It was wonderful to see how many of our EB2 peer group for NEDs, Trustees and people working at board level turned up, even in the month where most people go on holiday!

The group welcomed a new member, Jos, and following catching up on each other’s news through the sign-in process, those present focused on questions – observing Chatham House rules as usual.

There were some fabulous questions this month, and our mentor and facilitator Andrew Marsh launched our debates with a round he labelled “Is It A Good Idea?”. We explored lots of scenarios such as whether certain NED and Board Advisor positions were viable and whether a new business idea had legs. Split into two groups, there were some lively debates and quandaries were solved for those who had posed the initial questions.

We then put one of our members into the hot seat so we could all help with their burning question on getting a charity board to all take governance as seriously as they should do. Follow a round of quick-fire questions, we all gave our ‘if it was me solutions’ giving lots of choice for which way to take the action after the meeting and back in their trustee role. This is fabulous way to tackle issues with input from lots of experienced people who may look at things through a different lens.

We closed out the session with a question on being an Angel Investor. Whilst we had reservations about the product and what the investment was for, it was a good chance for Andrew to talk us through the steps to investment and what is important to follow when it comes to due diligence and working out shares based on sweat equity and cash. It was all very illuminating!

If this sounds like the kind of session you shouldn’t be missing, then get in touch with me to discuss how to join the peer group. We currently have three groups that are proving very popular, with limited spaces available so do get in touch soon.