Brain Trust: Making a Great Advisory Board

Grit & Growth

Is it time to consider an advisory board? And if so, why? What skills do you need? And how do you find the right people who are willing to help? Aashish Agarwaal, founder and chairman of the Enerji Group, and Alexey Volynets of the International Finance Corporation share entrepreneurial perspectives and corporate governance advice to help you figure out what’s right for your company.

Rare is the entrepreneur who is an expert at everything. Turning to others outside your company for advice can be essential for success. Formalizing that process with an advisory board is helping Aashish Agarwaal strategically transform Enerji Group, the digital publishing enterprise he founded in India. But it took awhile to figure out exactly what he needed, who could help, and how to run the board effectively.

Alexey Volynets understands what Agarwaal had to go through to create the ideal advisory board. As an expert in corporate governance at the International Finance Corporation, he has been teaching companies about corporate governance for years.

The most common manifestation of corporate governance is a board — fiduciary or advisory. Whereas fiduciary boards have financial liabilities, advisory boards are simply there to provide expertise that you may be lacking.

“As you are growing, and when you are on the top of the world, it's important to have a check,” Volynets explains. “External advisors, especially very independent voices will ask you the right questions and will challenge your assumptions.”

Agarwaal figured out who he needed by first identifying the skill gaps in his company and what strategic initiatives he needed help with and how often. He suggests “I would say first what are the gaps, and second, do you need that help on a consistent basis or intermittent basis? Because again, you have to decide how much investment you're going to make in it.”

Finding the right people isn’t easy, either. Volynets suggests the best place to look is your own networks to find the business people you trust with the criteria you need. But Volynets cautions entrepreneurs to avoid adding friends, suppliers, contractors, etc. to an advisory board, even if they have the requisite skills. He says “The most important characteristic is emotional independence.”

Listen to Aashish’s first hand experience on creating an advisory board and Alexey’s insights on how to do it strategically and successfully when it’s time to tap into the experience and expertise of other business leaders.

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