Annette Tabor, welcome to the
Advisory Board Insider Podcast.

I'm glad you're

here.

my gosh.

Tom, thank you so much for inviting me.

I'm so looking forward to.

Yes, it's, it's great to have you.

So the first question is where, what
are your geographic coordinates today?

Where are you located?

Well, I am a native of Florida
and I am located between St.

Petersburg and Clearwater in
a little town called Seminole,

right off the the beach area.

Nice.

Nice.

So, as, as you're sitting there
in uh, seminal Florida what's

your morning drink of choice?

When you start the day, what's your, your

Oh my goodness.

I have to, I have to have my coffee

and

so, so

coffee but

with, with coconut milk.

Creamer.

Coconut milk creamer.

Is there a special brand
of coffee and coconut

creamer.

just uh, vanilla.

I know, so I forget the name of it, but

it's, it comes in a carton and I just

love it because it's got less sugar in it.

And sugar, sugar is my downfall.

Right.

And I, I'm a hundred percent
on board with you there.

And coffee.

Are you snobby about coffee
or is it just drip coffee?

Do you

it's my Keurig, it's my Keurig
coffee and it's organic.

So I do use the organic.

And it's deep roast.

It's, it's a, it's, it's a deep

roast.

I like it.

I like it.

Hardy.

Yeah.

it.

All right.

So, before coffee, give me a
sense of how you start your day.

Like, when's the alarm go off?

What's your d what's the morning
look like before you have your first

Well, I am an early riser,

so I usually get up between five
30 and 6:00 AM every morning.

I stumble out.

I, the first thing I do is get my
coffee and then I have to feed my cats.

So while the coffee's brewing, I
start getting the two cats fed.

And then after I get my cup of coffee,
I go in and I start getting my face

on while I'm listening to my podcast.

Then I come into my office and
I'm usually in here by seven 30.

Roughly and I just, I start my day and
then I work till about four o'clock.

So

I try not to work too late into the
evening which is a, which is a challenge

for my colleagues and, and business
partners on the West Coast like yourself.

Yeah.

Right, right.

so you you've got your day unfolding,
you've got your coffee in hand.

And, and do the cats join you with that?

Like are the cats

generally with

I have to tell you a
little story about my cats.

I,

I got, I have two ballies cats, and

they're, they're absolutely beautiful.

They're about

$1,500 each.

The first one I got was a little lilac
named, uh, well, Jasmine all white

with a little bit of gray touches on
her, and she's very prissy and very

female and very, feminine, I would say.

She doesn't like to be petted a lot.

If you're a stranger, then enter jet.

Who is another ESE, but he is
Alyx and Jet is full of energy

and he, that's why he's named Jet, j

e t t, and he doesn't understand
that Jasmine is not prey.

And so he continues to attack her.

So I'm in this process of trying to
get the two of 'em to like each other.

And they're getting better.

They're getting better, but I have had
some massive broken home furnishings

through the process, but
we're getting better.

God.

Wow.

Well,

what I'm dealing with.

Jet and Jasmine.

That's.

Jet and Jasmine.

All right.

So, thank you for giving us a
little glimpse into your life, the

cats, the coffee early mornings.

So let's, let's go back
into your own history.

Let's go back a actually to St.

Petersburg College, if you're open to that
and into the fashion marketing program.

So tell me what's happening
in your life back then.

What are you thinking about?

What's your future look like?

What are you dreaming about?

Why there, why

fashion

how funny that is.

Great.

So, when I was in high school, you
know, I live here on the beaches.

Clearwater Beach was like our big
beach that we would go to as kids.

And I was on the beach one day and
this girl came up to me and asked me

if I would model swimwear for her.

And her name was Monica Wise, and she's
now hugely successful in California

with a company called El Space Swimwear.

So this is where it all began.

So I decided I started working for
her, not only just modeling for her, I

was actually working in the business.

She was designing swimwear.

So I decided I was gonna go into the
fashion industry and I wanted to get my

fashion merchandising degree, which I did.

It was an associate's degree.

And I thought, you know, maybe I would
either continue working with her or start

my own boutique, but I would love fashion.

I just loved it.

And.

I did that for many years and I was a
professional model for a period of time.

