Getting a Fresh Perspective on Your Business: Peer-to-Peer Board Meetings

Sometimes, as a business owner, it may feel like you have no one to talk to about the business, strategy, and how to handle problems. It can be isolating and overwhelming.

That’s why one of the benefits that The Alternative Board® (TAB) offers is the ability to increase your business acumen and enhance your knowledge through various idea exchanges that constitute the peer-to-peer board meetings that come with membership. This post will provide information on what goes on at these meetings and what those business owners who participate have experienced for themselves.

A Typical Meeting of the Minds

Following a prescribed protocol, each TAB meeting is structured to achieve a certain purpose: get the most out of meeting together, take away ideas to put into practice, and meet again with new ideas and understanding. The rest of it goes something like this:

• The board meetings are overseen by a TAB-Certified Facilitator who has years of executive management experience under their belt not to mention a host of business and life coaching credentials.
• The board meetings focus on practical solutions that address each member’s opportunities and challenges. These ideas and potential resolutions are the result of candid discussions on the ways and means by which a person may need to consider changing their managerial, strategic, or organizational approach.
• The board members and the TAB-Certified Facilitator work to create, implement, adjust and stay on track to achieve their personal and business success goals. This includes reporting back on their progress and what actions they took since their last meeting.

 Essentially, each meeting follows that old adage: you get out of it what you put into it. 

 First-Hand Unique Benefits

And, for those who participate, it’s clear that they get plenty out of being a member of TAB:

• The board meetings serve as a forum for connecting with other business owners to convey issues and enable better decision making.
• The discussions are intended to stimulate each board member to think about what the others have to say and consider their advice. It is about absorbing what was shared and putting careful thought into how it might be applied to their business.
• The ability to get outside feedback is very beneficial. An owner can ask their employees for ideas but is always consciously aware that they are talking to the “boss.” In a peer-to-peer environment, there isn’t any intimidation or interference in regards to position and rank. It is simply about getting a different perspective from someone outside of the business who might see things more clearly.
• The meetings stir debate and generate renewed excitement and passion for one’s business, providing purpose, opportunities, and potential answers to business challenges.

 Personal Experiences

TAB - Atlanta East has numerous personal experiences of how effective the peer-to-peer approach has been for small business members. Some of the personal gains they have made are summarized below:

• “I openly discuss confidential problems and issues with my TAB Board--matters I don't even discuss with anyone else in my company, or even with my CPA or Attorney. The result is feedback that I get no other way.”
• “My TAB Board has been like business therapy. The process of thinking through other members' problems has helped me to clarify my own issues.”
• “The Board Meetings, with the support of our Facilitator, have given me the confidence and business perspective to move ahead in business areas.”

Don't carry the weight of your success as a small business alone. Lighten the load and learn about TAB's business tools and resources designed to enhance your business success and meet your personal business goals. If you have your own experiences that you would like to share here, please leave your comments below.