Accountability and reporting your numbers

In a recent visit to a physio, I was given a bunch of exercises and stretches intended to help turn back the clock on a tired and over-worked body, that creeks and cracks almost all the time. On returning for the follow up, I fronted up and said I had done the exercises for the first few days and then missed a day, did a day and missed 2 days. It was explained to me that being 60% in, was about as effective as being 0% in and I had not progressed. The solution for my lack of discipline and commitment, was to do the stretches and exercises with someone else – in my case my 12 years old son who relished the chance to be my personal RSM and kick me into shape.

It is worth mentioning at this point that he used “dirty” tactics and threw in emotional guilt whenever I started to slip away from the plan. “Dad, I want you to play with me not say things hurt too much!”

So now let’s bring this back to our businesses. When I was Chairman of a group of companies, I had 2 Boards of Directors, A shareholder, a De facto Director/Trusted Advisor and a Mentor. All of whom I held to account or they held me to account. Roll forward to my own business and all of a sudden, I am back to no other Directors/Board Members or people shouldering the burden – It is why I have invested in my own business coach, even though I am a business coach myself. He holds me to account, supports me sometimes and challenges me to be the best version of myself I can be – EVERYDAY! So the question is can you relate to this?

We all know that when we set objective and clear goals, measure our progress, report the numbers and choose results over excuses, we achieve more.

So what are your options if you see the benefit in Board Meetings but don’t have a board; I find value in surrounding yourself with others who can act as a sounding board but don’t know who to ask (I certainly don’t want to admit I need support – that’s a sign of weakness, Right?); reporting business performance makes sense, but no one holds you to account!

Thankfully there are various options. If you are a large enough business, you can get a Non-Executive or Advisory Board – You should expect to pay in the region of £1000 per day per NED for this for a day/month input. You could join a peer to peer group, thus surrounding yourself with other business owners and hold each other to account. – It is however challenging building your own group and the knowledge is only as good as that gleaned from the other members. Again the leading offerings may cost around £1000 per month. Or you could look at joining a pre organised Board Group. The Board group combines weekly peer to peer sessions, lots of education and a monthly board meeting made up of other businesses, quarterly planning and annual events – All facilitated by a qualified professional and for less than the above price.

Whatever you choose – the benefits are unquestioned, the results significantly better and the support makes running a business so much easier.

If you have an accountant, they should be your first stop for business advice. If you don’t have an accountant or they can’t help, BuBul has a wide range of experts available. For more advice, contact our expert* Ron on LinkedIn.

*We’ve picked experts we know and trust who are good at what they do. All of them will give you at least an extra 30 minutes free advice if you contact them and would then charge their normal prices. They don’t pay to be on BuBul and don’t give us any money from anything they earn as an expert.