And then I got to the point where
it was like, look, I just really, I

just really wanna do something more.

And there was a company, a little
company called Tech Data Corporation

here in Clearwater, and they had an open.

Cattle call is what we would
say for new salespeople.

And I thought, you know what?

I need to get some structure in my life.

I want a career, not just a j o b.

And so I, I applied for the job and
I got a sales rep position at this

company, and that was in 91, I think.

And I was in this sales environment.

And honestly, Tom, I mean
I was in a call center

and you know, these calls were
coming through and, and these were

people buying technology and they
were asking me for scuzzy adapters,

and I had this catalog, like this
thick, I'd have to like go through to

find

It was a book at that point.

I remember the, I remember
the tech data catalog.

I remember

seeing

Oh my gosh.

And here I am, like trying to
figure out, okay, a scuzzy adapter.

Like, okay, like which
one does it, you know?

And, and they would be so particular.

And I, I hated it.

I absolutely hated my job.

So I, I left sales and I went,
I took a demotion to get out of

sales and I went into operations.

And then from operations, I
kind of moved my way up the

food chain and became an execut.

I ended up in multiple different jobs
at Tech Data, both sales, product

management, marketing communities.

I even ran the systems engineering
department for a period of time,

so I punched all the tickets.

I learned a lot.

I was there 15.

Okay.

So, so coming from a sales department
into operations department, and then you

you know, your LinkedIn profile shows
like this massive amount of things that

you did at Tech Data as you're making
those moves in the corporation and it

looks like every couple of years you're
making a move in that, that organization,

you said 14 years there, what were some.

Insights that you gained from
the moves you were making.

Because a lot of times you see people
who spend seven, 10 years in the

same job doing the same task, but you
had this ability, it appeared to me

that you're making these jumps and
moves and up the, like the ladder is

something that is talked about in a
corporate environment, but you seem

to understand how to leverage that.

Well, I.

Probably it was more boredom.

After I

would be in a job for a
period of time, I would get

kind of bored with it and

I'd want more of a challenge.

And so

I'd always kind of look
for the next thing.

But I always wanted to make sure that
I, I, I know this may, may or may not

come across the right way, but I always
looked for the right person to work.

Mm.

in corporate America, you can really
harm yourself if you, if you're

working for someone that doesn't have
the same value system that you have.

And so there was that part of it as well.

Got it.

Okay.

So, as you got into those more senior
roles you then I look at your resume and

then at a certain point, 14 years later,
you've, you've stopped there and you moved

to Global Convergence, and then a few
years later you moved to Network Dynamics.

Tell me about, What was happening
through that period of time?

And what were some of the lessons
you were learning after you moved?

Because once you're in a corporate
environment for a while, you

learn that, that way of thinking,
that way of being in the world.

But now you move to two other companies.

Tell me a little bit about the move and
what you learned through that, those

moves and those particular career options

that

So well, when I left Tech Data
I decided that I wanted to try

to work for a smaller company.

TechData was a Fortune 100
company at the time, and now

they're like 56 billion as

they've merged with TD Cynics.

But I wanted to try to work for
a smaller company, so I actually

went to work for a company called
Interlinked Communication Systems, and

they were basically a telecom agency.

And I was there for a period of time.

It was a very small family owned
business, and I'll be honest with

you, I came in, it makes me laugh.

I came in and made some
major changes for them.

Let me just put it that way.

And they loved it.

The salespeople loved it.

We were growing.

We ended up getting acquired
by network dynamics.

And Network Dynamics was
a very large global M S P.

They were a service provider.

They did very little product, but at the
time, they were a Cisco Gold partner.

So you can imagine how much product
they had to buy to get that.

Designation, but

even product was very,
very limited for them.

They were a service company.

And so I went out on the road and
I learned how to sell services

and I was pretty good at it.

I mean, I, I landed a, a couple of pretty
big clients and then next thing you know,

they Rebranded as Global Convergence once
they brought those two companies together.

And it was about that time
that I was asked to be on the

board of directors at CompTIA.

And

so that's, I was still working at Global
Convergence, but I was sitting on the

board of directors for CompTIA and at that
point we were investigating, bringing in

the very first outside CEO to Comp Tia.

