Breakthrough Developments

Harry Gilligan doesn’t like the word roundtable, and doesn’t want to see it used to describe a unique concept he’s created with business partner Ray Smalley called the “breakthrough executive board.” Comprised of eight business owners and managers recruited by the two consultants, the executive boards provide a forum for not merely sharing war stories and discussing common issues — but for providing the kind of support and accountability needed to take a company to the next level.

Bill Grinnell says it’s a little like group therapy for business owners.

That was his colorful description for something called the “Breakthrough Executive Board,” the creation of two area business consultants, Harry Gilligan and Ray Smalley, who decided to partner in a somewhat unique business venture two years ago. The executive board is a value-added product, one of many provided by Springfield-based Breakthrough Business Advisors, said Gilligan, and thoughtfully designed to give business owners who don’t have boards of directors a forum in which they discuss common problems and issues and simply bounce ideas off the wall.

During one of the monthly sessions, Grinnell, principal and co-founder of the Webber & Grinnell Insurance Agency in Northampton, sought out some advice on marketing, specifically ways to make his agency stand out among many businesses delivering mostly similar messages and products. “No one had any magic pills,” said Grinnell, “but there was a lot of good feedback — people gave me some things to think about.”

That’s just one of the primary goals of the executive boards, which have been in session for roughly two years now, said Smalley, who added quickly that food for thought is just part of the equation. Results are the real goal of this program, which puts up to eight owners or managers of small to mid-sized business owners in a room for four hours each month.

And they’re achieved because the panels act just as a board of directors would, with respect to follow-up and accountability, said Smalley, adding that they go far beyond the typical business roundtable.

“Everyone learns from one another,” he said, noting that subject matter ranges from compensation policies to valuing a specific business to succession planning. “We’ve structured this process so that members can think things through, and determine where they want to take their business and how to get there.”

Members for the boards are recruited, said Gilligan, from groups attending monthly half-day briefings on business-related topics sponsored by TD Banknorth and staged in the auditorium in its downtown Springfield headquarters. Those invited to join are told to bring with them a commitment to get to that proverbial next level, a willingness to listen to others and share ideas, and, perhaps most importantly, an open mind.

In this issue, BusinessWest looks at how these boards, and the environment they create, have helped Gilligan and Smalley grow their venture, while providing many different kinds of value to all those gathered around the table.

Meeting of the Minds

Andy Myers knows his software.

Well, he knows his broadcast industry software. He started and grew a venture called Myers Information Systems, now based in Northampton, that produces ProTrack, versions of which are used by used by television and radio stations for traffic, program scheduling, content management, and sales.

What Myers didn’t know, and what he asked those gathered at an executive board meeting several months ago, was what software package would help him more effectively manage his own business. He got some good feedback from those in attendance, commissioned Smalley to do hard research and make a recommendation, and today is the proud owner of a program that he says is helping his operation run more smoothly and cost-effectively.

There are many similar stories about how the executive board sessions, facilitated by Gilligan and Smalley and often followed up with direct consulting services from them, have been able to help business owners and managers move their ventures forward and avoid costly mistakes by providing a forum conducive to sharing common problems and crafting solutions.

How the boards came into existence is a story of imagination and forward thinking on the part of two consultants who took two completely paths to arrive at the same place.

Smalley took what would be considered a fairly conventional route to a second career as a business consultant. He worked as a general manager for several different technology-related businesses in the Toronto area, experienced a falling out at his last stop, took some time off, handled a few consulting assignments, and then decided he liked working for himself and would make consulting a full-time venture.

As for Gilligan, well, his was certainly the road less traveled.

After earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Communications, he went into sports broadcasting and later sales in the Midwest. He went on to work in college sports as an assistant athletic director, before coming to Springfield in 1985 to start a women’s professional basketball team.

