Simon’s tips on boards

Some great blog posts by Simon Telfer (co-founder of  Springboard NZ)  - on boards that are worthy of a read. Words for the wise – some great quotes from experienced board members … I like this one best “Good news is written succinctly. Bad news is wordsmithed.”      read the rest here> Finance on Full Beam -  “It’s like [...]

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Finding Your First Advisory Board Member

Selecting your first board member can be a challenge, so how do you go about it? I always recommend business owners establish and work with and advisory board setup first, before committing to formal directorships. This can often be a good win-win situation for both business owner and board  member. Work out what are your immediate needs?  [...]

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Desirable Personal Attributes Of Board Members

What characteristics do you look for in a potential board member? To effectively address the needs of an emerging enterprise, the most effective board members will exhibit the following personal qualities: Emotional stability – with EGO in control Strong interpersonal communication skills Pattern recognition skills – “ability to sense trouble ahead of time” Ability to [...]

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IOD Directors Course Good Value

Review of Companies Directors Course – IOD Becoming an Informed Board Member – a $6500 Investment For the week of Nov  7 – Nov 12, I subjected myself to  the IOD Companies directors course.  Everyone, including my sponsors, The EDANZ- Deloitte Partnership (Escalator), wants to know was it worthwhile? The real test of this will [...]

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Staying out of Jail

Your fiduciary responsibilities as a director For SME’s the focus of your Board should not be compliance and risk management – however, you cannot avoid your legal responsibilities in this area. Many people ask me what are your basic legal responsibilities in this area and what are the major gotcha’s.  So here is my interpretation [...]

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The power of great boards for SME’s

Boards: Leadership – Value Add or a Necessary Overhead? There is still mystique and miss-understanding what relevance boards have for SME’s. Do you have a high performing board, inspiring your business? SME business owners continue to shy away from establishing or maximizing the value of their board or advisory group. These business owners are missing [...]

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