Page 120 - Leadership Secrets of Hillary Clinton

LISTENING TOURS

of directors, much the way executives have a their small
network of people whom they can count on for personal
advice and support. These people are less like the tradi-
tional corporate board members or formal advisors than
like a small group of friends and colleagues who know you
well and have your best interests at heart.
These people are invaluable when you are trying to
tackle a complex issue or when you need advice because
you have a difficult choice to make. They are the ones who
can help you develop a broader vision of yourself, reener-
gize you to stay the course by renewing your sense of pur-
pose and commitment, or encourage you to move in an
entirely new direction.
I have always had a board for my company. These seven
business leaders meet with me several times a year to
review my strategic business plan and advise me on issues
such as how to stay competitive in challenging times and
how to continue to grow my business in new and emerging
markets. They have very different educational and experi-
ential backgrounds and have been very successful in a vari-
ety of industries, so they provide me and my executive team
with perspectives that we would not ordinarily have avail-
able to us.
But I also have my own personal board of directors. Sev-
eral years ago, a friend asked me to dinner and explained
that she was looking to make a career change and wanted
me to help her think through it. She had invited five other

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