Accelerate Your Growth by Hacking Your Hospitality Circle of Influence
By Daniel Zolinski | September 25, 2023
When choosing my board of advisors, there are 3 types of people I want to be surrounded by:
- Mentors: People whose outcomes you want
- Experts: Specialists in their field
- Peers: Fellow founders who have your back
This gives me both lateral support (peers) and upward support (experts and mentors)
Mentors are often only available during set times, and they’re the people I can go to when I need advice based on experience that I don’t have.
Experts are highly specialized in areas, and I go to them for specific insights or advice pertaining to those areas.
Peers tend to provide more day-in and day-out encouragement and “in-the-trenches” support.
So how do we go about selecting these members? Selecting the members for your personal board of advisors is more than just choosing talented or experienced people. One of the most important factors when deciding is considering who the members are as people.
- Are they willing to tell me harsh truths?
- Do they have my best interest at heart?
- Are they living a life I aspire to have someday?
These people are going to be a major influence in my life.
Now it’s time to diversify the board. I want each member to help me level up in a specific area. Otherwise, it just becomes an echo chamber, or my skills don’t develop equally. I recommend mapping out your key growth areas for the next 6-12 months and then figure out who you need to include to help you level up in those ways. Some of your members could include:
- Social media growth expert
- Copywriting/marketing experts
- Therapist
- 8 & 9 figure hospitality professionals
- Sales experts
Lastly, reach out. After you have your dream members picked, it’s time to reach out. The most important thing to keep in mind is to communicate in a way that respects the other person’s time and energy. Not everyone you reach out to will be interested in connecting, and that’s okay! If they don’t want to connect, it just means they weren’t the right fit. Stay persistent in your pursuit and your spots will be filled with the exact people you want.
One final thought…
Understand your members must be dynamic. Your needs and expertise in certain areas will change. As you recognize that, you must also swap out your members who are more fitting with your life situation.
There you have it! The personal advisors board system! I hope you found that helpful. If you don’t already have your own board, I encourage you to set aside some this week to build it out. Once you do, email me at danielzolinski@smarterthought.com. I would love to hear from you. Let’s win together!
