managing a difficult board member: an entrepreneurs perspective

“Surround, Intimidate, Terminate.” That’s the sage (and humorous) advice on dealing with a disruptive board member offered by Stan Lapidus during his recent talk at the MIT Enterprise Forum. Stan is the legendary entrepreneur who founded Cytyc, Exact Sciences and Helicos BioSciences. Travis & Company was a sponsor of his talk.

Stan was speaking of boards at venture-backed companies, where director seats are usually occupied by founders and investors. He underlined the fact that the vast majority of directors do a great job and add significant value to the companies they serve. 

But on rare occasions, a difficult director keeps the board from getting things done. A disruptive board member, said Stan, dominates discussions, expounds on subjects about which he has little expertise, is often unpleasant with colleagues, and generally gets in the way of the board conducting business. Most entrepreneurs and investors have encountered such a director at some point in their careers.

Here’s how he recommends managing them:

• Surround
  Expanding the size of the board can dilute the toxic effect of a disruptive director. In addition, most tone down their behavior in a larger group.
• Intimidate
  Recruiting a subject matter expert to the board will silence a director who pontificates on subjects about which he has little knowledge. It is much harder to offer uninformed opinions when a luminary is sitting across the table.
• Terminate
  Terminate a disruptive board member when the opportunity presents itself. Often that is not possible, but sometimes a window opens with a new round of financing.

The good news is that boards at private companies are, for the most part, productive bodies that make a major contribution their companies’ strategy and ultimate success.