YOUR TEAM of ADVISORS

      A team of advisors is a collection of business leaders who may provide a complimentary service or be a part of a group such as a Mastermind with a paid facilitator.  This team of 4-6 professionals observe what owners have accomplished so far in their business, review business goals and listen to the past, current and future plans for the owners business.  What advisors ultimately provide for the business owner is a review, or a report if you will, identifying where articulation and actual outcomes are inconsistent.  The advisor's greatest asset is the support role they play in keeping the business owner on a true path for accomplishing the specific mission and vision of the business. When the business veers off course, the advisory team will point out where a correction needs to be made and supports the owner until the course corrections have been made. 

     The specialty of an advisory team is that each member, if selected carefully, has the ability to synthesize what they have observed and heard, and provide the business owner with challenging questions, thoughts, and ideas that may not have been thought through previously.  It is not the job of the advisor to tell the owner what to do with their widget or service, but, rather they share what they are seeing that is inconsistent, sifted through their own perspective and experience in business and then offers the owner ideas and suggestion to "chew on" from their own personal experience and expertise. It is from these suggestions that a process emerges and the business owner is then able to walk through and shore up the Vision Leaks* in the business plan.

      The input and time provided by a team of advisors is incredibly valuable.  Business owners need to treat them well, respect their input (especially if they don’t follow the advisors advice), and not expect more than the time the advisor is willing to give.  

* Bill Hybles, in his book Courageous Leadership talks about the need for leaders to keep the vision alive for the team.  When the vision become blurry or rarely talked about, members of the team may experience vision leaks, While written for Christian leaders, this book is a good read for all responsible for keeping the vision alive for a group or team. 

Next Week:  Where to find the best mentors!