Boards for Family Businesses

Friday, everyone. Wow, wow, wow. I wish it could just be in this app, man, causing us chaos. Elon Musk, please do this for me. Add Twitter into Restream. I would really appreciate that. What are we talking about today? Today we're talking about family businesses and boards. How fun, right? I find this really funny because our family business has our board meeting next week. So this week has been all like the board prep chaos, which is fun for everybody. Family businesses and boards start now. For some reason, it always starts on mute. No, I don't want to invite people. Okay. Twitter is there now. Great. So how was everyone's week? Firstly on a Friday, we do check ins. How was the week? Did things go well? Did things go badly? I think, I think you can see my energy is so much better than last Friday. Last Friday I was having a rough week. This Friday, much better. I got a lot done this week. Yay for me. But you have to always assess. So what worked, what didn't work, what moved off the to do list, what was added, who was a great. The person you're grateful for this week. Send them a message on a Friday. That's a nice thing to do. Sometimes I do that. I read that somewhere. You can't be anxious and you can't be upset if you're being grateful. So you can wake up in the morning and send someone a message. Thank you for helping me with this project or thank you for doing that. Thank you for saying this. It adds something to their day and to yours. So let's challenge ourselves this Friday, let's all send a thank you message to someone who did something for you this week, who pushed you, who encouraged you, who delivered something on time, who introduced you to a new concept, who was there for you, who was kind, who gave you a hug or a smile, paid for your lunch. There's always someone to be grateful for. Send a message to someone, thank you for doing this for me this week. Make their day, make their week and feel the gratitude in your heart. That is a wonderful thing to add into your reflections. So measure, measure, measure. See what you're doing. And it's also the end of the month. Oh my gosh, it came so fast. You know, I hate it when the beginning of the month is Sunday because I like to do my end of the month reflections on a Sunday. But I want it to be like the 30th. I wish months were nice and tidy that way. Please have to that on Saturday. How did the month go? What is making noise on Twitter? I don't Know what that is? Think about it. What were your goals at the beginning of the month? What were your priorities this month? Did you actually do them? Did you tackle them? Did you face them? Did you not do them at all? Did you have an obstacle you overcame? There are things to do. This is why people journal, so that you track this stuff. And then with time, you'll see how you change. This month I've been in so much pain physically. Oh, my God. Learning this exercise thing has been really tricky for me, but I'm struggling. I'm trying. I posted some pictures on my Instagram this week and people laughed at me. Me complaining about being sore from the gym. But it was something that I prioritized at the beginning of this month. And I feel like I had slacked a bit last month. I need to put in more effort. I need to put in more time. I need to see why my system wasn't working. So this month I changed things. You keep adjusting. You keep experimenting till you find something that works. I really like the yoga class. I found that's working. Jim, we're still suffering. I'll get there. But you have to find what works. So adjust the things in your life. Measure the things, see what is working, what is not working. I promise it's the first step and it's very helpful. And then cost you anything. Just the moments of your memory and time. It's good to sit and write these things down. I would recommend that. But if you don't have time, just think about it while you're sitting in traffic. So now, since Monday, what did I achieve? What went well? Now the whole of April. Can you believe April is over? We're getting to like the middle of the year. Where is the year going? My gosh. So anyway, do your reflections. See how your life is moving? This is how you make progress on your goals. Onto boards for family businesses. That's what we're talking about. Ah, it's such an interesting area. So we've been getting a lot of questions about this. It's been amusing to me. Yes, family businesses need boards. I strongly recommend that. I understand my family business is quite large now, but even when it was smaller, it's not that we had formal boards. We had boards when I was. I think I've been sitting in family board meetings since I was 17, 16, 17. So it's been many years. It's not been the most consistent. There's been a lot of in, out. Sometimes we do it, sometimes it's a month late. You know, we're Still Africans. But it's important and I tell you why, because you need that advisory system. Boards are like a mentor for a business. So even a family business is still a business. And I think more so than regular businesses, family businesses tend to be dominated by the family member who started the business. And it's easy to be so caught up in your own business that you don't hear different perspectives or opinions. I remember I got to a point with Moussa where I was fed up of people's feedback. I was just like, you know what? At this point, I know what I'm doing with my own company and everyone needs to stop telling me, have you tried this? Have you done this? Why don't you add this, put this there, have you tried this food or put that, or add this part to the car to make it bigger or make it green or make it this. I'm just like, enough. I just want to run the company how I want to run the company. Me and my co founder, you know, so I think it's easy to