Run the Numbers – What Investors Want to Hear in Board Meetings

Podcast: Run the Numbers
Host: CJ Gustafson
Guest: Paul Stansik, Operating Partner at ParkerGale
Date: February 16, 2026

Overview

This episode dives into what investors like Paul Stansik truly want to hear in board meetings, and how great portfolio company executives can shift discussions from check-the-box reporting to no-nonsense, impactful conversations. The discussion spans frameworks like "simplifiers vs. complicators," how to build trust through reporting, the importance of nailing definitions and templates, and the bravery required to name the real problems a company faces. The tone is practical, candid, and rich with field-tested advice for both founders and finance leaders in investor-backed startups.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Investor’s Approach and Portfolio Dynamics

• PE investing is about improving imperfect businesses:
  • “In the world of investing, we invest in imperfect businesses on purpose.” (00:00, Paul)
• Paul supports nine B2B software companies at ParkerGale, covering sales, marketing, and growth strategy.
• Investors’ time is not just spent on struggling companies; rather, it depends on company needs, trust, and team openness (06:07–07:05).
• Many operators overestimate how much investors focus on just their company. With multiple companies, context switching is challenging but also energizing.

The Bermuda Triangle of Operator Challenges

• Operators, especially CFOs, are caught between responsibilities to the CEO, the board, and their own teams.
• “You definitionally, as a CFO, report to the CEO, but you also have a fiduciary responsibility to the board. And then you occupy the weakest position within the triangle…” (16:18, CJ)

How to Become a "Favorite" of Investors

• "My favorites are not always the companies with the best results. There's companies I absolutely love working with...because of their style of how they have a conversation about what's going on and what needs to happen…" (17:47, Paul)
• The hallmark of preferred teams is open, constructive dialogue about problems and next steps—regardless of results.

The Power of Templates and Standardized Reporting

• “Templates build trust.” (18:42, Paul)
• Using consistent reporting formats signals command of the business and enables higher-level discussion.
• The biggest red flag: inconsistent decks and endless definitional debates.
• “A cue that I used to use with my teams at Bain before we go into big presentations, I would literally not only say stick the landing, I would physically emphasize it by saying stick the landing.” (00:48, Paul; repeated at 46:26)

[20:00–24:00] Memorable Example

• CJ recalls a painful board meeting where ambiguous CAC payback period definitions derailed the entire discussion (22:10–23:18).
• Since then, he footnotes and standardizes all key metric definitions.

Data Diets & Honest Metrics

• Everyday conversations should mirror the quality and logic of board meetings (“build your data diet”).
• Presenting data with standardized definition moves teams from “showing your work” to actually showing impact and progress (23:18–25:19).

Telltale Signs a Team Lacks Command

• “If you look at the game tape of...board meetings from Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4...if they’re all different slides in different order, that’s not a good sign.” (28:59, Paul)
• Teams who simply repackage slides are likely not thoughtfully running regular business reviews.
• Board meetings should not be performative or a place for self-defense, but about what’s next for the business (31:49, Paul).

On the Performative Nature of Board Meetings

• “You may only have 12 hours a year to truly make a good impression on someone who determines a lot about how much you get paid, what your role is, and your scope in the company.” (34:16, CJ)
• Investors should take responsibility for template confusion; board prep should maximize discussion on crucial topics, not just march through slides (34:16–36:31).

Framework Spotlight: Simplifiers vs. Complicators

Who Are They?

• Simplifiers:

  • Cut to the key issue, answer the question directly, find the real problem, and do the actual work.
  • “They go three for three: answer the question, find the problem, and do the work.” (40:39, Paul)
  • Example: Sam Zell—always finds the single most important question in every deal. (41:49, CJ)

• Complicators:

  • Obfuscate, request endless data, avoid direct answers, and focus on activity over results.
  • Often overlap with “energy vampires.” (41:04, CJ)

How to Spot Them

• Simplifiers answer direct questions, highlight actual problems, and demonstrate results.
• Complicators take you on unnecessary narrative journeys, can’t stick the landing, and shift the topic (see “Get there, Bob!” anecdote at 46:06–46:26).

Notable Quote:

"Every question that you're going to get asked by an investor or by an executive at your company, you can answer it directly or you can take them on a ride around your entire part of your job and everything that's going on. Spoiler – that person does not want to be taken for a ride." (00:48, Paul; 44:26–44:51)

Why Is “Answer the Question” So Rare?

• Lack of trust often leads people to treat tough questions as accusations—resulting in defensive posturing rather than candor (47:25–49:17).
• Building relationships where honest questions are seen as curiosity and collaboration, rather than threats, is critical.

Notable Quote:

"You can't fix a secret." (49:41, Paul)
“If an executive is saying, you know, we have one big problem in our way right now that we haven't solved and it's X, I immediately respect that person more.” (49:41, Paul)

Best Practices for Board Meetings & Investor Communication

On Decks and Timing

• Send materials early, but not so early they’re stale (38:09–38:31).
• Exact timing should be discussed and agreed upon with investors.

How to Structure the Meeting

• Open your section by proposing time allocation for real issues, and ask for permission:

“I’m happy to take you through all the slides… but with your permission, I’d like to spend about 70 or 80% of the time on three big topics because I think they're really important...” (34:16–36:31, Paul)

• Don’t use board meetings as a dumping ground for evidence of busyness; focus on obstacles, opportunities, and actionable dialogue (31:49, Paul).

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On Value of Truthful Problem-Outing:

  "The best operators understand that if you're batting .300, you're in the hall of fame in baseball... You're gonna make some mistakes. Everybody knows, especially in the world of investing. Like, we invest in imperfect businesses on purpose because we think we can help them." (49:41, Paul)

• On Templates & Trust:

  "Templates build trust." (18:42, Paul)

• On Sticking the Landing:

  "Stick the landing. Think about a gymnast going off the vault, hitting the pad, making that noise and sticking the landing." (00:48, 46:26, Paul)

• On the Problem of Performative Board Meetings:

  "If you are viewing the board meeting as a dumping ground for the evidence of everything that you've accomplished... that's not good." (31:49, Paul)

Key Takeaways

• Standardized, honest, and pre-agreed data enables higher-level conversations and trust.
• Executives who name real problems, rather than posture, win respect and investor confidence.
• Simplifiers—not complicators—are the leaders who drive businesses forward.
• Board meetings are precious few moments: maximize the signal, minimize the show.
• The job is never about showing off activity—it’s about aligning on, and then attacking, the biggest obstacles and opportunities.

Additional Resources and Where to Follow Paul

• Find Paul’s writing at Hello Operator on Substack and new ParkerGale content at parkergale.com.
• Catch more podcasts on the PE Fundcast and follow Run the Numbers for bi-weekly advice from the trenches.