And re and replacing the founder who was
obviously, you know, brought all this to

fruition with the certification business.

So it was, it was bringing in a new,
you know, c e o and then after my two

year stint on the board I approached
that c e o Todd Tido, who I just

absolutely admire, and I said I would
love to come and work for the company.

You know, he had made
some radical changes.

He really came in and really re
refitted CompTIA for the future,

and I was so excited and so I asked
him if I could come to work for him.

We decided initially because I had
so many vendor contacts through tech

Data that I would help drive the
vendor membership for the association.

And so that's what I did for
the first couple of years.

Wow.

So you moved out of the industry side
of it, into the association side of it.

But Compt is a massive organization
as I understand it, and and really,

really serve to bring on new members
in the vendor side of the equation.

So really doing.

Outreach to connect dots for, for
those part, those kind of, I, what

are they called in comp TIA vendors

or,

Well, they're called vendors.

So the vendors

are gonna be your Microsofts,
your hps, your Intels, you know,

the vendor community, and then
you have the solution provider

community, which are the MSPs and the

bars and the systems integrators.

And then, You have the associate category,
which would be your media companies,

your consulting firms, your other
trade associations, things like that.

So they kind of bucket
into three categories.

Got it.

All right.

So, in that role, tell me about a little
bit of the growth of that role and then

I, I notice on your your resume and,
and LinkedIn profile this connection now

into council advisory council members.

So gimme a sense of, of the move
towards that and what that all entailed.

Well, there was a point where I
was beginning to get bored again

you know, saying the same pitch
and doing the same thing every day.

And so I went to Todd and I said, Hey.

You know, I really think we should
have industry advisory boards because,

you know, I used to run advisory an
advisory board for Tech Data when

I ran their tech select community.

And I loved it.

I just loved

it.

And so, I said to him, I said, you
know, I really think we should develop

industry advisory boards and then.

You know, we started out with those that
were associated with our membership.

We had a vendor advisory board, a
distributor and an As a solution

provider, so vendor distributor, solution
provider that made up the IT channel.

So I had three different boards, and what
I found is, I'd go into one meeting and

their vendors are talking about how, you
know, the distribution isn't doing this.

And then I'd go into the
distribution meeting and they were

upset with the solution providers
not understanding that and.

They were all pointing
fingers at each other.

So I said, you know what?

This is ridiculous.

I just put them all together on one board
and I said, we gotta figure this out.

We gotta solve these problems.

And the only way we could do it is
if we are in the same room together

and we are working together.

So we created the it's you know,
it, it was more of a kind of

channel development advisory board.

So it was, how do we help
people enter the channel?

How did they learn?

Especially if they're emerging
technology company and they

don't, and they're selling direct
and they don't have a channel.

Many of them have no idea
what's involved in playing in

the big, big leagues with some

of the big distributors
and things like that.

So we started that group.

And then shortly thereafter we added
business applications, which was

software, software as a service.

Then we went into internet of things
and then at that point it was like,

you know, Todd, we really might wanna
consider bringing emerging technologies.

Realm because now we can expand
Comp T's, reach and relevance into

these new SEC sectors of technology.

Even though our members themselves
were not quite ready for things like

AI and blockchain and drones and things
like that, we felt it was important

as the trade association to be you.

Forward thinking and helping to drive
the, a adoption of these emerging

technologies into mainstream business.

And so considering that most of our
customers or members were s were

servicing you know, small medium
to enterprise businesses across the

United States, it just made sense
for us to start educating them on

these technologies.

Right.

So, so part of, part of it and then,
then I'm gonna go ask the question

from a different perspective.

So part of it was you were building
these councils or advisory boards of

sorts fr based on members in the various
categories for the purpose of serving

other members within other categories.

That's how I'm

Well, what's interesting is when I
started to recruit the emerging tech

companies, We didn't have them as members.

So what I would do, and personally
I wasn't an expert in AI or

blockchain enough to have, you
know, deep, intelligent, technical

conversations with these people.

So what I did is I I decided to
start going to industry events

where these people were, and
I would go through the agenda.

I would highlight the
people I was interested in.

I would look them up on LinkedIn.

I would do all the research.

I would go to their sessions, and
literally when they were done with

their keynote, I would rush the stage.

