As Business Advisors, we get tremendous fulfillment from seeing our clients (we call them Board Members) progress towards – if not achieve – their business and personal visions. Our Members are typically CEOS and business owners of both small and large companies.
Everything we do is “Member-Centric.” The discussions, key performance indicators, and plans we come up with are all based on our Members’ visions and objectives.
What we do as Business Advisors consists of three major areas:
Facilitating Peer Advisory Boards
We facilitate very diverse (in industry, communication styles, stage of the business, and age) Peer Advisory Boards, made up of non-competing but like-minded individuals. They all want to help and be helped. They are all open to change but are experienced in their own businesses and lives. It is our job to ensure all are heard, contribute, and get value from one another in their board meetings, regardless of the topic they’ve chosen to ask their Board about. Getting input from people who don’t think the way they do is the only way for them to see things from a different perspective and act differently. Otherwise, they have no reason to expect different results. They also want to be held accountable to do the things they agree to do.
We hold the responsibility of ensuring the fit between the Member and the Board, the facilitator/coach and whether or not the timing is right before we invite someone to join in.
Providing One-on-One Coaching
We meet individually with each TAB Member (and perhaps other members of their organizations) on a monthly basis to listen, probe, challenge, and get them to think about what they need to do and how to get it done. Quite often, they need to stop doing things in order to create the time to do what is necessary for success. Many have financial objectives; some have peace of mind objectives. Regardless, we help them move towards how they define success.
We are not like a golf coach who tells their clients how to play golf. We are skilled at asking questions, providing frameworks, sharing stories and being trusted Advisors. We are credible, reliable, and develop a caring relationship with these business owners. We are driven by their interests, not ours. We leverage our experience and the perspectives of the Members’ Boards to help them develop, refine or validate their thoughts. Our coaching meetings ensure our Members get the most out of their TAB Boards and help them move their businesses and their lives to achieve their visions.
Leverage Proprietary Tools and Years of Accumulated Intellectual Property
Since TAB is over 29 years old and in 20 countries, as expected, we have a huge repository of documented experience, white papers and perspectives to share. In addition, we know when and how to tap into the members of our international community. TAB has developed proprietary resources that enable our Members to assess, plan and communicate effectively within their organizations as well as with their fellow Board Members. Knowing when and how to engage our diverse set of Members is a requirement for success in our world. We must not only know what to say (if not ask), but how and when to say it in the most effective manner.
Our Members appreciate us. They would not continue with the system if they did not get value from us, regarding people, resources, planning or personal issues. We are not just Business Coaches; we genuinely care about our Members personal lives as well.
By Bob Dodge