Personal Board of Directors

The old adage of two brains being better than one still rings true. I mean, look at these two fellas. Bill Gates has long championed Warren Buffet as being his mentor. Not a bad choice.

Some have one mentor. Some have two, ten... No matter the number, one way to think of these mentors or people of admiration is your "personal board of directors" (P.B.O.D.)

Every company, public or private, must have a least one director. The mandate of said director, or directors as per Investopedia, is to establish policies for corporate management and oversight, making decisions on major company issues. Within public companies, the B.O.D. represents the shareholders.

But that's for the company. What about for you?

In this weekend's Wall Street Journal, Microsoft Executive Vice President of Business Development, Peggy Johnson, lent her insight into the people she leans on as her system of checks and balances. "She largely relies on her gut when making big decisions but then 'validates her intuition' by checking in with valued former colleagues, mentors and family as independent advisors."

From a former colleague at Qualcomm, to the CEO of Ulta Beauty to the President of Liberty Media who helped her adjust when she was appointed to her first board seat, Peggy has stacked her roster full of people who have supported her & whose opinions she deeply values.

You only know where you've been, therefore it is vital to tap into and develop genuine relationships with those that may not always know MORE than you, but have had different experiences than you, or have been around the block a few more times.

Check out some famous duos below and their testaments to the value of a P.B.O.D.'s.

Sir Richard Branson. Founder, the Virgin Group.
Mentor: Sir Freddie Laker. Founder, Laker Airways.

• "It’s always good to have a helping hand at the start. I wouldn’t have got anywhere in the airline industry without the mentorship of Sir Freddie Laker...If you ask any successful business person, they will have had a great mentor somewhere along the road.”

Oprah Winfrey. Chairwoman and CEO, HARPO and the Oprah Winfrey Network.
Mentor: Maya Angelou. American poet, Civil Rights activist.

• “She was there for me always, guiding me through some of the most important years of my life...Mentors are important and I don’t think anybody makes it in the world without some form of mentorship.”

Tim Cook. CEO of Apple.
Mentor: Steve Jobs. Former CEO and Founder of Apple.

• "The Steve I knew was the guy pestering me to have a social life, not because he was being a pest, but because he knew how important family was in his life, and he wanted it for me, too...There are lots of these things where you saw the very soft or caring or feeling or whatever you want to call it side of him. He had that gene. Someone who's viewing life only as a transactional relationship with people...Steve didn't do that."
  

Tony Bennett. Jazz musician.
Mentor: Frank Sinatra. Jazz musician.

• "I was his favorite and he was my favorite, and I couldn't get over it. He was a phenomenal artist, a great singer and a wonderful person...I felt nervous about an audience. He taught me an audience are your friends, they've come to see you. He changed my whole psychology about performing."

The lessons learned from mentors are endless. Configuring a personal board of directors will pay major dividends down the road. Who knows, you might even succeed them one day (David Solomon will take the reins after Lloyd Blankfein's retirement.) Mentors come in all forms:

• The Challenger. The member who will question you. Why do you think this is the best decision? Where do you think this will lead down the road? The items posed are never easy to answer and that is the mark of a great personal board member.
  
• The Connector. The rarest of members. Connectors are outward-facing people whose very satisfaction comes from helping people meet each other. They have a wide and very deep network of people who all respect them and they often "get things done."
  
• The Cheerleader. The member who boosts your self-esteem. Never superficially but always with the intention of training your wings to be strong enough to fly on your own.
• The Coach. The member who is the wise veteran. Not always in terms of age, but someone who has faced adversity, struggles or successes you may find down the road. How to react, capitalize and pivot to create your best life.

It is important to discover the people whose personalities, integrity and work ethic you admire and then place them on your team. It doesn't always have to be an explicit "will you be my mentor"/"will you be on my personal board."

They know, and you know. Personal relationships are incredibly sacred and given constant effort to maintain & grow, can be incredibly valuable.

Forbes
Fortune
Google Images
The Chronicle
The Cut
Wall Street Journal
Investopedia