The difference could be hindering your long-term company value creation.
In running various companies in my career, I saw my advisors fell within two camps. There were those that were great tactical advisors and those that were great strategic advisors. The difference being that the tactical advisors will stand ready to answer the questions you think to ask. The strategic advisors on the other hand will not just answer your questions, but they will add great value by knowing questions to ask you that will provide new insights and new paradigms to offer you a new way to look at business issues and opportunities. There is certainly a place for both types of advisors. Sometimes you just have a quick question on a more tactical related matter and tactical advisors can provide quick guidance. But how often does your advisor make you realize that the matter you're addressing is more strategic than perhaps you're thinking and there could be future impact from the decision on your long-term company value? Or how often do your advisors proactively raise valuable discussions points with you that will help you look out longer term? This is where the strategic advisors are worth their weight in gold. You don't want to spend years building your business only to find one day you didn't put all the needed puzzle pieces in place that will excite a future investor or acquirer. Doing so takes years and having access to advisors that have succeeded at doing such value building before can greatly increase the likelihood that you will be euphoric at time of exit.
Start by asking yourself today, are my advisors proactively helping me on my value building journey? If yes, well done, you have built a good base of advisors. But if the answer is no, then don't lose more time and surround yourself with those that have been down this company value building road before. To read the full article to help you think through how to optimize your advisors, (click here)
