How Entrepreneurs Can Get Better Results from Advisors!

What does it take to build a high performing organization?  I’ve been working with successful small and mid-market business leaders for over thirty years. I have watched my clients and their businesses grow from small regional businesses to global market leaders. All of these entrepreneurs have several skills in common when working with their advisors. Today I share what you need to know when working with key advisors.

So how do high growth entrepreneurs leverage advisors?  I believe there are several shared skills that these people all have. The faster you can begin applying them the faster you begin seeing breakthrough results.

The first skill they all share is that they make sure their advisor has a clear understanding of the entrepreneur’s mission, vision, and values. Successful entrepreneurs invest the time to onboard their advisor the same way they do any of their other key leadership team members.  It takes a little more time to do this but it’s the foundation for building a strong, successful partnership.

The second skill successful entrepreneurs embrace is they find advisors who are equal or superior to themselves in key results areas for their business. Strong leaders understand how to leverage others strengths and prefer to work with people on how increase their organization’s capability to grow faster and more profitable.  They set aside their egos for the good of the company.

The third skill successful entrepreneurs possess is they are open to bringing other people into their organizations from outside industries. Not invented here is not something you never hear from effective executives in these high growth businesses. These leaders understand they can invest in creating everything new or they can borrow great ideas from a wide range of industries. They tend to have a wide range of professionals they can talk to when deciding how they create an edge in their markets.

The fourth skill successful entrepreneurs possess is being very good at facilitating discussions.  They can brainstorm ideas and solutions in real time.  While others may still be trying to determine what, the challenge is, these breakthrough leaders frequently have already developed a profitable solution.  This allows them to seize high growth markets more quickly than their competition.

The fifth skill successful entrepreneurs possess is they treasure practical creativity.  They look for solutions that are easy to implement, not hard. They get their advisors to think of practical ideas to even their most challenging problems.  They want advisors who are able to give them ways of getting things done today while also allowing them to look for ongoing improvement in their business processes and systems.

The final skill successful entrepreneurs embrace is they expect to act on their advisors’ recommendations.  During the early stages of a business, it is critical to build a culture of taking action on what you learn. These entrepreneurs understand that as they grow they must learn to depend on others’ ability to take action faster and respond to rapid changes in the market. They understand that to be successful leaders they must build an action bias into their leadership teams and advisors.  They also understand the more action they take, the more successful they become.

I learned how to advise senior leaders across the globe over 24 years ago working with W. Edwards Deming and his leadership team. What might Dr. Deming share with entrepreneurs today?  How Will Entrepreneurs Lead the Next Quality Revolution?

If an entrepreneur looks for advisors that can help him develop the first five skills he can become incredibly successful using the sixth.