The Board Pack Dichotomy:
It's Not About Too Many Pages
Board packs are longer than ever, yet directors are struggling to keep up. Industry reports consistently highlight the growing volume of board materials, with directors increasingly reporting they are unable to read and absorb everything in the time available. The irony? While board materials have expanded to provide more context and depth, directors are finding it harder—not easier—to extract the insights they need for effective decision-making.
This increase is driven by the expanding scope of board responsibilities. Regulatory requirements keep growing, risks are more interconnected, and strategic decisions demand deeper insight. Directors now oversee more strategic, financial, and risk-related matters than ever before, requiring greater depth and context. To support this, board materials have expanded, adding more reports, disclosures, and supporting information.
To address this challenge, the primary solutions has been a drive to write board papers more effectively: trimming unnecessary content, improving clarity and making reports more concise. While this is a valid approach, in many cases, the additional information required for governance, regulation and risk has outweighed these efforts, leading to even longer board packs. More importantly, this approach only addresses part of the problem. The real issue isn’t just the length of board papers, it’s that directors need better ways to process and engage with the information. Without improving how directors absorb and navigate board materials, the challenge remains unresolved.
But solving this challenge isn’t just about adding AI or cutting down board materials further. The real issue runs deeper—it’s about how directors make decisions and how board information is structured to support them. Board decisions aren’t routine; they are high-impact, complex and often unstructured, requiring more than just well-written papers. The way directors engage with information, extract insights and navigate complexity must evolve.
The real Board Pack Dichotomy is the tension between the need for board materials to have the right quality and quantity of information, structured in the best way, and the ability of directors to effectively process and absorb that information.
The Complexity of Board Decisions
and the Information Gap
Board decisions are not routine. They shape strategy, governance, and the long-term direction of organizations. Unlike operational choices, which follow set processes, board decisions often involve major financial moves, regulatory responses or crisis navigation – decisions that carry consequences not just for the company, but for industries, economies and society.
Despite this, board information is often presented in ways that do not fully support the gravity of these decisions. Directors receive extensive materials, yet they frequently struggle to extract the most relevant insights from reports that are either too dense, too fragmented, or lacking the depth needed to support strategic choices.
1. High-Impact Decisions Demand More Than Just Data
The greater the impact of a decision, the stronger the foundation of information required to support it. Bad board decisions aren’t always the result of poor judgment – they are often the result of poor information.
When directors do not have access to structured, relevant, and decision-useful data, they are forced to rely on:
- Fragmented insights: Reports that lack clear connections between issues, making it harder to assess risk.
- Assumptions: Directors filling in gaps based on personal experience rather than data.
- Gut instinct: Decision-making based on intuition rather than structured analysis.
In complex governance environments, this increases the risk of misjudgements and poor outcomes. The challenge isn’t just about access to information – it’s about ensuring that information is structured to enable clarity, analysis and informed decision-making.
2. Why Board Decisions Are Unstructured
Not all high-impact decisions follow the same process. In many professions, decision-making is structured—for example, doctors, engineers, and auditors follow clear, repeatable frameworks to diagnose problems and determine solutions. Others, like judges, rely on semi-structured approaches, applying legal frameworks while exercising discretion based on context.
Board decisions, however, fall into the category of unstructured decision-making.
- There is no single formula for the right strategic move.
- Each decision depends on context, balancing financial, regulatory, strategic and stakeholder considerations.
- The same issue in two different organisations – or even two different board meetings – can have vastly different outcomes based on timing, market conditions or leadership perspectives.
Because board decision-making is deeply contextual, directors must pull from multiple sources of information to assess risks, trade-offs and opportunities.
3. The Information Gap: Complexity, Quality & Structure
Since board decisions don’t follow a predefined structure, the information directors receive must be sourced and structured to help them synthesise insights, not just consume data. However, many board materials fail to provide:
A clear hierarchy of information – Highlighting the most critical elements rather than burying them in excessive detail.
Well-connected insights – Linking data points across reports to reveal patterns, rather than treating each topic in isolation.
Decision-useful analysis – Providing strategic context rather than just presenting numbers or summaries.