I would wait to speak to them
in line cuz there was a bunch of

people that wanted to talk to.

I would then say, look,
I just need 30 minutes.

I would like to set up a call with you.

I'm with CompTIA.

We would like to have your expertise
on an industry advisory board.

It's volunteer, but we are gonna
give you a complimentary one year

membership just so you can see what
we're all about, what we're doing.

But the term is for two years, and if
you stay the second year, then you'll

have to pay for your membership.

And I had literally 84% of those
members sign up for their second

year and become members of CompTIA.

So we recruited hundreds and hundreds
of new vendors into Comp Tia, just

through the advisory board program.

But what's in, what's interesting
there to me is not only were you

recruiting people to be on the advisory
boards, it's, it's a membership play

as well to get them into membership.

And yet the value proposition is
they were delivering value to the

organization and to others, presumably
at the same time, they became members.

Of the organization.

So there was a lot of
really lot of really cool

Yeah, it was a, it was
a very strategic play.

And what my, my goal was, was to bring
these subject matter experts in, and

there were 20 of 'em on each council.

So we had ai, blockchain, drones, iott,
cybersecurity, business applications,

telecom, and channel development.

And over the course of time,
and they were all running s.

But over the course of time, you know,
we needed to develop content to he help

educate.

So the idea was to get these
subject matter experts and, and

you know, they're sitting together.

They're kind of like, it's almost like
a peer group because you've got like

the, the, the young lady that was the
She developed the inter, she was part

of the team at IBM M that developed the
international languages for IBM M Watson.

And here she was sitting across from the
gentleman at Oracle, you know, and I mean,

we had some big names on these boards.

So these guys were loving the
fact that they were engaging

with each other on something.

Outside of their personal realm,

and that was giving goodness back to
the industry and building educational

content that would allow just general
technology people to understand

and adopt these techno technology.

So once we would develop a piece of
content, we'd put the CompTIA brand on it,

and then CompTIA's, unbelievable marketing
team would push that out to the industry.

People would click on it, they'd
have to give us their contact

info, they would come back in.

Now we're collecting thousands
and thousands of names, so we

didn't know where to put them
because they weren't members.

So we developed these
virtual communities that we

basically were, you know, Kind of
called technology interest groups.

And then we keep them warm by pushing
content and having my advisory board

members speak to them doing podcasts
and webinars and educating them

and, you know, things like that.

And so it just got bigger and bigger.

And so yeah, I mean, it was just
the, it was the, the strategy worked.

I mean,

it really worked.

Yeah, that's fascinating.

So, let me jump then back behind the
scenes cuz I, I like sort of figuring

out how you make this operate.

So I got the, I got the gist of what
you were doing in the world through

CompTIA in your specific role in
it, but then how are you putting.

When you had these board, these advisory
boards, give me, gimme a sense of

how they were working, how they were
operating, how they were being led,

what, what was the process, what was
the actual nuts and bolts of what was

happening once you had them in the

Right.

Well, I had to build
everything from scratch

because there was no industry advisory
board program at CompTIA in, in Pryor.

So I had to build the bylaws.

I

had to determine how I wanted
to govern this to be governed,

and I determined that.

After having one or two of these
boards, and then next thing you

know, there's three and four,
and now there's five and six and

seven.

I wasn't able to manage them and
and facilitate them all myself,

so what I decided to do was,
Have them become self-governed.

So we had the members elect
their own leadership and we had

two co-chairs and a vice-chair.

And the reason we had two co-chairs and a
vice-chair is because these are very busy

executives at very, very large companies.

And there were always conflict
with a meeting or I can't be there

or whatever.

So we had to have that.

So we had two co-chairs and a vice-chair,
and they were staggered terms.

So

once that first co-chair stepped
down, after his term, the

vice-chair automatically moved up
to co-chair with the other, with

the other co-chair, and then we
would elect a new vice-chair.

And were they, were these
meeting people meeting quarterly?

Were they meeting monthly?

What was the structure

of

we had well, I had 21, what I
called you know, the executive, the,

the leaders of all the councils.

So there were seven councils.

There were three on
each, so there were 21.

Of these people that I would meet with on
a fairly regular basis, like once a month.

