Business owners often wear many hats and are immersed in the day to day operations or have hired a CEO to run the business. The owners and the company management can benefit from the advice of a collection of experienced but external voices. Including independent directors on a statutory board or creating an advisory board has proven very helpful.
Advisory Board Overview
An advisory board is defined as a team of independent professionals a company, organization or entity retained to help the establishment in question operate with greater efficiency. In many instances, the individuals chosen to comprise this body will possess extensive experience managing specific business operations.
Benefits of a Skilled Advisory Board
The members of an advisory board should possess the following attributes:
Provide an Outsider’s Perspective
Board members do not possess knowledge of the company’s daily operations. In this instance, lack of knowledge is a positive attribute. Such individuals can assess such happenings from an outsider’s perspective. Fresh sets off eyes might offer varying viewpoints and notice untoward occurrences that those not examining closely enough might miss.
Have the Company’s Best Interests in Mind
An advisory board member is not an employee of the company in question. Therefore, the chances are greater that such subjects will not be influenced by office politics, in-house rivalries or any other potentially detrimental factors. In essence, most reputable board members should have the company’s best interests at heart when offering advice or completing a task.
Offer Honest Opinions
Competent advisory board members should not be proverbial “yes people.” Such subjects should not hesitate to offer clear, concise and honest assessments based upon their research and observations. It is worth reiterating that most board members will hold vast knowledge of the business and management realms. Ergo, they speak from experience, both good and bad.
The Ability to Focus on Specific Tasks
Unlike business managers or proprietors, advisory board members are not required to immerse themselves in every aspect of the entity´s operations. Therefore, these individuals can focus on specific tasks. For example, advisors might be asked to concentrate on topics like employee efficiency, sales growth or cost-cutting initiatives.
Expenses
ABA´s unique quantifiable process designs and builds High Impact boards with carefully selected and trained board members, ABA implements and manages our unique board process and provides quantifiable evaluation to ensure the board is meeting the objectives of the organization and its board members. An advisory board could help the entity it serves to significantly grow the business or save on costs from several angles. Boards must be evaluated and the compensation put in relation to the benefits the board brings to the company. These benefits should be measurable and very specific.