Ten Advisory Board Gifts of Wisdom — Part 1
Approximately 3 years ago, I wrote:
“We all journey through our entrepreneurial lives — differently. And on this journey, we face many questions for which the answers are not in plain sight. Sometimes, we have a great opportunity to discuss tough issues with others. Often, we do not…
Throughout my 30+ years of entrepreneurial life, I came across many observations that I read about, heard about, or experienced first-hand. Sharing such knowledge — gives me great satisfaction and tremendous pleasure…
This post aims to distill my unique set of experiences into entrepreneurial wisdom — that can be called upon as needed. Not only it might help you during tough conversations with others — it may also aid to generate persuasive insights inside your own head.
Some of my observations may apply to your current situation. Others might prove to be more valuable — as your entrepreneurial needs grow and scale up.
It’s true, Emotional Intelligence helps control what you can, and accept what you can’t. Sometimes, however, the ONLY control you may have left — boils down to how you respond. So, the more you know about how others responded in similar situations — the easier it gets to exercise self-control. Especially, when something goes terribly wrong …
There is no one-size-fits-all entrepreneurial advice available. The closer it is to your own circumstances — the more valuable my advice!”
Since the above, my library of comments grew significantly. This post relates to a specific topic that is close to my heart: “Advisory Board Wisdom”. Enjoy…
1. Wisdom #1
“It is only through our own experiences that we will discover our own capacities and learn how to create wisdom” — Manfred F. R. Kets de Vries
2. Wisdom #2
“Wise people are blessed with good judgement and have the ability to see the big picture” — Manfred F. R. Kets de Vries
3. Wisdom #3
“Knowledge becomes wisdom when we have the ability to assimilate and apply this knowledge to make the right decisions” — Manfred F. R. Kets de Vries
4. Wisdom #4
“Knowledge is knowing that tomato is a fruit; wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad” — Miles Kington
5. Wisdom #5
“Without a competent Advisory Board, too many promising Unicorns turn into… little ponies”
6. Wisdom #6
“Trust The Beatles… We can all get by with a little help from our friends. Without it, even the most promising Unicorns may turn into little ponies” — Oleg Feldgajer
7. Wisdom #7
“Good Advisors — know to ask questions before offering solutions; Great Advisors — also know what questions to ask” — Oleg Feldgajer
8. Wisdom #8
“Good Advisors — ask questions & offer solutions to solve problems; Great Advisors — ask questions & offer the right KEEs (Knowledge, Experience, Expertise) to the solution box” — Oleg Feldgajer
9. Wisdom #9
“Good Advisors — help CEOs to solve their industry’s problems; Great Advisors — solve the problems AND bring untapped revenue streams” — Oleg Feldgajer
10. Wisdom #10
“Good Advisors — help CEOs to get where they want to go; Great Advisors — take CEOs to where they need to be” — Oleg Feldgajer
For More Information…
For more information, please see my posts on LinkedIn, Twitter, Medium, and CGE’s website.
AI Boogeyman
You can also find additional info in my book on amazon: “AI Boogeyman — Dispelling Fake News About Job Losses”, and on our YouTube Studio channel… Thank you.
I offer hands-on AI investment advice to Venture Capital & Private Equity portfolio companies. Hence, I am in the business of joining Advisory Boards (ABs). And in many cases, I deliver results in 90 days by structuring JVs to bring untapped revenue streams — just as I did w/ Verizon 20-yrs ago…
A good Advisory Board improves the decision-making process by helping the CEOs to consider different perspectives. More importantly, there is not a single top athlete who does not have a coach. And yet, only 20% of CEOs are coached by Advisors. The other 80% — may never become the top performers they could have been. Thus, my advice to CEOs: “Amateurs don’t use coaches, professionals do… and so should you”.
I used advanced BusinessAI™ strategies in Renewable Energy for 12 yrs. Now, I help VC/CVC/PE funds to maximize their returns in Healthcare, Fintech, Transportation, Construction & Manufacturing, too. And I apply the same structured finance expertise I acquired through financing over $1B of Renewable Energy projects.
As a 30-yr BusinessAI™ veteran, I Propose, Design, Structure, Finance, and Deploy state-of-the-art Joint Ventures to bring RAPID & SUSTAINABLE REVENUES. And as a coach & mentor, I bring business savvy to separate the wheat from the chaff — through a unique process to beat the odds. Such pattern recognition abilities allow me to see what is still missing & how to maximize business offerings & profitability…
What I learned over the years is that it is not just technology innovation, but also the exponential increase in the value offered to clients at a much lower cost — that makes all the difference. Business Model Innovation is as disruptive as Technology Innovation and yet I see too many companies focused on pushing their product out the door — while losing ~70% of untapped revenue streams.
My LeanBOD™ recommendation? Mandate CEO Advisory Boards and create a pool of viable Co-CEOs to be chosen by the BODs. Co-CEOs offer the fastest way to accelerate Scale-Up & Expansion, Revenue Growth, Margin Enhancement & Opening New Channels.
SELECT ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Using AI in CT medical diagnostic, financial fraud detection, solar PV, wind, WTE, energy efficiency, etc. Finance skills: equity, non-recourse debt, balance sheet financing, and tax equity. I also took a tiny startup public, building a $135MM enterprise & received funding from NRC & DND. Academic R&D collaborations included: UW, UofG, UofT, and MCC Consortium in Texas.
