Archive for November 2009
You’ve made the decision to form an advisory board. You know enlisting family and friends is not a good idea despite their best intentions. So just where and how do you locate advisors? Here are some suggestions on how to identify prospective advisors:
- Look to the organizations you volunteer with and the people you serve with (i.e. nonprofit boards, Little League etc.).
- Who have you dealt with lately that left you with a good impression.
- Former customers, vendors, and clients, but only if you think you will not do business again. It is not a good idea to share the confidential details of your business with clients, vendors, or customers.
- Professional service firms (attorneys, CPAs, consultants). Sometimes these firms maintain a list they may be willing to share.
- Family and friends, not to serve but to suggest their colleagues who might be appropriate.
- Other CEOs with advisory boards.
Your search will only be effective if you know what you are looking for. Selecting the appropriate advisors is similar to hiring key senior executives. You will need to do the up front work to identify what skills and talents are most needed by your organization. I will cover what this entails in a separate post.
Look for the Advisory Board Kit, A Comprehensive Guide to Establishing an Advisory Board, to be published in December. Please check the site in the coming weeks for order information and related teleclass information.
I realize it’s Thursday. The information that follows is just as relevant today as yesterday.
I want to point you to a site I recently came upon, Finance Dog. It was created by the authors of “Financial Intelligence: A Manager’s Guide to Knowing What the Numbers Really Mean,” (Harvard Business Press) co-authored by Karen Berman and Joe Knight. The site provides low cost tools to evaluate your understanding of financial statements and trainings to help you improve your understanding. You can even test your financial intelligence with a free quiz.
If you are the type of CEO or business owner who wants to run out of the room screaming with your hands over your ears anytime someone talks “numbers” I recommend you checkout this site. It will make you more financially savvy. You might even enjoy numbers for once.
Let me know what you think. Better yet, let Karen and Joe know what you think.
Effective advisory board meetings include which of the following? Circle all that apply.
- Start late with lengthy agenda.
- Utilizes a chair/facilitator so to maximize the value received from each advisor.
- All advisors are urged to attend the meeting.
- Advisors who neglect to review agenda & related materials in advance
- Comprised of only individuals presently working, knows the CEO socially or who the CEO “owes”.
This the last quiz for the time being. If you want to know the answers to Quiz #5 ask me via the contact form on the site. The answers to Quiz#4: a, c, d, e, & f.
So how did you do on the five quiz questions? Interested in establishing or joining an advisory board? Contact Susan to discuss. Click here to send her a message now.
Look for the Advisory Board Kit, A Comprehensive Guide to Establishing an Advisory Board , to be published this month. Please check the site in the coming weeks for order information and related teleclass information.
