Musings on Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Saturday, June 26, 2004When Are Advisors Useful (Really)?
Turn to any entrepreneurial support organization (including Pioneer Entrepreneurs), and someone will point you toward a roster of advisors, consultants, resources, and other experts, all of whom are purportedly able to help you develop an organization that is robust in the face of rapid growth and constant change. A skeptic might wonder why successful growth companies are so rare when such expertise is advertised as being so abundant?
As a rule, entrepreneurs are pretty good at judging when and where to spend scarce dollars. Consequently, it is unlikely that an entire generation of entrepreneurs has been systematically duped by a consulting conspiracy. Entrepreneurs must, in fact, perceive that they are getting some value from consultants and other outside advisors. So under what circumstances might it actually make sense for a growing company to turn to advisors? To put a finer point on it, how and when can advisors add strategic value?
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