His Springfield Fame — and the U.S. Basketball League of which it was a part — failed to capture the imagination of fans over its first two seasons and then folded. Gilligan decided to stay in the Pioneer Valley and, eventually, started day seminars and training programs on such subjects as communications, time management, and stress reduction. He eventually went into more formal business consulting work and crossed paths with Smalley, who had relocated to the Pioneer Valley, in early 2005.

The two identified a niche within the local market — specifically a need for consulting services to help small-business owners do what they do better — and eventually teamed up to create Breakthrough Business Advisers. That’s a name chosen to highlight what the two partners believe they can help business owners do — break through to the next level of success and profitability.

While this service/promise is certainly not unique among business consultants, whose ranks are growing as Baby Boomers reach retirement age, one of their methods for trying to deliver it — the executive board — would be worthy of that adjective.

Talking the Talk

A “safe haven” is how Gilligan chose to describe the boards. Elaborating, he said, they offer a comfortable place for business owners and executives to discuss problems and issues among peers.

Such a comfort zone generally doesn’t exist in the workplace itself, he said, noting that managers usually feel uncomfortable talking with people within their own organizations about their concerns, goals, and ambitions, and there are few networking or business groups that can offer the same combination of privacy, business know-how, and climate for problem-solving.

“Most business owners don’t have someone to report to,” said Gilligan, noting, again, that many ventures are too small to have a formal board of directors. “This structure provides that someone.”

A look at the current list of executive board members reveals a high level of diversity, said Smalley, noting that there is a mix of manufacturers, service companies, and even a technology venture — Myers’. Meanwhile, membership, while stable, also changes over the course of time as some business owners move on, usually after a year or more of participation, and others join.

This diversity and state of flux are just two of the benefits the boards bring to the table, he said, also listing camaraderie, the ability to share best practices, and that aforementioned level of accountability that is, or should be, part and parcel to an actual board of directors.

Grinnell, who spent more than a year on an executive board before yielding his seat, recalls discussions and problem-solving efforts on topics ranging from finances to handling problem employees; from marketing to long-range planning.

“There were a lot of discussions on financial reporting, which were eye-opening for many of the members,” he said. “There was also a lot of talk about personality fits, and employees giving owners and managers a hard time. We’d try to get to the root of why there were problems and then develop strategies to solve those problems.”

Sessions are broken down into several different components. Each one starts with a quick review of topics to be discussed that day, and move on to something called the ‘hot topic,’ chosen to help members benefit from a strategic review of their company.

Each meeting also features a ‘spotlight company,’ a member who gives a detailed presentation about an issue or opportunity facing their business. Afterward, members provide feedback and advice from their own experience. There is then a lengthy ‘sounding board,’ during which members have the opportunity to put issues on the table and get immediate feedback from others in attendance.

Myers has been a board member for nearly two years now. He says he’s part of what he called the “second wave” of participants, and noted that a third is gradually assuming more of the seats in the room. Like Grinnell, he said it’s helpful to hear from others who are in the same boat and realize that he is not alone in facing what are often stern challenges to continued growth.

“It’s been a very interesting process,” he said. “We act essentially as each other’s board members. We discuss what our goals are and, more importantly, how we’ve made progress toward meeting those goals from session to session.”

Indeed, while issues are discussed, the board meetings are goal-oriented, he continued, with issues brought up and debated in the context of how they impact efforts to meet or exceed stated goals.

In Closing …

Smalley told BusinessWest that, for many small business owners, the word consultant might as well have four letters in it.

That’s because they’ve had a bad experience with one or more, meaning, usually, that they didn’t get what they would consider full value for the money spent, and didn’t get a specific problem or issue resolved.

The executive board was created to provide an additional option, or that value-added that is often missing from the equation.

The sessions have certainly helped Smalley and Gilligan grow their business, but they have also helped members in a number of different ways by opening their minds to ideas and ways of doing business — and then, for lack of a better term, helping them to ‘get better.’

And that’s really what group therapy is all about.

George O’Brien can be reached at[email protected]