A boardroom is a formal meeting room where a company's board of directors gathers to make important decisions about the business. Picture a serious room with a long table, comfortable chairs, and perhaps screens for presentations. This is where executives meet to discuss strategies, review financial results, approve major purchases, or decide whether to launch new products.

The board of directors consists of experienced people chosen to guide the company and protect the interests of its owners (called shareholders). When they meet in the boardroom, they're handling the biggest decisions: Should we open a factory in another country? Is our company financially healthy? Should we hire a new CEO?

You'll often hear phrases like “boardroom decision” to mean a choice made by powerful people at the top of an organization, or “boardroom politics” to describe the maneuvering and disagreements that happen when important people compete for influence. Some people dream of reaching “the boardroom” someday, meaning they want to climb high enough in their careers to help make major decisions.

While most twelve-year-olds won't visit a boardroom anytime soon, understanding what happens there helps you see how big organizations work. Every company you know started with people in a room making decisions, just like you and your friends decide the rules for a game, but with much higher stakes.