If today’s crypto theme isn’t your cup of tea, I’ll leave you with this recent post from our colleague Meaghan Nelson on The Mentor Blog:

David Hamm, Former SVP, Deputy GC at Summit Materials, is back at it offering insightful and free content on LinkedIn—this time in article form: “Practical Wisdom for Getting Board Support Right.”

His article highlights the crux of supporting the board: “For legal professionals and corporate leaders alike, doing it well means more than just checking boxes—it means building trust, anticipating needs, and mastering a rhythm that allows your board to focus on the business, not the process.”

David offers tips in the following areas:

• Calendar planning
• Agenda management
• Preparing board materials
• Meeting execution
• Managing post-meeting tasks and deliverables
• And more

 
In addition to everything that David mentions, you also have to be thoughtful about meeting your board’s expectations where they are. If you’re a GC/Corporate Secretary at a startup or even a later tech company, for example, you’ll likely be servicing a much more casual, tech-savvy board and so you need to avoid being overly process-oriented. On the flip side, if you’re the Corporate Secretary or assisting that function and your company is public and has been around for decades, you might have a more formal board dynamic and board members that would balk at an online board portal or digital D&O questionnaires.

A key part of being a thoughtful corporate secretary is reading the room and adjusting to your company’s board members so they can “focus on the business, not the process”.

For more practical tips related to the corporate secretarial function, check out our recently updated Corporate Secretary’s Department Handbook, which is part of our In-House Essentials Treatise.

For intel on supporting your board through today’s latest issues, make sure to register for our “Proxy Disclosure & 22nd Annual Executive Compensation Conferences.” One of our sessions covers “Your 2026 Board Agenda” – Kirkland’s Pippa Bond, KPMG’s Rani Doyle, and Cooley’s Brad Goldberg will be discussing perennial and emerging issues boards need to focus on right now and suggestions to improve understanding and oversight – so you are not leaving major risks to chance. Email us at info@ccrcorp.com or call us at 800-737-1271 today to reserve your seat. You can also register online.

– Liz Dunshee