The highest performing company advisory boards are when companies obey what their board members suggest they do.  A company’s management team should allow all fears, ideas and frustrations to be disclosed to their board, rather than only giving them good news. Transparency is crucial to a functional and productive board.

During board meetings, keep detailed notes of what each member of your leadership team commits to. Ensure those commitments get kept and that you deliver on your promises, and that you aren’t just placating board members by agreeing to ‘look into an issue’ or ‘confront’ some brutal fact.  If you mean what you say, and say what you mean then the board will see their advice is being heeded, and they’ll work hard to give you even better advice moving forward. If a board feels placated, rest assured they’ll stop caring about the advice they give.

Why would you try being an entrepreneur or CEO of a growing company without having a coach to help you navigate.

Every top athlete on the planet has one.  Their coaches pushes them to higher and higher heights.

All the top CEOs work with a coach.  Their coaches help them see what’s really happening.  They help drive them, they help guide them to work on the highest impact areas and not keep getting distracted by the busyness of the day-to-day.

Having a coach guide you with a couple of calls or meetings every month can easily be one of the highest impact things you can do to grow your business this year.

Getting an outside perspective from a coach, will allow you to learn from their expertise and experiences as you discuss the key areas you are working on each week.

Some weeks you may learn nothing new.  And on other calls, one single insight can save or make you hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Often your coach will be someone you could never afford to have working for you day-to-day, but their coaching programs can be very affordable.  A friend of mine said “”If the Coach can’t add value beyond the fee, then you’ve got the wrong Coach. If the Coach delivers, it’s better than free! Easy call here.”

Why not try one for 6-12 months.  Why not invest in growing yourself & your business instead of trying to figure it out all by yourself.

This is an open invitation to “Crazy-Busy” CEOs, entrepreneurs and business owners who know they could be working less and making more if only they had the right guidance from someone who’s already been there and done it!

Ya, I coach entrepreneurs & CEOs, and if you’re reading this, perhaps you’d like me as your coach this year too.  If you have the right stuff – I’d love to help you make your dreams happen too.  Drop me a note.

My very own golden rule is ‘Proper Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance.’
This is especially true when it comes to working with a Board of Advisers.

The CEO or CEO’s staff should send material and bring board members up to speed well in advance of each meeting.  Busy is not an excuse for not doing this.  These meetings should be one of your biggest priorities.  Give members plenty of advanced notice about the issues you’ll be talking about at the meeting, so they can prepare and you can benefit.

Ideally the report should be brief, and contain updates on:

• The company’s achievements since the last meeting
• The areas in which the company is struggling
• Any key, relevant metrics
• Financial statements showing key ratios and performance versus budget, versus previous quarter and year
• Key decisions the company may be facing in the coming quarter and year
• And every report should include your company’s Painted Picture as an ongoing reminder of what’s being built

The board’s prep package should also contain:

• Facts as well as feelings various board members have regarding company
• Specifics versus generalizations
• The absolute truth.  If there is existing stress between members of the leadership team, then those underlying facts must be revealed to the board so they have the same level of transparency to be able to help you.

If your leadership team is worried that board members might ‘think less of them’ with some fact being brought into the open, then the trust begins to erode and the advice the board gives is never as ‘informed’ as it could and should be.

Don’t let anyone’s pride get in the way of great advice.

A few years ago one of my mentors was telling me about a story at Starbucks.  He was a Senior VP at Starbucks reporting into Howard Schultz.

Years earlier, Howard had called my mentor on his cell phone and asked ‘Why is the letter B not working on the signage at the 50th & Wallingford location’ in Seattle.

My mentor laughed out loud and responded ‘Really?, Howard is that really the question you should be asking me when you’re CEO?’

Howard frustrated replied ‘Yes, why isn’t the sign working?’  And my mentor replied ‘I don’t know. I’ll check. And I’ll get it fixed. However, if we’re really going to grow this brand our leadership team needs to ask leadership questions.’

‘Howard, instead of asking why isn’t the letter B working we need to be asking questions like this instead…’

‘I noticed the letter B on a sign at 50th & Wallingford isn’t working.  What systems do we have in place to ensure that all letters, on all signs, at all locations, in all countries, are always working?’

My mentor was right.

Entrepreneurs all too often ‘Major in the Minors’ and get stuck asking questions about the details.  And yes, the details matter.  And the details will always get fixed.  However, instead of just asking the question about something specific like a letter on a sign not working, try using the details as specific examples to ask larger more systemic questions. People don’t fail, systems do.  Look deeper in the systems that need to be fixed or created.

As a business coach and mentor, I suggest that you start asking the right questions and you’ll grow your company too.

For more information on this topic, check out: Building a World Class Culture and Leadership at 100MPH.

As a Business Mentor & CEO Coach to growing companies I recommend that companies that want ot grow quickly should have Board Of Advisor meetings at least four to six times a year.  Each meeting should be three to four hours in length.  Meetings should cover questions sent out at least a week in advance to board members.

After roughly one hour, effective board meetings should shift into creative discussion, insight gathering and debate around two to three critical areas the company is working on. If the meeting is run properly, it should be less like a presentation and more like a group discussion. Challenge each other in a constructive way in order to gain the best possible insights and a sound consensus.

As a business mentor, I teach CEOs that reviewing financial statements are also worthwhile at these meetings as board members tend to ask stuff that employees do not.  Reviewing financial statements with your board WILL save and make you money long term.

Lastly, each member should be adding to all topics and not just giving advice from their area of specialty.  Desire everyone’s experiences and questions on all topics being discussed.  If the marketing person only chimes in during marketing discussions then you will miss out.  Encourage people to speak beyond their area of specialty to maximize their perspective.

Even if you have a CEO Coach or Business Mentor like me helping you grow – you absolutely should be building out a proper Advisory Board too.

For more information on this topic, check out: Leadership at 100MPH.

Many CEOs miss out by not implementing a board for their company. As a CEO coach, here are some keys that i can share in creating a high-performing board:

1. Know what a board does: The board advises and helps hold accountable the CEO and leadership of a company. The Board of Advisors can be comprised of any mix of internal and external members the CEO wants.

2. Recognize difference between Board of Advisors and Board of Directors:  This hit me while I was speaking to a group of EO members before a Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting in Omaha.  A Board of Advisors cannot fire the CEO while a Board of Directors can.  This difference calls for different people on each type of board, and it’s important to scout for them differently.

3. Have a clear painted picture: The more clearly a CEO paints the picture for the board, the better advice the board will give. See more on that here. You want the board to be thinking ahead of where the company is today. Too often board members get embroiled in tactical, day-to-day or urgent matters when their time would have been better spent discussing the balance sheet, or how they’d handle things like massive currency fluctuations, recessions, continued hyper-growth, etc. One of the board’s goals should be to stay ahead of the vision of the company.

4. Find the right people: Look for company builders for your board. Too many people make the mistake of putting lawyers and accountants on their board, whom tend to give advice around why you shouldn’t do things versus what you should do. Entrepreneurship is risky, and taking advice from employed lawyers and accountants can significantly stifle your growth or misdirect you.

5. Get a 3-5 year commitment: Stack your board with company builders that are LONG TERM.  This will cause them to have a vested interest in the outcome and allow them to get deeper into the psyche of the company.  Fly-by-night experts should only be used for certain tasks, not long-term projections and ongoing advice.

6. Surround yourself with giants: Taking advice from people who have led companies larger than yours is critical as you grow, and the complexity of your systems and strategic issues evolve.  Find people that intimidate you a little bit.  This will cause a reverence and respect, and it will be easier to take their advice.