A "Personal" Board of Advisors

Saw this piece of advise in the NYTimes' Shifting Careers blog (it's worth a read...written by a former lawyer). Michael Melcher (another former lawyer I believe) and author of The Creative Lawyer (is there such a thing) is today's guest poster.

His take is career-focused, i.e., most people have several careers over their lifetime and you need various outside advisers to help in these transition periods. The full article discusses uses for your board and how to go about selecting its members.


A personal board of directors is simply a collection of people who know you, are interested in your well-being, and have useful points of view. You consult with them on a regular basis -– say once every six months. It’s unlikely that you will assemble your board members in person, but you do assemble their perspectives.

Can I say I think that being too independent is my biggest weakness. That American self-reliance thing isn't a strength. Bottom line, you can't do anything BIG by yourself...whether building a family, business, blog, ect.

I remember a 2005 interview with my favorite football coach, recently retired Washington Redskins Coach Joe Gibbs commenting on why he's been so successful. His answer: great people around him...I (he) was just one of these P.E. guys.

Lawyers are too often the opposite...we think we're the smartest person in the room instead of building a great team around us.