This episode is brought to you by Warren Coughlin, CEO Coach and founder of JumpStart Coaching. Warren focuses exclusively on coaching CEOs running SMBs, and has been doing so for over 20 years. One of my biggest regrets across my 7 years as a CEO was not hiring a coach, and I want to prevent others from making the same mistake. For listeners of In The Trenches, working with Warren is effectively risk-free: If at the end of the first three months you're not happy with the direction of your business, he will give you your money back. On top of that, Warren is offering $3,000 off of his coaching program for listeners of In The Trenches. Just go to warrencoughlin.com/trenches to learn more.

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This episode is brought to you by Cayne Crossing. Cayne Crossing helps prospective SMB purchasers with all aspects of financial due diligence, including producing the Quality of Earnings report.  Unlike any other QofE provider that I’m aware of, Cayne Crossing also co-invests alongside their buyers, aligning their interests with yours in a way that I simply haven’t seen anywhere else. Cayne Crossing is offering a special discount to listeners of In The Trenches: Just go to caynecrossing.com, and scroll down to the “contact form” on their homepage. Enter the offer code “trenches”, and you will get a full $2,000 off of your QofE engagement with them.

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CEOs running newly public companies, those who have raised external equity for the first time, and those occupying the CEO seat for the first-time are often intimidated by the idea of reporting into a Board, and are uncertain of how to construct, manage, communicate with, and learn from them. This combination of uncertainty and inexperience often creates undue stress for CEOs, and can create situations in which they are more focused on impressing their Boards than they are on leaning on them for support, guidance, and mentorship.

Over many years as a CEO reporting directly into a Board (and now as an investor who sits on Boards and works directly with CEOs myself), I’ve come to learn a few things about how to construct, manage, communicate with, and learn from this critically important group of people.

This episode is my best attempt at sharing these lessons with you.