A balance of quantitative and qualitative information – Ensuring that financials, risk metrics and operational data are paired with governance insights, market context and leadership assessments for a complete decision-making picture.
High-quality, decision-useful data – Information must be accurate, relevant and structured to highlight what matters most, avoiding redundancy, inconsistency or missing critical context.
Directors don’t just need more information; they need relevant, reliable and decision-useful data. Outdated, fragmented or inconsistent reports force directors to spend valuable time reconciling discrepancies instead of focusing on strategy. The issue isn’t volume – it’s whether information is structured and complete enough to support unstructured decision-making.
From Overload to Clarity:
Three Essential Conditions
Boards don’t just need more information—they need the right information, structured in a way that enhances decision-making. Increases in data should reveal newer or deeper insights, not just confirm what is already known. At the same time, directors must be able to process and engage with that information effectively.
Without these elements in place, increasing data availability only adds to the overload, making decisions harder rather than easier. They work together to transform information from an overload of data into a powerful tool for decision-making.
1. High-Quality Data: Accuracy, Relevance & Reliability
More data doesn’t always lead to better decisions. Quality is the real differentiator – ensuring that the information directors receive is accurate, relevant, and aligned with decision-making needs.
However, board materials often suffer from:
- Data Dumping: Excessive raw data without meaningful context.
- Inconsistent Reporting: Different formats across departments, making comparisons difficult.
- Outdated or Irrelevant Data: Distracting directors from what truly matters.
- Redundant or Duplicated Data: Inflating board packs without adding value.
What’s Needed: Board materials should surface decision-useful data by ensuring it is:
Accurate – Free from errors or misleading assumptions.
Relevant – Directly tied to the decisions at hand.
Well-Structured – Organized so key insights are easy to extract.
Consistent – Standardized formats that improve clarity and comparability.
2. New or Deeper Insights: Moving Beyond Raw Data
Boards don’t just need facts; they need insights that reveal what those facts mean in the context of governance, risk, and strategy.
However, common challenges in board materials include:
- Reports that summarize past performance but lack forward-looking insights.
- Key trends, risks, or anomalies buried in dense reporting.
- Raw data that lacks structured analysis to make it decision-useful.
- A focus on what happened, without predictive insight into what could happen.
- A lack of qualitative insights, such as stakeholder sentiment and governance risks.
What’s Needed: Board materials must go beyond static reporting by:
Highlighting trends and patterns – Surfacing emerging risks and opportunities.
Providing comparative analysis – Contextualizing performance with historical and industry benchmarks.
Using scenario planning – Helping directors assess possible future outcomes.
Incorporating qualitative insights – Capturing governance risks, stakeholder perspectives, and leadership dynamics.
3. Sufficient Processing Power: Enabling Directors to Absorb and Act on Information
Even when board materials are high-quality and insight-driven, directors still face cognitive overload when engaging with large volumes of information.
Common challenges include:
- Directors must synthesize vast amounts of information quickly.
- Manual document review is slow and inefficient.
- Key insights are often buried, requiring extensive effort to uncover.
- Cognitive overload reduces directors' ability to extract meaningful insights.
What’s Needed: This is where AI and technology can enhance, not replace, decision-making.
AI-Assisted Summarization – Extracting key insights without losing depth.
Natural Language Processing (NLP) – Enabling directors to interact dynamically with board materials.
Contextual Search & Filtering – Allowing instant access to relevant information.
Interactive AI Tools – Dashboards and assistants that make data more accessible.
Applying These Conditions to Solve the Board Pack Dichotomy
By meeting these three conditions—high-quality data, deeper insights and sufficient processing power—board materials can move beyond the outdated debate of long vs. short board packs.
The real solution isn’t about reducing information but making it better:
Ensuring data meets the highest quality standards.
Delivering insights, not just raw facts.
Using AI and technology to enhance accessibility and analysis.
Recognizing that different organizations require different levels of AI adoption.
Keeping human judgment at the core—AI supports, but does not replace, decision-making.
