchasing a board software, most organizations are quick to ask, “How much will this cost us?”

However, they could (and should) be asking, “How much money will this help us save?”

Cost saved from using board software

Recent studies estimate the cost of a printed sheet of paper is about $.11 per page—including the cost of paper, toner, and equipment maintenance. If your average board book has 250 pages and is printed for 20 people at 12 times per year, that amounts to 60,000 sheets of paper.

If you translate that number into dollars, you’re looking at $6,600 annually. Costs for materials such as binders, tabs, shipping and/or hand delivery also add up over time, and many organizations have committees that meet frequently and are paper intensive, too.
Continue reading

Updates to Directorpoint Website and iPad App

At Directorpoint, one of our top priorities is to always provide tools that enable boards to be more effective and progressive. We know this means they need to have quick access to important information and be able to act on it.

We are constantly looking for tools and features that will allow the board experience to be more collaborative, and we always listen to the feedback our users provide.

This is why we are offering several updates to our website and our iPad app. All updates are available today.

Continue reading

Characteristics of the Best Board Members

By Brent Peinhardt

Last week we talked about how to have the most engaged board members. But before you can engage your members, you need to find them, and we all want the absolute best board members out there. What qualities make up the “best board member”?
They are:

  • Engaged
  • Competent/experienced
  • Passionate
  • Deeply knowledgeable in industry(ies) or subject matter(s)
  • Excellent communicators
  • Objective/independent
  • Tactful/empathetic

Continue reading

How to Better Engage Your Board

By Stan Graves

If you are a business owner who has taken the steps to engage an advisory board, it’s a safe bet that you have invited them to help you because you believe they bring valuable skills and information to your business.

This means you are probably paying them to be on your board, and it’s a waste of your money and everyone’s time to not take advantage of the skill sets you have recruited. This is why engaging your board is so important.

Continue reading