John Maxwell, one of the great inspirational authors of our time, is quoted as saying “Leadership is Influence”. The 50/50 Leadership Collaborative, which makes up the majority of the Black Gold Advisory Partner panel,  was founded by Kevin Jordan and a few friends to capitalize on the experiences, skills, and networks of successful people, and to take appropriate advantage of the Influence of trusted friends.  This is a classic example of ‘friends’ sharing friends’.

The Collaborative is comprised of 50-plus men and women that are ‘mostly’ over 50 years of age (we agreed to keep the exact age parameters a little vague for the ladies!). They are largely from the South and Southwestern parts of the US, with most of them from Oklahoma and Texas, with a scattering from other parts of the US and six different countries.

EVERY ONE of these folks have distinguished themselves in business or a related profession, such as legal, accounting, politics, engineering, or higher education. We have entrepreneurs, CEO’s of public and private companies, retired executives, attorneys, CPA’s, lending executives, venture capitalists, politicians, scientists, inventors, engineers and other professionals, as well as investors. These men and women are from every kind of conceivable business, numerous different industries, domestic and international experience, and represent a collective ‘GNP’ that would rival a small nation.

All of these individuals have started, grown, or operated companies or businesses.  Many are wildly successful, and most all of them have swung for the fence enough in their careers that they have experienced setbacks, significant challenges, or failures of various degrees at one time or another; that is part of what brings wisdom, experience, and relevance for your business needs.

ALL of the folks that have been invited to be a part of this Collaborative share a common trait: each of them have experienced a tremendous amount of life and business experience that they are motivated to share for various reasons. While a few of the Advisors are ‘retired’, most are actively engaged in running businesses; while these men and women don’t typically have a lot of time, we have found that in many instances they can make an incredible impact with very little time involvement.

One of the conditions of many of these folks participating in the Leadership Collaborative is that of confidentiality. This is for many reasons, and is in fact not the case across the board; some don’t have any potential conflicts and don’t have a problem with discussing their participation in the Leadership Collaborative. We can talk about these, and tell you who many of these folks are and what they have accomplished. While you may know or ‘know of’ some of the Advisors that we can discuss as potential participants when we talk about your business, there are some that will not be revealed as a potential participant in your business without their specific consent.

Some of the motivations for an Advisor agreeing to be involved on a particular project or engagement include the following:

Money.  Some of these advisors are looking for ways to leverage their contacts, experience, and networks. They can many times make an inordinate contribution with a relatively small amount of time, and deserve to be well paid for what they produce. The good news is that they don’t typically want or need a salary, and will heartily agree to a ‘pay for performance’ standard for rewarding their efforts.

Sheer Fun. Many of these men and women do not want another job, role, or title. They DO, however, enjoy the mental and emotional challenges of solving problems, creating jobs, and seeing business owners be successful. This is what they do. This is stimulating and different for them, as many of these individuals have rarely been involved in business endeavors on an advisory basis, having spent most of their careers ‘in the arena’ as a principal.  To be able to provide salient input or referrals in a succinct manner that have the potential for revolutionary impact to a business opportunity or problem is a real kick for them.

Economic Development. Most business people love stimulating the economy and creating jobs. We are all particularly aware of this in the current economy, and enjoy using whatever resources we can bring to bear to make a contribution in this manner. If they can play a role in stabilizing jobs, creating jobs, or bringing new commerce to the city or state, that is personally very rewarding for many people.

Personal Leverage. Every businessman has struggled with leverage at one time or another. Most of us have leveraged money, influence, time, or resources. It is a commodity of commerce, and it is personally satisfying to be on the right side of it. One of the ‘payoffs’ of intermittent and elective involvement in Black Gold projects is the ability to pick and choose, and to be involved in those things in which you can make a SUBSTANTIAL contribution, sometimes  without a lot of personal cost or time; one person analogized it to ‘power walking’ on the people moving conveyors at some airports. It is quite rewarding to be able to provide ‘out of your excess’ or from your experience the advice, help, insight, or relationships that make a big difference to an organization or a group of people.

Financial Benefit. Whether it is a big motivator or not, most all assistance or involvement by our Advisors will carry the prospect for a financial return. It may not be large, and it will in most instances be contingent on some level of success attributable to their contribution, simply because this is a core tenant of the way we do business. At other times it may be significant, and may involve an ongoing advisory or semi-active role of involvement, depending on the wishes and the experiences of the parties.

Investment Return. While not always the case, quite a few of our Advisors are also repeat, largely passive investors with us that have invested in many of the companies, deals, and projects that we have been involved with over the years. Back to the leverage thing: a savvy investor loves to put his money in a place he also can have some input, provide some assistance, or feel he is helping the company to be successful.

Friendship and Personal Satisfaction (giving back).  Frankly, people do business with people they like.  Friends help friends, and ‘loan’ their credibility, influence, and relationships. We take this very seriously, and always remember the rule of reciprocity: the folks we call on to help you may need some advice or introductions from others of our circle of friends next week. Or, you might be able to help them out someday. The bottom line is that successful people have usually received significant help along the way, and look for ways to give back. We provide a forum for that in ‘bite size pieces’ that is tailored to them, elective on their part, and generally stimulating because of the match with what they have to offer.