Natural Language is the Key:
The Bridge Between Information and Insight
Natural language is more than just a way to communicate, it is how directors make sense of complexity. Board materials contain vast amounts of information, but raw data alone doesn’t drive decisions. Insight emerges when information is structured in a way that reflects how directors think, reason and engage with risk and strategy. Natural language is the bridge between the data that exists and the insight that drives action.
Understanding its role is essential to making board materials truly decision-useful.
Natural Language as a System
Natural language is how humans store, communicate, and process information. Unlike structured data, which is fixed and rigid, natural language is flexible, evolving with context and meaning. Directors don’t make decisions based on structured data points alone – they rely on discussions, reports and contextual insights to weigh options and assess risk. It’s not just about retrieving information; it’s about understanding relationships, implications and the bigger picture.
At the board level, this ability to interpret meaning beyond raw data is crucial. Board decisions aren’t made using rigid formulas; they emerge from deliberation, analysis and the synthesis of multiple perspectives. Natural language allows for that depth, enabling directors to engage with complexity rather than just processing numbers on a spreadsheet.
The Role of Natural Language in Decision-Making
Directors don’t just read reports; they engage with them. A financial summary might highlight a decline in revenue, but the real question is why and what should be done about it. That answer isn’t found in isolated data points but in context, discussion and experience. Decisions aren’t made by merely consuming information but by interpreting it, discussing risks and weighing competing priorities.
Board materials must reflect this reality. They can’t just present numbers; they need to provide the right structure for discussion and reasoning. Directors must be able to extract meaning, see connections between issues and understand not only what has happened but what could happen next.
Natural Language as the Common Ground Between Directors and AI
Because directors think and reason in natural language, AI needs to work within that system, not force directors into rigid, structured data models. If AI required every piece of board information to be perfectly categorised and quantified, it would fail. Instead, AI must enhance how directors already engage with information – retrieving insights dynamically, surfacing critical details and making board materials easier to navigate without stripping away their depth.
AI isn’t here to impose a new way of thinking. It’s here to support the way directors already process information, making it easier to engage with board materials in the most natural and intuitive way possible.
How AI Works with Natural Language
Unlike humans, AI doesn’t process language through experience, intuition or judgment. Instead, it recognises patterns, relationships and meaning within large volumes of text, helping directors access what matters most. It can retrieve insights instantly, distill key takeaways from lengthy reports, and highlight risks or trends that might otherwise go unnoticed.
The real value of AI isn’t in replacing human reasoning but in making information more structured, accessible and useful. Directors don’t need AI to make decisions for them; they need it to cut through complexity, surface key insights and provide clarity at scale.
AI Makes Natural Language Work at Scale
Directors have reached the limit of how much information they can process manually. AI changes the equation – not by reducing information, but by making it work better. What was once overwhelming becomes navigable. What was buried in hundreds of pages can now be surfaced. AI doesn’t strip away detail; it amplifies directors’ ability to engage with it.
Board materials aren’t just about what’s written—they’re about how they are structured, retrieved and absorbed. AI ensures that directors can access the right information at the right time in the right format, aligning with how they already work and make decisions. The boardroom doesn’t need less information; it needs smarter ways to interact with it.
Beyond the Board Pack:
Decision-Ready Board Intelligence
Board intelligence has entered a new era. The technology exists, the data is ready and boards can apply decision-ready intelligence today without disrupting governance structures or overhauling processes.
Decision-ready board intelligence is a shift in both how board materials are structured and how people engage with them. The change is twofold: board materials are no longer static documents, and boardroom roles are evolving to interact with structured intelligence. Technology enables faster access to information, but governance professionals remain responsible for shaping and validating the insights that support decision-making.
A decision-ready boardroom today is not a futuristic concept, it is an evolution of existing board practices. Directors no longer rely solely on reading through lengthy board packs; they interact with structured intelligence, using AI-driven tools to surface relevant insights. Board papers are not just reports, they are curated for clarity and actionability, ensuring key decisions are framed with the right context. The board secretary becomes the enabler of structured board intelligence, ensuring that technology enhances, rather than replaces, the governance function.
This is an evolution, not a revolution. Data, natural language, structure and AI are parts of the essential foundation. How might a decision-ready boardroom look like today?