get that way. And with a family business, especially one that started by someone and then it's built on for many years, they get to used to being in control and in charge and like making all the decisions. And no human being is perfect. You can't have all the views, all the perspectives and know all the information at all times. Of course you try, you do your best, but it's always good to have other people's opinions who you respect, who you will listen to, who are informed. And that's why it's important. And on a family business, you need outside people. You can't only listen to the family members because there's family dynamics at play. Of course you're not going to go and disagree with your family member there in the board meeting when you're going to need them for something else later. You know what I mean? If you have a company meeting and you know you're going to need to get a loan from your cousin there now are you going to disagree with him in front of everyone? Nope. There's always a hierarchy, there's always a system. This one is older than that one. You can't disrespect them. You can't say this in the meeting. You can't say that. You can't. It's so hard to navigate family dynamics on its own. Everyone's family has family dynamics. I only know my own family's dynamics, but I've seen other people's dynamics and I've never seen a Family that doesn't have ups, downs, left, right, arguments, disagreements, different opinions. And they all have a system. They all have a hierarchy. They all have a. This is how we apologize to each other. This is how we interact. This is how we fight. This is how we have fun. So now when you take those dynamics and add the extra layer of business, which has its own dynamics on its own, it's a lot to deal with and it's a lot to navigate through. So I kind of see it like your leaders have to have a compass, they have to have a vision, they have to know where they're going, but they can't see everything. They don't see a storm coming sometimes, or they don't want to see it, or they're so stressed about a particular issue in operations, or they have their own family drama that's going on, or they're so convinced on one idea, they don't want to let go of it, even though the market is not agreeing. We've all seen situations like that. That's why it helps to have external people who will call you out, who will, who will advise you, who will guide you, who will say, you know what? Have you tried this? Even when you don't want to hear it, there are people who will introduce you to their network or give you support in a different way, or notice something you hadn't noticed. When you work in a business and your family members, you have so many other things at play at all times. You might miss this thing in finance, you might forget that there's this opportunity. You might miss a meeting here or a deal there, or not get this contract. But your board members are, are like a safety net. They are checking on you. They are asking you these questions. They are making you think, they're making you analyze and assess. Are we doing the right thing? Is this the way to go? What are the options that we have? What is the legal way to do this? Because practically we'd rather do this. But does it make sense? Are we allowed to do that? Who do we consult? You can have internal staff, you can have internal team members. I'm not saying all family businesses are run only by family, but when you have a board, there are people with authority in your family business who are not family members. And I think that's where the magic is. And that's the difference with boards with other companies, boards for corporates, there's financial and there's legal responsibilities. The board is liable for everything that the company does. Proper boards, not advisory boards like directors. And that's a different dynamic. If it's a family business and you don't want other people legally tied to your business, it's also hard for people to be legally tied to a family business like to agree to that. But you still should have an advisory board of people that you respect, people that you will listen to, and people that come from a diverse background that are going to give you different opinions from you. You don't need yes men around you. The more successful you become, the harder it is to find people who will disagree with you and people who will tell you the truth. You know the story of the emperor's new clothes, the emperor who went naked and everyone just had to clap and smile because no one wants the king to be upset. You don't want to be in that situation where everyone is laughing at you, but they are clapping and smiling to your face. These are your stuff. These are the people around you, your suppliers, your stakeholders. Man is paying us. Who are we to disagree with him? That is the problem. The more successful you become, it will be harder to find people who tell you the truth, people who are honest with you, who hold you accountable. Until you last board meeting, you told us this is going to happen. Now you've taken us in another direction. What's going on here? Where is the logic? What is happening? Where are the funds that were here that are now missing? You've diverted them. You had a wedding, you built a house. What happened? You need to have people who hold you to that. And yeah, it's uncomfortable. No one wants another boss. You've built your family business. You're finally making money, and now this annoying girl on Facebook is telling you that you need a boss. So it's not so much about having a boss, but it's about that figure in your life. No one is too big to have a mentor. There is always someone ahead of you. There's always someone doing more than you, who you can learn from. No matter how successful you are, you can always learn. You can always do