What helps a founder move their business from where it is today to where they want it to be?
In a recent Advisor Insights conversation with Louise Broekman, founding director of the Advisory Board Centre, Mike Logan shared how an advisory board can help founders think through that journey. Drawing on his own experience as a founder and his work chairing advisory boards, Mike discussed the mindset, structure, and conversations that can help a growing business make progress.
Start with a willingness to learn
For Mike, an advisory board can only add value when a founder is open to considering different perspectives. He describes this as a learning mindset: being willing to examine an existing opinion, consider other ways forward, and keep looking for ways to improve.
That openness matters because an advisory board is there to contribute perspective and challenge thinking. If a founder has already decided that no advice can change their view, the board risks becoming “window dressing” rather than a useful part of the business.
Get clear on where you are going and why
Before deciding how to move forward, Mike encourages founders to explore three questions: Where are we now? Where do we want to be? Why do we want to get there?
The “why” can be personal as well as commercial. It might involve creating security for a family, building a business that can support a particular lifestyle, or achieving a long-held ambition. Making that motivation clear can help founders and other decision-makers understand what they are working towards.
For businesses with more than one founder or family member involved, agreeing on that purpose can take careful discussion. Different people may have different ideas about what success looks like. Making those differences visible is a useful step towards finding a shared direction.
Use outside perspectives to test the plan
A founder may have a promising idea, but a strategic decision also brings assumptions, risks, and possible consequences to examine. Mike described using questions to help leaders consider how an idea might succeed, what could go wrong, and what they may have overlooked.
That process is one way an advisory board can help a founder think beyond their own perspective. The goal is not simply to generate more ideas. It is to strengthen the thinking behind a decision before the business commits a course of action.
Add structure as the business grows
Founders often move quickly and are comfortable working informally. As a business grows, however, its teams, decisions, and responsibilities may need a clearer structure.
Mike described the chair’s role in helping a founder prepare productive board discussions. Instead of bringing a broad idea to the meeting, the founder can present a more developed proposal: what they are considering, why it may work, the opportunities and risks, and how they might proceed.
Preparing this way helps the board engage with the real decision and gives the founder a stronger sense of ownership over the plan.
Build engagement and accountability
Mike also spoke about how a chair’s role can change over time, from teaching to coaching to mentoring, as the business leader develops. The aim is to help the founder build the capability to lead and make decisions, not to take ownership away from them.
When leaders help shape their plans, they are more likely to feel responsible for following through. An advisory board can then provide a regular opportunity to review progress, discuss what has changed, and agree on the next steps.
Choose the right kind of support
An advisory board is different from a governance board. It can provide structured advice and constructive challenge without taking on the same formal governance role. For founders who want outside perspective and accountability while retaining leadership of their business, that distinction is worth understanding.
An advisory board is not necessarily a permanent arrangement. As a business changes, its needs may change too. The right support depends on the founder’s goals, the stage of the business, and the questions they need help answering.
Mike’s conversation is a reminder that progress often starts with better questions: What are we trying to achieve? Why does it matter? What might we be missing? And who can help us think it through?
Read the Advisory Board Centre article and watch the full conversation on YouTube.