Directors and Decision-Ready Board Intelligence
Directors engage with board materials differently than executives. Their role is to process complex, high-impact decisions, often with limited time and across a growing volume of information. The board pack remains the foundation of board intelligence, but how directors interact with it improves.
1. Conversational AI and the Boardroom Knowledge Base
Board materials, including the board pack and other board materials, form a structured knowledge base. Directors engage with this knowledge base through conversational AI, using natural language prompts to retrieve relevant insights. AI processes these queries and provides referenced responses, always linking back to the original board pack for validation.
This interaction model reflects how directors already use AI in their personal and professional lives. Instead of requiring a new way of working, it aligns with familiar behaviour, making board intelligence accessible without disrupting established workflows.
2. Context-Aware Summaries
Summaries should not be generic overviews; they should be dynamically generated to reflect the context beyond that the AI can detect in the board pack. Context-aware summaries adjust based on additional factors such as the director’s role, the agenda and past discussions/decisions. Rather than providing a static snapshot, these summaries surface key areas of focus, recurring themes and unresolved issues, helping directors maintain continuity across meetings. They do not replace the full board pack but serve as a structured entry point that guides directors toward the most relevant information.
Implementing decision-ready summaries requires careful consideration. Ensuring no key information is omitted is essential, and this process should be governed by those with deep knowledge of board dynamics. The board secretary, with their board and governance expertise, is well positioned to oversee how summaries are structured and validated. The specific content of these summaries will vary by organisation, shaped by the unique needs and priorities of each board.
3. Natural Interaction Through Text & Voice
Directors engage with board intelligence using the communication methods they are already accustomed to. Whether through text-based queries or voice commands, they can retrieve and explore information in a way that feels intuitive and frictionless.
Natural language processing enables AI to understand prompts as they would be spoken or written in conversation, allowing directors to extract key insights without requiring complex search inputs.
4. Trust & Validation in AI-Driven Board Intelligence
While AI structures and surfaces board intelligence, it does not generate new information or alter governance materials. The board pack remains the definitive source of truth, and all AI-generated responses and summaries link back to the original documents.
Directors retain full confidence in the integrity of board intelligence. By combining structured data, natural language interaction and transparent validation, decision-ready board intelligence enhances how directors engage with board materials – without changing the content itself.
Structuring Board Papers for Decision-Ready Intelligence
Board papers are not just reports; they are decision-support tools. Their purpose is to ensure directors have the clarity, context and prioritisation needed to engage with complex issues efficiently. Traditional board packs can fail in this role, presenting too much unstructured information and making it difficult to distinguish what matters most.
Decision-ready board intelligence changes this. It is not about reducing board materials – it is about structuring them for decision-usefulness. The intelligence that directors need must be surfaced clearly, with reports guiding them toward implications, not just presenting data. This requires a shift in how board materials are constructed and framed, making information more structured, prioritised and actionable.
1. Structuring Information for Decision-Making
Board materials must provide more than a collection of reports; they must be designed for strategic engagement. Reports should prioritise critical insights, ensuring that key risks, trends and decisions are surfaced early, rather than buried in lengthy documentation. Cross-referencing the agenda, past board discussions and decisions is essential, enabling directors to track the evolution of issues over time without searching through archives.
Board reports could:
- Condense insights into decision-relevant summaries – focusing on implications rather than just facts.
- Rank information by importance – ensuring the most strategic items receive the greatest attention.
- Use structured briefing formats – navigating directors toward what requires discussion and action.
This approach ensures board materials are not just informative but decision-ready, guiding directors toward what they need to know, not just what they need to read.
2. The Balance Between AI and Human Judgement
Structuring board intelligence is a human skill, not just a technical process. AI plays an essential supporting role, but it does not define what matters alone. Paper authors and governance professionals remain responsible for shaping board materials, ensuring relevance and validating insights before they reach directors.
AI can assist by:
- Highlighting emerging risks and recurring governance themes.
- Automating categorization to link past board decisions to current discussions.
- Surfacing structured insights through natural language search.