more. You can always push harder. Isn't that what you want? Isn't that the excellence you strive for? I do. As uncomfortable as it might be, I don't like to be told I'm wrong. I don't like to have someone giving me orders and instructions and telling me why and where. And this. It's not fun. I'm not saying it's fun, but I know it's useful. I know it's helpful. I know it makes me better. It makes my team better. It makes our company better. So I want it. Push me, tell me, call me out, say, where is this? Why hasn't this happened? One of my friends, they sent me a text. This is your first accountability for keeping time. Today, my girl, I'm still at work, relax. But I'm always late and she's calling me out on it today. I should not be late. And I appreciate that. You have to have people who hold you accountable, people who push you to be bitter. We all have a lot of potential living in us, and it's hard to always live up to that potential on your own steam, you know, on your own willpower. The day is long, problems are many. You also get tired. Sometimes you have all this energy, sometimes you don't. Sometimes you forget, sometimes you're stressed. Like, I understand, but that's why it helps have a support system. The board is on your side. They are part of your team. They want your company to succeed. That's what they're there for, to push you to do better, to make sure your customers are happy, your staff are happy, your suppliers are happy. Let's do this. Everyone wants you to move, Everyone wants you to succeed. Everyone is now a marketing person for you. I work with this company. They're so great. I have dealt with that company before. They are excellent. You should definitely use them. There is so much value in having an advisory board, in having a proper executive board, if that's what you want, if that's where your business is at. And also these governance things help with paperwork when it comes to things like getting loans, getting grants, when you're applying for awards or you're nominated for something or bids and contracts. It looks good when you have proper governance in place because it's. It shows credibility, it shows you're trustworthy. Even if you have a small family business. We have these two shops in this area and this is what we do. But we have an advisory board. And on our board, these are some of the people. Oh, wow. These people vouch for them, they back them up, they trust them, they want them to succeed. Means I can count on these guys. Because if someone has never heard of you, maybe they've heard of your board member and they trust that person. Human beings like to know people that we know. That's how you build trust and relations. When someone is recommended to you, they're ahead of the person who just dropped off their CV or the person who just dropped off of their company profile. If someone says, oh, I've used this company before, they have the best mangoes. These guys are the Best cleaning services. Those are the ones you're going to try, not the ones you googled and said, hey, I might as well just give it a shot. Who knows? It will be good, it will be bad. So there are very many advantages to having boards. And I know it's a strange concept sometimes, but think of it like a mentor. It's just a group of mentors that help your company, that support your company and that want to see your company support succeed. And that's what the business is about at the end of the day. So I really recommend that. There's always room for improvement. Oh, my favorite room for improvement story this week. Let me tell it to you. So I was reading, and apparently after every game, Michael Jordan's coach would come up to him and say, five, six, or seven. And he'd always answer with five, six, or seven. And I was like, what is the five, six, or seven? What does that mean? Every game, whether they win, whether they lose, whether he's upset, whether he's happy, whether he's with his family, they're celebrating, or he's upset and he's going home, five, six, or seven. And what was he asking him? What time will I see you in the gym tomorrow? 5, 6, or 7. There was no option of nah, or it's Sunday or I'm tired or I'm upset, we lost five, six, or seven. What time will I see you tomorrow? A whole Michael Jordan, Yo. A whole Michael Jordan. Every day, five, six, or seven. Those horrible hours he was in the gym, he was getting better and that's the reason he's Michael Jordan and he has the most records and everyone respects him and he has all this money and he did the best that he could because he saw that potential in himself. But he was always being pushed. He was pushing himself and had his coach was his accountability buddy who was asking him, 5am, 6am or 7am what time will I see you tomorrow? I don't care if you made 100 baskets today, you have to be in the gym tomorrow because you can do better. You can push yourself harder. You can do more. Yeah, I know I can be annoying like those military guys who shout at you on Instagram. But hey, I thought it was inspirational. If Michael Jordan stays in the gym, five, six, or seven, really, who are we to say? We don't want advice, we don't want feedback, we don't want guidance, we don't want accountability. It won't be me. It won't be me. And I hope it won't be you. Because there's so much potential. Release it, let it out there, get it done. Because you can do it. Just takes a lot of pushing. Let me look at some of the questions. Where are they? Where are they? And I don't see them. Oh, sorry, I opened the wrong one. Questions. How many board of directors should someone hire for a startup company? Kindly advise. Okay, so with board members, what is key is that you have an odd number because you don't want them to have a stalemate. Like if you have to vote on something. So I know typically it's like five or seven