And we would lay out, you know,
what our goal was cuz they were

all working on different projects.

And then we would have meetings
at least once a quarter.

We had face-to-face meetings
at CompTIA's Channel Con

event, which was in the summer.

And then we had the spring
C C F event, which was the

Communities and Councils forum.

Those were the two face-to-face meetings.

But then I'd also have
one-off face-to-face

meetings that were at
some airport hotel, right?

Because they wanted to get in and get
out and we would, it was no frills, you

know, it's a conference room and we would
have them working on their projects.

So

we would literally lay out an agenda.

That said, okay, we need to do this.

You know, this matrix for
determining whether blockchain

makes sense for this company.

We wanted to have, you know, if you
say yes, then it goes this direction.

If you say no, it goes this direction.

So we would

build these products and it

was all different and they
would have to get it done.

Like, you know how hard it is to
get 20 people in a room to agree on

anything.

Well, and then they
were taking it offline.

They started working independently.

And then next thing you know, I, I
thought we need to do something together.

So we built it was awesome.

We actually had the i o T drone
Blockchain and AI councils come

together and develop a video.

Solving and, and we wanted,
it was called tech together.

You could find it out there,
but it was on solving a societal

problem, and in this case it

was food contamination.

And we developed this amazing
video that used all the different

technologies to, to help prevent food
contamination from out in the field.

With the drones to the refrigerated
trucks and the sensors to

it was just unbelievable.

So,

That's, that's so interesting because,
you know, we, we think about boards

as a, as a way of advising each other.

But what was real, what's really cool
here, what you're talking about is you

were using boards to actually create.

Output to create content that
now has a residual value in

the

Right.

And they were project-based
boards, but you

know, we, we, I do also do business
focused boards too, which I

happen to have a, a, a, new client
right now that I'm working with.

But yeah, it's, it was, it was
probably the funnest job I've ever had.

I, I

I have to say,

Yeah.

That's really interesting.

Well, you kind of hinted at it there, but
recently you left CompTIA, as I understand

it, and have started a new company and.

But before we get into what you're doing,
cause I want to ask you about that.

Why the switch and what were you seeing in
the world that caused you to go, there's,

there's a place, there's more opportunity
for me to do this out in the world.

There's more opportunity for me to,
to engage this kind of environment.

So before we talk about what you're
doing what were you seeing, what

was your unique insight, your
perspective of the landscape, your

radar showing you essentially?

Well, I would say really I wanted more.

I

wanted to

have

you get bored easily, I

I do.

And I, I wanted, I wanted to have
more flexibility to, to do things

kind of the way I wanted to do them.

And you know, I had spent 14
years at CompTIA with my time on

the board and you know, it was
time, it was time to move on and.

One thing I did notice too
is the industry is aging.

You know, a lot of people that
were on my boards were very senior

executives at their companies.

A lot of them retiring now
some of them looking for, you

know, what's next, but they

don't wanna sign back up for
that corporate environment.

And that was

honestly how I felt.

Mm.

so one thing that I want to do as
part of my new business uh, once we

get into that conversation is give
back to all those people that gave

so much to the industry at

no charge.

I mean, like, they were
volunteering their time.

They were very, very busy people and I
wanna have a way to give back to them too.

So part of what my.

Role is going to be with Board Swap,
is to give them a venue to do that.

God, really interesting.

So what, as, as you think about where
you're going, give, give me a a a sense

of you sort of touched on it there,
but a sense of what you're trying to

do with board swap your new company.

What are, what are some of the tools
and, and approaches and services

you plan on offering related to
this new entity that you've, you've,

Right.

well, first and foremost as
a certified chair through the

advisory Board Center, which I.

Of that organization,
and I know you do too.

I love the structure.

I love

the formality and I wanted to take that
knowledge that I learned and put it to

practice with my previous background.

And so I wanted to get more into
business focused advisory boards.

I have a business degree.

And I wanted to take all the experience
that I had personally in my career as

well as all the knowledge I learned
from all these amazing executives

through the tech industry and build
something that would be unique.

And there are a lot of companies
that do advisory boards, a lot of

companies that do customer advisory boards
and things like that in the tech industry.

I didn't see anyone doing the
formalized advisory boards, and there's

a big difference there.

so.

