Establish a Community Advisory Board

In every city, in every town, in every state, there are people who make things happen. As a business leader you should have a relationship with those people.

Churches, civic organizations, civil rights groups, parent councils, fraternities, professional organizations, small businesses, political groups and many others make up the civil society that keeps our system free and prosperous.

Leaders of these organizations and community groups can be immensely valuable to a business leader. They can provide you with more informed opinions and insights into your business than most well-orchestrated focus groups or research surveys. They can tell you how your company is perceived in the community. In short, they can provide the kind of rich feedback and information that a concerned business leader needs to receive on a regular basis

Seize the opportunity to tap into this resource by establishing a community advisory board. Find the leaders of the community and meet regularly to discuss matters of concern to them and to you. Don’t limit your discussions to company matters. There just might be something about your industry or region that you discover as a result of the interactions with the group.

(c) Adonis E. Hoffman, 2008.