Picking a Business Advisor #2
from Becoming Awesome.com 6/11 enhanced by Peter/CXO Wiz4biz 7/13
WHAT the ADVISOR Gets.
It should be pretty clear how the company benefits from these key Business Advisor relationships. But the CEO for the advisor? Like an Attorney being his own Lawyer. Here are the motivations I have seen at play – mostly in the case of a company founder taking an advisory role (VCs have different motivations).
Giving Back – The more experienced & successful an Entrepreneur becomes – the more their motivation shift to the altruistic. They want to see others like them succeed. They want to help make that happen. For advisors with this motivation – hug them close, make them feel loved, and recognize them profusely.
Portfolio of Equity – Company founders lock up an enormous amount of their personal capital (financial & otherwise) in what amounts to only a few buckets per lifetime. Contrast this to a VC who gets to make a few bets per year – adding up to dozens or hundreds over a lifetime. By becoming a key Business Advisor you can diversify your talent over a few companies and one is bound to be a winner.
Pattern Matching – Starting a company gives you deep insight into what works & what doesn’t. But since you can only start a few companies this gives you a limited number of data points from which to draw. Investors get to experience many more data points – honing their Startup skill. By advising a few companies. you can radically increase the number of data points you have to draw on and make better decisions – and all your Clients benefit.
Gaining Perspective – Being a company Founder can be a myopic, narrow-minded experience. You are working on the same thing every day – you are too close to it – and sometimes don’t see the forest for the trees. One of the key values that an advisor brings to a startup is this outside perspective of what works & what doesn’t.
WiiFm? [What’s in it for me?] As a Business Advisor, I feel a truly powerful need to have a winner in own ventures. My key motivation for advising right now is to help me toward that goal. Pattern matching is #1, followed closely by Gaining Perspective #2. On the flip side – I am happy to Give Back & Build a Portfolio – and those motivations will become more important over time as I grow into more advisory roles.
Comment: Do you have any other Criteria for picking an Advisor?
Advisor: If you ever need any help with starting, growing or improving your Business, contact Peter thru Wiz4biz. I’ve had over 40 years experience and I’m sure I can share some good ideas or find someone who could !!!