or nine moves like that. If you still have a startup and it's small, then what you want to do is have fewer. So I would say have one to begin with and then three, and then as you grow five, because it's also a lot to manage. People's schedules, information, everything. Maybe start with three so that you get three different opinions. If you don't have a board, maybe go and have three mentors who understand your business and can advise you on the business. And you start by having coffee with each of them like once a month. Then after three, four months, you'd be like, how about we meet as a group, Me, the founder of the business, and the three of you together, and I can explain to you what has happened in the last quarter, can give you some information, and you can give me your responses, your ideas, your feedback, what you think we're doing well, you think we're doing wrong, and accountability. These are my targets, these are my goals. This is the vision for the next three months. And then we meet again in those three months. So you want to start small. Don't wake up one day and say, okay, now we have seven directors and we're in the deep end. And now we have to like do all the legal stuff and be totally accountable to them. So that's how I would suggest to do it. Go one by one, start with three in a group and maybe meet them quarterly is my advice for you. Okay, this question from this morning. What is the difference between directors and board members? Okay, I kind of answered this last week, I think. Oh, not. I think, I'm sorry. I believe legally they are non executive directors and they're executive directors. So there's advisory boards and then there's executive boards that like, are legally tied to the company. So in all types of businesses, the non execs are the ones who don't work in the business. So like, these are the external people I'm talking about. The executive ones are like the CEO, the cfo, the company secretary, they work every day in the company, but they come to the board and then they present everything and they want to answer all the questions and that the board members are asking them. An advisory board has no legal attachment to a company, so they are just there to give you guidance. But if something goes wrong, none of them are going to jail. A real board, they have those kinds of problems. If something goes wrong, the board members are responsible because board members have fiduciary duties and legal responsibilities. Like when you appoint non executive and executive directors, they have to sign a contract like yes, I agree to be on this board because like if something goes wrong, it was your decision. You are the ones who made the decision, gave the CEO the information and the CEO now made that happen in the company. On one of my boards, I'm in the government board and one of my board members joked, these are the discussions that will get us in parliament. And I was like what? He's like, yeah, as members of a government board, but we are non executive directors. If something goes wrong in this company we are liable. So we would have to go to parliament and answer to anything that we did wrong or mismanaged or whatever. And I was like, oh my God, I didn't know that when I agreed. Not that we're mismanaging things, but that was a new one for me. But that happens even like private companies. So if something goes wrong, the board like is in trouble. I don't think many board members go to jail but, but they are like the ones that are answerable to these things, you know, because when you have a proper board, essentially they're like the CEOs advisors and guidance and like also the board has a lot of power. Like I always use Steve Jobs as an example. I think that's the most famous time. CEO was fired from his own company. Like he founded the company but he was fired by the board. Like they have that power to do that. So even with your own businesses, I think at the beginning you don't want the board members to be able to kick you out of your company. Yeah, sometimes people mismanage things. But I think at that level, by the time Apple, by the time it got kicked out, they had thousands of employees. You can't have one person's ego making poor decisions that affect thousands of lives, you know. So at that stage, fine, maybe if you're your family business, you don't want to give your board members that much power. You know, at the beginning, as you grow one day when You're a corporation with thousands of staff, then they should have the power to kick you out. Because like I was saying, the challenge with family boards is with family businesses is the founders and the control and the way that you get attached to your company and getting. You get used to doing things your own way. And unfortunately, when you do things that way, your own bad habits are compounded. When someone gets to run free without any kind of accountability, parameters, requirements, which a lot of entrepreneurs do, it's up to their own self discipline, what time they get up, what time they go to work, who they deal with, what they do. They get to make these decisions without company policies, without any kind of framework, without any kind of not consequences. But basically most entrepreneurs get to do what the hell they want to do. I want to deal with this person, I don't want to pay this one's tax, I'm going to agree to pay that one on this day and this one on the other day. I'm going to take three weeks of vacation if I want. I'm going to switch off my phone now. Like, entrepreneurs get to live how they want to live. You're not like an employee who assigned a contract and has to show up at work at 9am and have things and deliver in certain ways. So the challenge is the busier you get, the bigger your business gets. Those bad habits everyone has, everyone has good.