Overcoming Boardroom Noice

I remember once presenting to the non-exec board of a company I was working for. The business was in a transformative state, embarking on a larger growth journey. Everyone was excited to pave the way for success, but it wasn’t easy. We had prepared the deck, refining it multiple times within the management team, and initially the meeting went well. The strategy we presented was clearly supported—until I turned to the financials. Suddenly, the mood shifted. They didn’t believe the optimistic projections and dismissed the plan. Looking back, I realize it wasn’t just our biases clashing. There was also what Daniel Kahneman calls “noise”: random, often invisible differences in how each board member interpreted the same data. We all saw the same slides, but we didn’t see the same future. That hidden variability magnified our disagreement, and we lost credibility, leaving the meeting less aligned than ever.

In hindsight, I could have been more cautious, but I can’t help thinking that if the strategy had been co-created and based on a mutual vision, it would have made a huge difference—both for the company and for me. The lack of investor “buy-in” on the financials affected my career, and the company didn’t grow as fast as it might have, had we shared the same vision.

The real root of alignment problems runs deeper than disagreements about capabilities or investments. It can be traced to how we form beliefs, make decisions, and interpret risk. Deep-rooted perspectives shape what we pay attention to and how we strategize. Research in behavioral economics (Kahneman & Tversky, 1979) shows that people are typically driven by fear of loss or opportunity to gain, which heavily influences decision-making. Alongside these motivations, “noise” can introduce unpredictable variations in how individuals reach conclusions—even when they share the same objectives. According to Kahneman, the “lottery” of who reads a given piece of data on a particular day can result in massive differences in final decisions.

When we overlook noise, minor inconsistencies suddenly turn into major rifts, eroding trust between management and investors. Even well-prepared forecasts can appear “off” to someone whose personal lens magnifies risk. If each board member sees a future they believe is accurate, the result is fragmentation rather than alignment.

Rarely do strategies originate from a process of envisioning the future together. One investor might have experienced a failed investment, making her overly cautious, while another might have enjoyed a string of successes and leans toward optimism. One founder might be reluctant to disclose weaknesses, whereas another overshares. Both extremes feed into the noise. I challenge the boardrooms of Growth-Stage Ventures to adopt an aligned future perspective, especially in today’s disruptive environment. Harvard Business Review has shown that shared vision correlates with stronger team performance and more resilient strategies. How do you create that kind of alignment in your boardroom?

A structured, co-creative workflow reduces noise by ensuring everyone’s input is gathered independently before being synthesized. Think of it as decision hygiene: we break strategy into clear steps, collect multiple viewpoints—without letting the loudest voice dominate—and then integrate findings to align on credible, plausible outcomes. That’s the essence of Twinno’s approach: systematically minimizing the hidden variability that derails consensus in the boardroom.

True alignment isn’t just about stamping out obvious biases—it also requires addressing the noise that leads to multiple “realities” in the same meeting. Through structured processes, independent evaluations, and collaborative scenario planning, boards can replace guesswork and gut reactions with more durable consensus. If you’re looking for a platform that integrates these methods directly into commercial due diligence and strategy workflows, Twinno is here to help teams minimize noise and maximize clarity.

By enabling stakeholders to collaboratively anticipate the future and simulate financials, Twinno ensures different perspectives shape a range of scenarios rather than a single rigid path. This creates the foundation for real alignment in Growth-Stage Ventures, allowing for ongoing monitoring and adjustments as the company evolves.

Reach out if you’d like to share your perspective, sign up for early access, or simply learn more about what we’re building. I welcome your ideas and questions—after all, the best strategies are forged together.