When I decided to build board swap,
there were several key elements.

I wanted to do formalized advisory
boards for not only the business

sector, but I wanted project based.

And I also wanted to do peer
groups, which again, are different.

They're

more of six to eight executives from
non-competing companies that kind of

come together and use each other as
their own personal board of director.

Right.

then I wanted to give back, as I
mentioned, to all these people that

I had worked with over the year, and
I would say there's three to 400 of

'em out there that I've worked with.

And so I wanted to create an
advisor concierge service.

So that when my customers came to me
and said, Hey, you know, we would like

to create an advisory board that I
had a place to point them to, to say,

well, here, you can look for advisors
if they fit the need for your board.

So there was that part.

And then there's the board swapping
idea, which is the name of the company.

And the board swap idea is that as
businesses evolve, things change very

rapidly.

And when you create a board
charter for your board, you

have a specific thing in mind.

So whether we're doing assessments in
advance to figure out what that board

charter needs to be, which is what we do.

Or they just have a, a need that they
don't need assessments and they just

know, Hey, we need to put this together
because we have to solve this problem.

You, you want to be able to
bring structure and discipline.

To that process.

And what I've found is so many
people fail at advisory boards

because they don't have that.

And you know, in these big companies,
They'll have, oh, well, the

advisory board's sitting under the
marketing department and then, you

know, they start managing it and then,
you know, they all have full-time jobs

and then they, they realize, well,
so-and-so isn't showing up to meetings

and this person stopped coming and

you know, next thing you know, oh
yeah, we forgot to have our Q2 meeting.

And it's like not even serious, you know?

Yeah.

By outsourcing your advisory board
to a certified chair who has a very

structured and disciplined approach to
managing and facilitating these types of

things, it just makes more sense because
it's cheaper, it's got more focus and

the fact that it's independent allows.

Outside com you know, chair, to really
see the bigger picture of what's going on

between the company and their advisors.

And so, I really wanted to
enact that type of a program.

And so that's, that's
exactly what I've done.

Got it.

So you're, you're essentially bringing
bringing a number of approaches to bear

using advisory boards, your, your history,
your experience using and leveraging,

obviously what you said with the advisory
board center, some of the, the framework

and the, and the process pieces from that.

To, to come at it from a
number of different ways.

It sounds like it's, it's not
like you're taking one approach.

It's not like you're taking
the old compt approach.

Only you're using that as history and, and
you know, and perspective and insight, but

you're doing a whole bunch of different
things, which sounds really kind of

Well, and, and what's so funny is you
know, you, you, you go through your

training, you get your certification
and you have this mentality of,

okay, this is how the process works.

And then you go out into the real
world and you go to try to implement

that, and you find that
it doesn't work like that.

right.

like you have to listen to
the needs of your client.

And so I was fortunate enough
before I launched to be

introduced to a telecom carrier.

Out on the west coast, and I went in
with this thought that I'm gonna kind

of try this methodology that I learned.

And it was so funny because they were
like, yeah, no, we already have 14 people

on our advisory board and we really
just want a customer advisory board,

and we're not interested in having all
those assessments done on our company.

We already know we have a problem
and we had a little breakdown in

our service level, and some of our
customers were pretty upset about it

because they had their name on it.

And you know what we'd really
like you to do, Annette,

is we'd really like you to interview all
five of our senior executives that run

our ops department sales and marketing.

You know, product management,
customer service and tech support.

We, we really want you to interview
these executives and then we want you

to interview each of our board members,
and we want you to facilitate a meeting

in June that is going to help us solve
the problem that we had last fall.

And I'm like, okay, let's do it.

And so that's, that's

what we're in the process of doing.

So it's a completely different

methodology.

And, and

part of what we did is we actually took
and asked each of these executives to

come up with questions for a survey.

And now we're presenting that survey
to the board members so that before

we even get to the meeting, I have
enough information on what's going

on in the dynamics and the people
and to be able to facilitate this

very interesting meeting that's gonna
happen in June as it relates to, you

know, a crisis situation basically.

So, so interesting and so cool.

So, one thing that that
interests me always is what's

the superpower that you bring?

So, like you've told your story
and you've, you've told how you how

you're coming at things, how your new
business is, is well, the services

you're planning on delivering.

