Many business owners and CEOs of small to mid-size companies and nonprofits spend a lot of time working in their business as well as on it.  This is especially true for those who downsized due to the recession.

For those who have had their noses to the grindstone you can lose perspective as to where your company fits into the economic picture, your industry and the global market place. Fortunately, you can turn to your advisory board to provide the perspective you may be missing.  Of course this will only be true if you were thoughtful and deliberate on how you selected your advisors.

The types of questions to ask your advisors if you feel you’ve lost perspective:

1. What purchasing trends are you seeing in customers now that the recovery has begun?
2. What are the borrowing trends for businesses our size?
3. Where are companies accessing capital if traditional channels are still closed?
4. What opportunities have we overlooked that we need to explore?
5. What did we try in the past unsuccessfully that might now work in the new world order since the recession?

What other questions would you add to the list?

Need more information on how to set-up your advisory board?  The Advisory Board Kit: A Comprehensive Guide to Establishing an Advisory Board is now available.