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Growth and direction · peer advisory council

Major investments and decisions

“We’re about to sign a lease that doubles our space.”

What it often sounds like at the table

Some decisions carry enough weight that they shouldn’t be made in isolation. Buying a building, taking on debt, hiring a key executive, acquiring a company, entering a new market: decisions this size deserve more than a quick gut check. Bring it to the room before you sign.

You might recognize this if…

  • The decision is hard to reverse.
  • It ties up a meaningful share of your cash or credit.
  • Someone else is putting time pressure on you.
  • You’ve talked yourself into it more than you’ve tested it.

Questions the room might ask you

  1. What are you assuming about revenue to make this work?
  2. What’s your plan if those assumptions are off by 20 percent?
  3. Which alternatives did you rule out, and why?
  4. Who at the table has made a decision like this, and what did they learn?
How the council works on it

What happens when you bring major investments and decisions to the room.

  1. You put it on the table

    You lay out the situation in your own words, with the numbers and history that matter. Ten or so owners give it their full attention.

  2. Questions before advice

    The room asks questions like the ones above until everyone, including you, understands the real issue. Often that’s where the breakthrough happens.

  3. Experience, not opinions

    Owners who have faced something similar share what they did and what they would do differently. No competitors sit at the table, so nobody holds back.

  4. You make the call

    The group doesn’t run your company. You decide what to do, with a lot more perspective than you walked in with.

  5. Say it out loud

    You name your next step before you leave. Next month, the room asks how it went.

What you leave with

Sharper questions for your banker, your CPA and yourself, and a decision you can stand behind.

Bring this to the table Why it matters: Better decisions with fewer blind spots

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Prefer to work on major investments and decisions privately instead of in a group? I also do this one-on-one (opens JeffreyRands.com in a new tab).