Category Archives: Depending upon others
Ever receive worthless advice?
Ever get bad advice? Sure. We all have in our past. Ever take that advice without question because the person giving it was an investor, a superior in rank, the chairperson of your board? I’ll bet you have at least … Continue reading
Should you find a business coach?
Does this resonate with you? The CEO position can be a lonely place, especially when you find yourself in a position of not being able to bring an issue directly to the board and not wanting to explore solutions with … Continue reading
Are you expecting too much from your board?
Expect a board member to give a meeting a month, emails and phone calls between. Urgent issues require more of all. Of course this is a tricky question. You might expect the answer to be “as much as necessary” or … Continue reading
To directors and advisors: “Noses in; fingers OUT!”
Many of us have someone who reports directly to us and who supervises others in return. Well, this one is for you. And it is one of the most important lessons you can learn as a manager, board member, or … Continue reading
Are your board members as valuable as you?
Perhaps this is the natural conclusion from the several insights previously explored. While the CEO and management offer the vision, strategies, and tactics as well as the proposed budget, it is the board that controls with its votes the execution … Continue reading
Should board members be elected “for life?”
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
Fight for balance on your board!
Picking up where we left off… In my last insight, I described the CEO who stacked the board with two friends, making a majority for control purposes and relegating the investor representatives to insignificance. There were no outside board members … Continue reading
Your need for a board grows with complexity.
Start-ups with one founder rarely have or need a board of directors. In fact, such a board would seem out of place in a one-person company. As soon as any outside money is ingested into the corporation, others have a … Continue reading
Hire a consultant; ignore the advice!
The ideal use of consultants… At one time or another, most all businesses use consultants to fill the gaps in knowledge or to provide guidance for management. Consultants are good in that you can sample their work with short projects, … Continue reading
Do you really need an accountant?
First, let’s be sure we define our terms. Accountants are trained, certified and usually quite experienced in financial analysis, both creating and reviewing data. Bookkeepers are often trained on the job although sometimes more formally and handle the physical work … Continue reading