Are You Board Recommendable

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The Veblen Director Programme

Are you Board recommendable?
Most board seats go to insiders or those recommended by people the board trusts.

How can you become trusted and easy to recommend?

By doing this quick test you can see where you are and what you need to work on. We will give you a detailed action plan that has helped many people get paid board seats within 90 days!

There is a total score of 50 points available.

You really need at least a 35/50 before people will start recommending you. 40+ before they are happy to recommend you. Where do you currently score?

1 means you have a lot of work to do. 10 means you’re already a super star.

See how you get on and then we'll give you a targetted action plan for your development.
Connections: You are well known within the business & investing community, you are an active participant in discussions and free and helpful with sharing your knowledge and experiences. You are also globally minded and look to connect with people in your industry globally.

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Knowledge: You have done some basic investing in the public markets, can read a balance sheet, understand the fundamentals, can clearly articulate the difference between client and shareholder value. You can argue both sides of the investment case for all 3 elements of ESG (you know what ESG is!). On each topic you can hold a discussion but also know who to connect with to get further information to go deeper as required.

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Profile: Your Linkedin profile demonstrates clearly that you are board material. You are crystal clear on what value you bring. Your responsibilities are clearly highlighted, your recent posts are at least 50% related to board related topics. You have had interviews published in the media and podcasts published (both are clearly marked in your profiles AND you used this to talk about board topics, not just self indulge about yourself!). You have published your own thoughts on areas related to board topics.

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Value: You are a self starter and more than able to take on responsibility. You have created an advisory board for a small business, startup or non-profit. You have assisted in finding other candidates seats on that board. You are able to talk authentically about the challenges and opportunities of working as a board member rather than ‘in’ the business. You understand the strategic opportunities board members can bring that can change business from incremental to exponential.

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Leverage: You are well aware of what companies and boards need and are not afraid to work with your network to connect to investors, explore M&A and other opportunities. You have created some basic partnerships with different groups/organisations. You are clear on the value you offer, clearly see opportunities to collaborate and can always frame it in terms of value to the other party.

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Your Total Score is:
So how did you get on? Are you ready for a seat at the big table yet or still have some work to do?

On the following page you’ll see a breakdown of what you need to do based on your current score to get your points up and attract those board seats.

Add your name and email to get access to the results and to see what are the action steps you need to take to get your first board seat.

If you would like to speak to one of our team please add your phone number too and they will reach out to you about board opportunities.
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Your Score is {yourTotal}

1 - 30:

Synopsis: The good news is that whatever your starting point, if you’re willing to do the work you can be ‘Boardroom Recommendable’ within 12 months. Some of our clients have done it in as little as 3 months.

Plan:

First you need to understand that there are more than *300 Million* companies in the world and probably 99% of them don’t have any kind of board structure. That is a huge opportunity for you.

Remember, you’re not trying to get on the board of Apple or an S&P500 company (yet), you’re trying to get on the first rung of the ladder. Your first ever board seat.

People have lots of excuses why they think a company wouldn’t want them on a board. I’m too old, I’m too young, I’m the wrong gender, I don’t look like a board member. I’m in the wrong industry. I’m in the wrong part of the world.

But actually, to the right company, any one of these things might be the exact reason they want you. To understand how this works in more detail, checkout VeblenDirectors.com and the latest webinar at the bottom of the page. We explain why companies need you and then how to build up your skills in the 5 key areas so that they will pay top dollar to keep you.

Action plan for getting a board seat

Connections: Start getting deliberate about your connections. A significant number of people you are connecting and interacting with need to be in the business or investment space. You need to be engaging with them on topics that they are interested in.

Action: Find some people on Linkedin who have Director or Investor in their title. Go and like / comment on some of their posts.

Knowledge: Your job is not be an expert in all aspects of business, finance and board governance. You just need to have a surface level understanding of what is happening. If you haven’t already, open a stock trading account. Take $100 and invest in some small company shares. We’re not looking to make money, we’re looking to understand how the company operates.

Action: Open a brokerage account, find a company you’re interested in and try and read their last annual report. Based on that annual report, would you be interested in investing $50 in them? Why or Why not? What parts of the report don’t you understand?

Profile: Love it or loathe it, Linkedin is where the business world congregates and when they look at your profile do they see someone that would add value to their company? There are nearly a billion users on Linkedin and only 1% of those produce and share content. Look at the profiles of top company directors and see what you can replicate on your own profile.

Action: Go to https://www.linkedin.com/company/veblen-director-programme - each day Veblen produces content about board topics. If you share it, like it or comment on it, it will show your network you are interested in board topics.

Value: You want a board seat for your own reasons. But no one cares. The board will only hire you if they can see a way they can get value from you. They want a doer. Someone that will not only not be a drain on resources, but will proactively understand how to create value for them.

The best/easiest way to demonstrate you are this type of person is to show the board that you have done this already. One of the Veblen mantra’s is ‘Don’t apply for a board seat, create one’. You remember those 300 million companies? Go and offer to build an advisory board for them. For free. Yes, you’re still learning, you need to pay your dues.

