The Eye of the Tiger

Successful companies are often guided by a board of directors/advisors. As a consultant, it’s hard to justify a board in the traditional sense. However, it’s still important to have objective opinions on the direction of your business. The key it to be open, honest, and above all not hide things or try to manipulate the outcome when working with the board. If you do, the board can’t function properly and you’ll derive little benefit or success.

I have several friends who are small business owners and we meet regularly to review each other’s businesses and offer advice. We create presentations and meet at a local coffee shop to advise each other. We try to do this once a quarter, though there is no set schedule. At the last review, I presented two options to my board. The first option was to keep working several consultant contracts and try to find more and the second option was to accept a six-month contract position.

If I took the contract position, the board felt I would lose the ‘eye of the tiger’. Basically, all my marketing activities, blog entries, certification prep, etc., would taper off. I would become complacent and enjoy my life. It appears that they were correct. While I am learning a lot, I have not focused on the other activities. While some of the activities are not critical, the blog and certification prep are things that will always be of benefit.

I have started to get back into things and will begin sharing the what I am learning as a junior administrator for a 600+ Enterprise Edition Org. I understand now why people ask how many users during the interview process. Being certified, having a bunch of trailhead badges, and working with small orgs did not prepare me for the challenges of a large organization.