In my experience at The Alternative Board-Denver West, I’ve had the privilege to meet many influential business leaders in the area, and I’m happy to share with you their insights. I can tell you stories upon stories about the impact a business leader’s involvement with The Alternative Board has had on their company and their personal growth. But, sometimes you need to hear it from someone who walks in shoes very similar to your own to fully understand it from the right perspective. This new ongoing blog series is called Voices, and you can expect to hear from leaders around Denver who are involved with The Alternative Board and excited to share their experiences with you.
Blair
Mark Inboden is the CEO of UCEC, a company that provides custom control panels and control system integration for customers worldwide. He became involved with The Alternative Board-Denver West almost two years ago. “I was introduced to Blair by my CPA who is on another TAB board.” After talking to Blair, Mark saw alignment between her philosophy and what he was trying to accomplish as a business owner. “Together, we defined our initial goals following a SWOT analysis. This gave us a good sense of what UCEC and I needed to work on,” Mark said. From that initial analysis with Blair, they were able to work together to prioritize what needed to be tackled first. “My original goal was to get the pulse of the company in terms of where we were at that moment, then think about where we wanted to go and how we were going to get there,” Mark said.
One of the things Mark likes best about his involvement with The Alternative Board is the one-on-one advising he receives as a member. “Blair and I have an hour together each month to do a check-in and get some feedback. Having a trusted advisor like her who knows the business from an outside perspective helps me re-prioritize and ensure that the company aligns with our goals. You get non-confrontational, honest feedback.”
For Mark, a fringe benefit of working with Blair and The Alternative Board has been a renewed sense of balance. “TAB helps you strike this balance of career and family. It’s not just all business. I’ve benefitted from better understanding what a CEO should be working on. I’ve been able to build my team to work on the day-to-day operations of the business, so I can focus on growth and bigger plans.” Mark realized he would never achieve the balance he desired without focus. “You have to ask yourself, ‘Do you want to run the business or the business to run you?’ Working with Blair helped me hold myself accountable to that.”
Speaking of accountability, Mark has found that being accountable to a group of people outside of your own business makes all the difference. “Being a part of The Alternative Board pushes me to be accountable in a different way. We take interest in everyone’s opportunities and ask questions so board members can make better decisions and ultimately offer better products to our customers.”
If you would like to learn how working with Blair and The Alternative Board-Denver West could benefit you and your business, contact us today.
