(By Rick Fink) Many businesses have a Board of Directors. Their responsibility is not to run the company but to simply advise it. To tap into the minds of others to continually help you find a better way, we recommend establishing your own informal “Board of Directors.”
In your pursuit to continually improve your sales, this idea taps into two growth principles:
- None of us is as smart as all of us.
- There is always a better way to do what you’re doing.
To build your Board, strategically select a creative mind, an analytical mind, a marketing mind, and a sales mind to meet with once a month.
Come to your Board meeting prepared to discuss what you’ve done over the past month and what you plan to do next month. Bring any problems, challenges, or new ideas you have, and have an open mind as each of your experts makes suggestions on how you might do better.
What’s in it for your other business owners to act as a Board Member for you?
- They’ll be honored that you chose them as an expert you trust.
- Each of them will also learn from your group as they participate.
- They’ll also learn and get ideas from you.
- It’s a time to openly discuss (vent) the frustrations of running a business.
- They’ll come up with solutions to challenging issues.
To bring even more minds to the table, you might invite different board members each month.
What’s in it for you? There is always a better way – let your Board of Directors help you find it!
NEVER Stop Learning – Get Better Every Day!
Rick Fink from ENS Media can be reached at 605-310-2062 or at [email protected]. Read Rick’s Radio Ink archives here.
this is so wrong. a board’s job is to actually help run the business at the highest levels and to provide governance around the management team. unfortunately, too many think the job is simply to advise and consult, and this is how so many companies lose their way.
if boards are doing their jobs, companies wouldn’t take on outsized and untenable amounts of debt. they wouldn’t pursue risky acquisitions and they wouldn’t allow outsized comp packages for management. they would truly be looking out for the shareholders who elected them to office.
anytime a company fails, the blame should be put squarely on the board, not the management team.