Big Picture - March 2020 - 18

business + management

Across The Board
Why building a board of trusted advisors can bring a fresh perspective and positive
change to your shop. | by Marty McGhie

ach of us, whether solicited or not, has received

business advice at some point in our careers. It
may have been great information that significantly
helped business grow, or it may have been simply
unhelpful. However, there comes a time in a
business' life when it makes sense to receive outside advice
in a much more formal way. I've created three different
options for your consideration.

BIG PICTURE

March 2020

OPTION 1 - UTILIZE YOUR NETWORK
It may be best for you to connect with a few trusted business
associates and utilize their expertise. This could prove to be
useful for every aspect of business: strategy, marketing,
accounting, legal, human resources, or any other area where
you could use some help. These connections could be made
with personal friends with whom you've already developed
a rapport, or alternatively, could be with someone from a
business networking scenario. Regardless of how you find and
establish your business connections, it's important to take
advantage of the situation by obtaining instrumental advice.
PROS:
* Gathering feedback. By tapping into a network of
trusted contacts, you can take advantage of feedback and
advice you might otherwise be blind to. Third-party perspectives can be very useful because they're often objective and
will typically offer a different point of view.
* Honest information. Depending on the relationship you
have with your business associates, you'll hopefully receive
honest, perhaps even blunt, feedback. Trusted advisors shouldn't
have a hidden agenda or be concerned about office politics.
Honest, straightforward advice is really what you need.
* Cost advantages. One of the most appealing aspects of
this simple approach is it will typically not result in any
significant expense to your business. It may cost you a nice

CONS:
* Missing accountability. This may be misconstrued as an

argument that sometimes "you get what you pay for," but that's
not my intent. While an informal networking relationship with
other business associates has the potential of providing very
useful information, these types of advisors typically won't have
anything personally invested in the process. Unlike a formal
board of advisors or a board of directors, informal advisors
don't really have accountability for their feedback or advice.
That doesn't mean their feedback is devalued. It merely means
they may offer feedback or advice without any feeling of
accountability for the consequences.
OPTION 2 - FORMULATE A BOARD OF ADVISORS
Establishing a formal board of advisors is a significant
upgrade from your friends or a casual group of business
contacts. A board of advisors should be structured similarly to
a board of directors with as much diversity (in terms of
individual expertise) as possible. Your board of advisors
should consist of people interested in your business who won't
necessarily just tell you what you want to hear. If certain
aspects of your business need to be criticized, they won't hold
back. On the other hand, if your business is performing well in

MARTY MCGHIE is CEO/partner of Signs.com, an online provider of
custom signage based in Salt Lake City. You can find him on Twitter
@Marty_McGhie.

lunch or some tickets to a ball game, but more often than not
you can receive and offer feedback for free.

http://www.Signs.com https://twitter.com/Marty_McGhie

Big Picture - March 2020

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