Action: Who in your network owns a small business (can even be a one person startup). Don’t know anyone, find startup founders on Linkedin. You are offering them something for nothing.

Leverage: If is 100 times easier to get a board seat if you are already on a board seat. So the first part of leverage is understanding that everything you do is just a stepping stone, not the end destination. The second part of leverage is learning how to think exponentially instead of linearly. One of the quickest ways for you to see exponential results is to understand partnerships

Action: Check your inbox. As a special gift we are sending you a copy of the best selling book Progressive Partnerships. In it you will learn how to build networks and leverage them through partnerships. Don’t sleep on this!

If you’re serious about boosting your career and want to know how you could have a paid board seat within 12 months then there are 5 simple things left to do.
- Click here to get our clickable .pdf “Is Veblen Right for You?’
- Follow us on Linkedin to get great content daily
- Subscribe to us on YouTube to see interviews with Vebleners and Board members
- Make sure our emails are not going to spam
- Go to VeblenDirectors.com and watch the video at the bottom then book a call to talk to our team.
See you in the boardroom!

Your Score is: {yourTotal}

30-50:

Synopsis: Well done you’re almost there! But, if you keep doing what you’ve always done you may still be ‘almost there’ in 20 years time. If you’re already at 40+ points and not sitting on a board seat than it is only down to 2 possible things:

- You’re not fully understanding the game that is being played.
- You’re not connected to the right people.

Plan:

First you need to understand that there are more than *300 Million* companies in the world and probably 99% of them don’t have any kind of board structure. That is a huge opportunity for you.

Remember, you’re not trying to get on the board of Apple or an S&P500 company (yet), you’re trying to get on the first rung of the ladder. Your first ever board seat.

People have lots of excuses why they think a company wouldn’t want them on a board. I’m too old, I’m too young, I’m the wrong gender, I don’t look like a board member. I’m in the wrong industry. I’m in the wrong part of the world.

But actually, to the right company, any one of these things might be the exact reason they want you. To understand how this works in more detail, checkout VeblenDirectors.com and the latest webinar at the bottom of the page. We explain why companies need you and then how to build up your skills in the 5 key areas so that they will pay top dollar to keep you.

Action plan for getting a board seat

Connections: Start getting deliberate about your connections. A significant number of people you are connecting and interacting with need to be in the business or investment space. You need to be engaging with them on topics that they are interested in.

Action: Find some people on Linkedin who have Director or Investor in their title. Go and like / comment on some of their posts.

Knowledge: Your job is not be an expert in all aspects of business, finance and board governance. You just need to have a surface level understanding of what is happening. If you haven’t already, open a stock trading account. Take $100 and invest in some small company shares. We’re not looking to make money, we’re looking to understand how the company operates.

Action: Open a brokerage account, find a company you’re interested in and try and read their last annual report. Based on that annual report, would you be interested in investing $50 in them? Why or Why not? What parts of the report don’t you understand?

Profile: Love it or loathe it, Linkedin is where the business world congregates and when they look at your profile do they see someone that would add value to their company? There are nearly a billion users on Linkedin and only 1% of those produce and share content. Look at the profiles of top company directors and see what you can replicate on your own profile.

Action: Go to https://www.linkedin.com/company/veblen-director-programme - each day Veblen produces content about board topics. If you share it, like it or comment on it, it will show your network you are interested in board topics.

Value: You want a board seat for your own reasons. But no one cares. The board will only hire you if they can see a way they can get value from you. They want a doer. Someone that will not only not be a drain on resources, but will proactively understand how to create value for them.

The best/easiest way to demonstrate you are this type of person is to show the board that you have done this already. One of the Veblen mantra’s is ‘Don’t apply for a board seat, create one’. You remember those 300 million companies? Go and offer to build an advisory board for them. For free. Yes, you’re still learning, you need to pay your dues.

Action: Who in your network owns a small business (can even be a one person startup). Don’t know anyone, find startup founders on Linkedin. You are offering them something for nothing.

Leverage: If is 100 times easier to get a board seat if you are already on a board seat. So the first part of leverage is understanding that everything you do is just a stepping stone, not the end destination. The second part of leverage is learning how to think exponentially instead of linearly. One of the quickest ways for you to see exponential results is to understand partnerships

Action: Check your inbox. As a special gift we are sending you a copy of the best selling book Progressive Partnerships. In it you will learn how to build networks and leverage them through partnerships. Don’t sleep on this!

If you’re serious about boosting your career and want to know how you could have a paid board seat within 12 months then there are 5 simple things left to do.
- Click here to get our clickable .pdf “Is Veblen Right for You?’
- Follow us on Linkedin to get great content daily
- Subscribe to us on YouTube to see interviews with Vebleners and Board members
- Make sure our emails are not going to spam
- Go to VeblenDirectors.com and watch the video at the bottom then book a call to talk to our team.
See you in the boardroom!
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Are you Board recommendable?