You know everything? Do you know everyone? Do you have strengths and weaknesses? I assume that your answers to these three questions are “No, no, and well, yes”, given in the order of the questions, as they were asked. If you’re contemplating starting a business, happily starting your way to what you hope will be entrepreneurial success, you may need to reconsider your own human limitations. You may want to seriously consider hiring an advisory board.
Who should become a member of your advisory council?
That is a difficult and easy question. The tricky part is that you probably already have members on your advisory board, but neither you nor they may be aware of your membership. Important people, parents, friends and other people who are part of your life tend to give you advice, sometimes, whether you want it or not. Are these people good advisory board members for your business? Maybe! Maybe not.
Suppose we take the example of a spouse or loved one. Talking business too often can take a toll on your relationship. If your relationship is starting to suffer because you can’t leave your job at work and spend time on the personal part of your relationship, maybe you should set some boundaries and leave your struggles, pains, headaches, and complaints at work. If you are enjoying success: share it. If you work at home, leave all that other negative stuff in your home office. Adopt an attitude similar to that of insurance companies who suggest: “I don’t want to be a burden to my family.”
As much as possible, you should leave the burden of the office behind and take proper care of yourself, by the way. Turn off your cell phone, put your laptop screen down, close the office door behind you on your way out, and clear your mind from time to time.
Some personal relationships are strengthened by a great deal of bonding. If that’s the way yours works, and you’re relying on the “instincts,” insights, and skills of someone close to you (regarding the direction of your business), then by all means consider adding to this person to your advisory board. However, you may want to have a clearly established set of protocols to ensure this arrangement works. While not quite the same thing, it should serve as a warning to anyone that it’s not unusual for friendships and other close relationships to grow into business partnerships, only to fall apart later.
In summarizing the above, a few things should have become obvious: There is a need to establish criteria for the selection and retention of advisory board members. In particular, on an individual level, one must have skills, knowledge, and insights that serve to empower you, the mentee. The relationship should produce objective advice, which you can adopt or not, without resentment on the part of anyone.
You also need to take a holistic view of the composition of the entire board – there needs to be balance. I especially like to mention that there is also a place for non-experts in a meeting. Some of the best insights of all come from people innocently asking what “experts” might consider naive questions. “Why, do you do it this way?” Every once in a while, that person who doesn’t know any better may ask a question that stumbles the experts, or makes them give a very poor answer in an era of rapid change, which we now face. That poor answer is usually something like, “Because that’s how we’ve always done it.” (Baaawooonk: game show loser. Wrong answer.)
Recruitment strategies that work.
Have you ever heard of the WIFM proposal? “What’s in there for me?” That’s the question you should prepare to answer as you craft your message to potential advisory members and determine who those members might be. The question I would ask is this: “Who could benefit from being on my board, while helping me?” Take the example of a website or other marketing communication materials: You might want to provide some public recognition for your advisory board member in your outgoing messages, so that they create visibility and benefit that person’s own efforts. Yes, it’s an eye for an eye. Be considerate of the other person’s needs and interests!
Don’t forget to share. Remember that from kindergarten? You have to be prepared to give as well as to receive. Don’t ask people to be a member of your advisory board if you’re too apathetic or too busy to spend a little of your time helping others. Don’t be one-sided in your dealings with other people. Also, it doesn’t have to be the same small group of people. In other words, if you were kind enough to sit in on a few meetings and lend your skills and knowledge, chances are the adage, “What goes around comes around,” probably applies to you. It may be a different group of people, other than those you met through the boards you sit on, who sit on your own advisory board. Okay, just think of the expanded network you’ll have.
Logistics advisory councils
Don’t be a burden to your board. Too many meetings become very unproductive. Too much communication becomes an imposition. Keep advisory board duties streamlined, simple and convenient; meetings should be limited in frequency and duration, mutually beneficial and enjoyable, while at the same time addressing the basics of the advisory task at hand. If you have the budget, you might want to consider an annual meeting in a nice setting. If you can’t afford it, is it because you were so busy getting started that you didn’t foresee the need for such a meeting or meetings? That’s called thinking small. Think big.
Stay connected and competent
If you don’t provide for your own care and development, and that of your business, it probably won’t happen at all. As a related aside, I find that many business plans often fail to address career development and the entrepreneur’s need to stay current and informed. If you haven’t factored in your own industry’s number one and number two annual conferences, some seminars and continuing education, some workshops, and plenty of books and periodicals, you’re scamming your company out of what should be one of its core assets. : your competence and connectivity as a leader.
Simply put, you have to stay connected and informed to be effective. An advisory board is a great way to address many aspects of this requirement. You must complement and compensate for your human weaknesses and limitations with the help of others and make sure you reciprocate.