But what's intriguing to me in
listening to you is you've got all

these story parts and pieces that.

Make me believe that you have this,
this really interesting superpower that

a lot of times a superpower to me is
something that you just do naturally

and efficiently and, and you, you don't
think it's that hard, but everybody else

around you goes, wow, that's amazing.

So what, what superpower do you bring
to like a facilitation, a sitting in a

board, if you're a, an advisory board
member just being in the room, what's

the thing that you are always thinking
about that nobody else is thinking about?

What's the perspective that you're taking?

A lot of the.

you know, I think as women sometimes
we, we want everybody to get along,

you know, when we're young and we're
growing up, you know, we always.

Want everybody to get along.

You know, the

girls always kind of get together
and they're always, you know,

they're always sweet and friendly
and I think what it is, it's being

a galvanizer galvanizer of people.

You

know?

do you mean by that?

What's a

galvanizer?

It's

is

trying to make everyone feel part of
something that we can all identify.

You know,

making sure that everyone feels
comfortable that, that there's

proper expectations that are set you
know, that you motivate and energize

people to do what needs to be done

and execute on what you
say you're gonna do.

And by doing that, you
know, People trust you.

You know,

when, when they start to see that, when
you say something and you do it there's,

there's a lot to be said for that, you
know, and I think listening is so key.

You know, I, I, I just was appointed
to an advisory board for the University

of South Florida, and it's regarding
their digital marketing program.

And I told the girl, I said, let
me just say this right up front.

I am not a digital marketing person, okay?

I actually had to hire
somebody to build my

website and do all this stuff
for me cuz I don't know this.

I said, but I bring
knowledge from business.

And she goes, that's exactly
why we wanted you in that

we don't care about you.

So I have to listen to learn.

And I would say I'm probably one
of the people that speaks last.

I like to

hear what everyone else has to say.

And then develop my own.

That's great.

So a let, let's assume, and because
you are a, you have this rich tech

background let's say a tech, c e o a,
young tech, c e o, comes to you and says,

I'm, I'm interested in advisory board.

What's the first three pieces of
advice you're gonna give them?

They're, they're interested in it, they're
uncertain, they're kind of on the fence.

But you've, you've, you've
got a chance to give.

Real clear, crisp advice.

What?

What's the first few things
you're gonna tell them?

them?

Well, I would probably tell them
that we're gonna need to spend a

little time together so that I could
understand what's going on in their

business, because sometimes it doesn't
make sense to have an advisory board.

You

know, like if they're.

Having an issue with cash flow
or something like that, as many

brand new startups do, that's not
the time to go invest money in

having an advisory board, Right.

So I would need to spend
some time with them.

I would need to understand
what's going on, and then we

would have to identify priority,

you know, what is the priority?

You know, because so many things are
happening, and if you don't target

in on something, then you don't.

Clarity of scope,

right.

And when you don't have clarity
of scope and you start an advisory

board, it goes all over the place
and you don't accomplish anything.

So if

you have to have clarity of scope and
and you have to have discipline, you

have to have structure and discipline.

And so I would say, you know,
spending time understanding what

their needs are, identifying their
priorities, and developing clarity of.

Or probably before you
even have an advisory,

before you even have an advisory board.

Those are the first three things
that you really have to do to

assess if it even makes sense.

Yeah, that's beautiful.

And, and from there and, and I think that
leads back into maybe mistakes that people

make, that you've seen is is failure
to do that upfront work, like you said.

And this is, I I see it a lot
in terms of advisory boards that

are put together without that
discipline that you're speaking of.

And what, what starts happening is, They,
they put the people on the board before

they understand where they're going.

Is that, is

that

yes.

I mean, because once you determine
what the scope is, then you have

to assess the company's current
executive team and say, you know,

do we have the skillset needed to

achieve this scope?

Right?

And nine times outta 10 they
don't, which is why they're

in the situation they're in.

So then you have to go find the right
advisors that are fit for purpose.

To, to achieve that scope.

And that's when it all
kind of comes together.

You know, I just feel like there are
so many things that can go wrong when

you don't do the homework upfront,

and part of that is ensuring that
you've got the right people involved

and you know, as a certified chair.

