Russian mining syndicate whose lunches they've been enjoying recently.

Not all of this is exaggerated. Within my direct experience I have seen non-executives absent themselves from difficult decisions, play politics with other peoples' money and generally act in no-one’s interest except their own.

Thank God they are not the only ones.

So while there are non-executives I would cheerfully follow on dark nights in the hope they would stray into an alley (you know who you are), there are also those whom I would ask for advice after an absence of years, in the expectation of wisdom bordering on the divine.

The problem is – and this is bizarre if you think about it – the majority of NEDs are in public companies where the role is more to regulate than to inspire. Correction – where the role is to regulate, who cares about inspiration?

But where we all love to be is amongst the wealth creators. The real unfulfilled need for non-executive input is in private, growing businesses where there is no time to reinvent the solutions that other people already know.

It’s repetition but it’s important: the best non-executives will tell you in minutes what you may never otherwise learn.

They’re advocates, confessors, guides, knowledgeable friends, wise uncles, investors and respected teachers with a gift for motivational bollocking. They’re backbones, firewalls and machine guns when you need them. They have seen it, done it and will give it to you.

Non-executive directors are the secret weapon that most businesses and partnerships can easily have but never consider. Propose them to your clients, right now.

And get one yourself. They are an unbelievably direct (and a downright bargain) route to enlightenment.

Tell me what you think at andy@andypraynor.com

And take a look at what's been said before by looking in the archive:

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© Andy Raynor 2013

	Andy Raynor - Beyond the Brief

	Andy Raynor's blog I’ve updated the site today to include two of my favourite jobs – motivational speaking and non-executive roles. Since public speaking is all about wearing loud shirts and shouting outrageous things to keep the audience upright, I thought I might tell you a bit about the serious business - and what you might get out of - appointing a non-executive director. *You all know the old joke about non-executives, don't you?* These silken creatures do not get a good press. They’re usually only mentioned when guilty of taking a shilling from the latest corporate disaster and failing to stop a landslide in the bank/institution/Russian mining syndicate whose lunches they've been enjoying recently. Not all of this is exaggerated. Within my direct experience I have seen non-executives absent themselves from difficult decisions, play politics with other peoples' money and generally act in no-one’s interest except their own. Thank God they are not the only ones. So while there are non-executives I would cheerfully follow on dark nights in the hope they would stray into an alley (you know who you are), there are also those whom I would ask for advice after an absence of years, in the expectation of wisdom bordering on the divine. The problem is – and this is bizarre if you think about it – the majority of NEDs are in public companies where the role is more to regulate than to inspire. Correction – where the role is to regulate, who cares about inspiration? But where we all love to be is amongst the wealth creators. The real unfulfilled need for non-executive input is in private, growing businesses where there is no time to reinvent the solutions that other people already know. It’s repetition but it’s important: the best non-executives will tell you in minutes what you may never otherwise learn. They’re advocates, confessors, guides, knowledgeable friends, wise uncles, investors and respected teachers with a gift for motivational bollocking. They’re backbones, firewalls and machine guns when you need them. They have seen it, done it and will give it to you. Non-executive directors are the secret weapon that most businesses and partnerships can easily have but never consider. Propose them to your clients, right now. And get one yourself. They are an unbelievably direct (and a downright bargain) route to enlightenment. Tell me what you think at andy@andypraynor.com And take a look at what's been said before by looking in the archive:
	Home \| Why? \| Me \| You \| Advisers \| Blog \| Links \| Contact	© Andy Raynor 2013