Do I Qualify?

Have you ever been at a family gathering, neighborhood party or social event and heard someone say about you: “Well, he (or she) owns his own business.” …… in a tone that implies business ownership fixes everything?

Have you laughed at their naivety, while at the same time been just a little bit proud of their envy?   Then you probably qualify for The Alternative Board-TAB®.

TAB Members are business Owners, Presidents, CEOs and Managing Partners who operate successful businesses.  They understand, however, that no one knows everything.  In TAB we say, “You don’t know what you don’t know.”

The average TAB Board has over 150 years of business experience.  That is a powerful tool to work on your issues.  Boards are comprised of peers- people who run companies similar to yours in size and complexity.

TAB is an exclusive membership organization dedicated to its members’ businesses and its members’ success.  In order to be considered for membership, you must – at a minimum -have these qualifications: 

• Whether you have the title of CEO, President, Managing Director, or Partner, etc., the title is not the key.  The key is that you must be the primary decision-maker in your organization with the authority to implement the ideas suggested by your TAB Board. 
• The prospective member must have enough life and business experience to benefit other board members.  TAB meeting are about give and take.  If the candidate is at a point in life or business where he cannot or is not yet able to contribute, he will not be considered for membership at the present moment.
• The prospective member must be willing to benefit from his board involvement.  If the prospective member has been in business for so long that a willingness to change is difficult or impossible for him, then he would not be considered for membership.
  If the initial review of the board is favorable – in order to increase the likelihood of a very good fit – before final acceptance the candidate must also agree to take a series of behavioral and motivation assessments.  The results of these assessments will be provided both to the prospective member and his board.

The local TAB Facilitator and local board members have “their antenna up” for prospective members who will – as stated above – both add value to the respective board and be receptive to accepting and acting on objective, unbiased and unvarnished counsel from the other board members and the TAB Facilitator.  

When a prospective board candidate has been identified for potential membership, the candidate has to first agree to a confidential, in-depth 1.5 to 2.0 hour interview about the state of his business, and his vision for it.  This information is summarized for the prospective board for its members’ review and preliminary sign-off.

Typically, the TAB candidate will be recommended for a board that the TAB Facilitator feels is the best match for the prospective member.  Factors that will be considered are revenues, employees, recent revenue, profit and FTE staffing level trends, forecasted projections of the preceding, type and complexity of business, historical business experience, etc.