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Author Archives: Dave Berkus
Make informal advisors part of the team.
Whether you find advisors from family, friends, faculty or fellow managers, great advisors can become an informal resource that rivals that of more formal resources, including board members. You will certainly know when you’ve found such a treasure, almost always … Continue reading
Any advice can be worthless, or worse.
Let me tell you the story of the first investment made by a newly organized formal group of angel investors. It was thrilling for these angels to find a young entrepreneur with an idea for a business that seemed so … Continue reading
Find an outside confidant, a CEO coach.
The CEO position can be a lonely place, especially when the CEO finds himself in a position of not being able to bring an issue directly to the board and not wanting to explore solutions with associates within the company. … Continue reading
D&O insurance is a “cost of respect” for board members.
Whenever there are outside shareholders, and when there is a product in release, there is a chance, no matter how slight, of a lawsuit against members of the board as well as against the corporation itself. Even if such a … Continue reading
What to expect in board member commitment.
Expect a board member to give a meeting a month, emails and phone calls between. Urgent issues require more of all. Board members are usually busy people, often running other companies or serving on multiple boards. Early stage boards usually … Continue reading
Early stage boards work for stock options, not cash.
Give one percent equity to each outside board member vesting over four years of service. Many early stage CEOs and board members have asked for some guidance regarding pay and time commitments for board members. Here is my best advice, … Continue reading
Feed your board with constant care and attention.
Plan 10% of your time for board relations. Most all leaders new to the CEO position underestimate this time requirement. It is good for the company when the CEO shares concerns, threats and opportunities with the board. The rule of … Continue reading
To your board of directors: Noses in, fingers out.
I first heard this in a governance seminar for a non-profit higher educational board upon which I sit, years ago. It made an impact and stuck with me through the years. I have repeated it often to boards deliberating action … Continue reading
Good board members are as valuable as good executives.
Perhaps this is the natural conclusion from the several insights previously explored. While the CEO and management offers the vision, strategies and tactics as well as the proposed budget, it is the board that controls with its votes the execution … Continue reading
Board members should be elected annually.
No board member should be grandfathered, guaranteed a board seat forever. Practically speaking, this is an impossible goal. We have investigated the restrictions imposed by investment documents and the obvious need to keep continuity on the board with the retention … Continue reading