However, final judgment rests with humans, who ensure that board papers remain aligned with strategic priorities and are framed appropriately for board-level decision-making. AI structures information, but human expertise determines how that structure serves board effectiveness.
3. A Smarter Way to Engage with Board Papers
Board materials are no longer static documents. They are structured board intelligence, designed to enable faster engagement, deeper insights and clearer decision-making. Directors no longer only passively consume lengthy reports; they interact with board intelligence dynamically – retrieving insights, exploring structured summaries, and tracking the progression of critical board matters.
This shift is both technological and cultural. AI enhances board intelligence, but governance professionals ensure that it remains decision-relevant and strategically aligned. By combining structured board intelligence with AI-driven accessibility, board papers become not just records of information, but enablers of better decisions.
The Board Secretary and Decision-Ready Intelligence
The board secretary has long served as the bridge between the board and the organisation, ensuring governance processes run smoothly and board materials are prepared to support effective decision-making. As governance intelligence evolves, they become the curator of board intelligence. The increasing complexity of board decision-making requires more than just well-prepared reports; it demands that information is structured, prioritised and aligned with strategic governance needs.
This shift does not replace the board secretary – it reinforces their role as the governance professional responsible for ensuring that board intelligence is structured, validated and accessible. AI and structured data assist in surfacing insights, but governance oversight remains essential to ensuring transparency, accuracy and alignment with board priorities.
1. Structuring Board Intelligence
Decision-ready board intelligence requires a structured approach to board data. The board secretary ensures that board materials are organised not just for reporting but for retrieval, cross-referencing and decision-usefulness. This means board intelligence must be deliberately curated, connecting past decisions, governance trends and risk assessments so that directors can engage dynamically with information rather than passively consuming lengthy documents.
Applying structured intelligence principles, the board secretary ensures that:
- Key governance insights are surfaced early, not buried in reports.
- Agenda items are connected to past decisions and ongoing boardroom themes, ensuring continuity.
- Governance data is categorized and structured, making it easier for directors to retrieve and analyse.
This is not just about making board materials easier to read – it’s about ensuring that board intelligence is framed in a way that supports high-level board decision-making.
2. Ensuring Governance Oversight of AI-Driven Insights
In the boardroom, AI is a tool, not a decision-maker. While AI can assist in structuring reports, identifying emerging governance risks and linking past discussions to current decisions, the board secretary ensures that intelligence remains transparent, validated and aligned with board priorities.
Governance professionals help define what insights should be surfaced, what information should be ranked as most critical and how AI-generated summaries should be reviewed and structured. AI provides efficiency, but it does not determine what matters – human expertise ensures that intelligence remains decision-useful.
The board secretary also establishes clear governance guidelines for AI usage, ensuring that directors trust AI-generated insights. This includes maintaining transparency on data sources, confidence levels and reference links to original board materials, so directors always have access to the full context.
3. Technology in the Boardroom
This new ‘Board Effectiveness Hub’ requires the right technology to support all roles in the boardroom community. The board secretary helps ensures that board intelligence tools are configured in a way that aligns with how governance information is structured, retrieved and engaged with. This means ensuring that:
- AI-driven insights align with board priorities rather than just surfacing general information.
- Directors receive intelligence in a format that integrates with their workflow, whether through structured reporting, natural language search or linked references.
- Governance professionals remain in control of how technology enables decision-making, ensuring that automation supports rather than dictates governance processes.
By embedding structured intelligence within boardroom technology, the board secretary ensures that decision-ready board intelligence is not just an idea but a practical reality for directors.
Decision-ready board intelligence is not a distant future concept—it is a shift that boards can make today. By structuring governance data, enabling dynamic engagement with board materials and ensuring AI-driven output remain transparent and validated, boardrooms move beyond static reporting to a more interactive, decision-supportive model.
This transformation does not replace the board pack, directors or governance professionals – it enhances how they work. Directors engage with board intelligence dynamically, board papers are structured for immediate decision-making and the board secretary ensures that governance remains at the heart of structured intelligence.
As this shift takes hold, the boards that embrace decision-ready intelligence will not only improve decision-making today but position themselves for a board governance model that is more effective, responsive and prepared for the complexities of the future.
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