You know, we try to distance ourselves
from selection of advisory board

members because it's their advisory
board and they have to be the ones

to select who the advisors are.

You know, I don't have any problem
helping to interview or provide a

data point as to, you know, where,
which direction they wanna go.

But ultimately, the client has
to decide who the advisors.

Right.

That, that fit them, that feel like
they, they work with them and, and

there's a, a level of alignment.

Yeah.

That's really good.

this has been really, really
helpful and I feel like it, it

gives a lot of perspective on, on
your role, what you're doing, how

you think about it, your history.

So much perspective.

So I really appreciate
you sharing all that.

So, you've told us a little
bit about board swap tell.

Is there anything more you wanna
say about Board Swap before we

bring this conversation to a close?

Anything more you're doing?

Anything you more you wanna say
about how you can help people?

Just, just, this is

your

yes.

So, I would just say if you really want
to move your organization forward and you

really want to prepare for the future,
Advisory boards, in my opinion,

provide so much insight and guidance.

And if you do go forward with an
advisory board, it's critical that

you engage with organizations that
know what they're doing and that can

assist you throughout the process.

So check us out@boardswap.com.

Give us a call.

Let's just, you know, we could
set up a call just to have

an exploratory discussion.

You know, we don't have to move
forward, but let's just talk about it

and see if it makes sense, you know?

Wonderful.

I always like to end our conversation
with some sort of rapid fire questions

just to get to know you a little bit
more, cuz you know, anytime we work

together with people, it's always

fun to, you know you know where, where
you live in the world, what coffee you

drink, and what your morning looks like.

But these are just some
rapid fire questions.

So I'm gonna throw them at you quickly
and you just answer at will Mac or pc.

Pc.

Is there a reason for

I haven't learned anything else.

Got it.

Best book you've read
in the last six months.

I'm not reading anything right now.

I have, I have several books.

On my Kindle.

But I'm not reading anything right now.

I'm more into podcasts right now,

and

So best co podcast you're
listening to right now.

What's the best, besides this

one,

yes, yes, yes, No.

Well, it's, it's probably better.

I don't go there because it's political.

Oh dear.

Okay, we'll stay outta that one.

Then.

Favorite web or phone app that
gives you the best ROI right now?

Like I, is there a phone app or
a web app that you use that just

gives you incredibly good roi?

Well, I gotta be honest
with you, I love Calendly.

I love being able to shoot somebody a
link and have them book with me when it's,

it's going back and forth all the time.

Was a nightmare.

I love that app.

I also, you know, I love Zoom.

I use that enormously.

And you know, personally I love
apps that make my life easier.

So like, my pool is all on my phone.

You know, my, I have all these apps
that run all my, my it in my house,

so,

Sort of the internet of

things kind of app.

Right.

Okay.

Okay.

What was the first question you asked?

Chat, g p t.

Do you

I have not asked chat, g p t, anything.

However,

I have a colleague of mine who
has a, a torn meniscus and I asked

her, I said, what the heck is that?

And she goes, well, I asked the chat
G P T, and this is what it said.

And she sent me the text of what it was,
and I was like, wow, that's amazing.

It was like in normal layman's terms.

Yes, I know.

If you could have coffee with a
famous historical figure who's

no longer alive, who would it be?

Hmm.

Andrew Jackson

Why Andrew Jackson.

because I feel he really
galvanized the American people to

overcome adversity in his career.

Wow, that's really cool.

And then how would your closest family
members describe what it is you do?

Well, I have two boys 26 and 29.

And they would probably just say
she's on the phone all the time.

I know she's in technology, but I don't
know that I really understand exactly

what she does, but she talks to a lot
of different people all day and that,

that'd probably be about all they'd know.

Right, right.

Uh, That's, that's delightful.

Annette, it's been an
absolute joy to talk to you.

I am wishing you great success because
I know you have the chops to do really

cool things with other companies.

You've, you've had a great experience
in life and, and I, I wish you well in

your new board swap role your new board
swap company, and all the cool things

that are gonna ha come from that role.

And I really appreciate you being here
and uh, look forward to seeing all

the cool things that'll happen going

Well, thank you, Tom.

It's been a pleasure.

I've really enjoyed the time with you.