Our focus today is the figurehead of our ship, the trusted advisor, who plays a vital role in the vast, often stormy sea of business decision-making. The symbol of hope, strength, and courage, fearlessly leading the vessel. Their wisdom and guidance, much like the figurehead of a ship, stand tall at the prow, unflinching and steadfast, guiding businesses through both tranquil and turbulent times. 

The Vital Role of Our Figurehead

As we begin our voyage, let's cast our gaze upon the figurehead-advisor. This integral entity embodies a potent blend of expertise, steadfastness, and an unwavering gaze upon the horizon of possibilities, carefully guiding the corporate galleon through the vast expanse of the business sea.

Whether towards the beginning of your journey, and you rely on a mentor, or after growth and maturity you have a Chairman, this figurehead-advisor plays a vital role that goes beyond just advice; they help you navigate the ship with a calming wisdom, tact, and foresight. Their profound influence on the course of the ship, much like in the business world, can be the difference between sailing smoothly towards the golden horizon or meeting the wrath of Poseidon, the god of sea and storms. 

Much like sailors of yore, businesses too place enormous trust in their figurehead-advisor. The reason? Trust is the heart of this relationship, much like it was the crux of the bond between a ship and its figurehead. The analogy goes far back in time, for even in 15th-century England, Queen Elizabeth I placed a great amount of trust in her 'figurehead' advisor, William Cecil, to navigate the intricate alleys of power and influence.

Thus, the role of the trusted advisor, akin to the figurehead, is not just an accessory in the enterprise. It is the silent sentinel, its presence as steadfast as the North Star, guiding the ship's course through the vast, often stormy sea of business. It is the first entity that meets the onslaught of the waves, just as the trusted advisor is often the first to identify and confront the challenges that the business might face.

Charting the Course and Maintaining Trust

As we navigate deeper into our journey, let's turn our attention to the intricacies of constructing and maintaining our figurehead, a process that mirrors the building and maintaining of trust between a business leader and their trusted advisor.

Just as a figurehead is not hastily carved and affixed to the prow of the ship, trust in an advisor is not built overnight. It is meticulously crafted over time, shaped by the gentle chiselling of shared experiences, mutual respect, and the ability to withstand the storms that the business world often brews. It is further bolstered by the advisor's competence and consistency in delivering sage counsel, much like the figurehead’s historical knowledge of the seas, which navigators relied on to chart their course.

Now, the true essence of a figurehead lies in its form and the meaning it encapsulates, just as the value of a trusted advisor resides in their attributes. Expertise, objectivity, understanding, and integrity are the sturdy oak from which the figurehead-advisor is carved. They are the beacon of light that guides the ship safely, avoiding the perilous rocks of misguided decisions and reckless risks.

As Stephen M.R. Covey so eloquently expressed in his book "The Speed of Trust", "Trust is the glue of life... It’s the foundational principle that holds all relationships." The relationship between Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger, the figurehead of Berkshire Hathaway, is a compelling testament to this sentiment. Munger, with his profound wisdom and unwavering integrity, has been steering the corporate galleon through the business seas for decades, charting the course towards success.

However, the role of the figurehead is not to dictate the ship's course but to guide it, ensuring that the ship stays true to its purpose. Similarly, a trusted advisor doesn't enforce decisions; instead, they provide insight and perspective, helping the business leader steer the corporate ship through calm waters and storms alike. 

I have been a consultant to many businesses, but as a mentor, the longer relationship in which trust is fostered provides a much deeper value. I have watched benefits, spoken of in the “Slight Edge” manifest and compound, creating an immense difference after several years of service. I’m constantly reminded of Gates’ poignant statement “people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in 10 years.”

Building trust is a continuous process, a journey, not a destination. It requires effort, patience, and above all, a deep understanding of the sea that is the business, and industry landscape. For the figurehead-advisor, it is about leading the corporate galleon safely to the golden horizons of success, one wave at a time, and avoiding storms and tsunamis.

Steady as She Goes 

The figurehead-advisor's pivotal role in strategy and decision-making is to ensure the smooth sailing of our corporate ship, helping it to navigate the vast expanse of the business world. This role extends beyond mere counsel, deep into the murky waters of guiding the corporate galleon's course through strategic decisions, uncharted territories, and even ethical conundrums.

The figurehead-advisor is the compass, of course, and yet when they’re well chosen, they also act as the sextant, and the ship's wheel, all rolled into one. Just as the compass provides direction, the sextant measures the ship's progress, and the wheel steers the vessel, so too does the trusted advisor offer direction, measure progress, and steer the course of the business entity. They are the lookout atop the crow's nest, ever watchful of impending squalls, rogue waves, or elements approaching from behind that could throw the ship off course. The trick is, of course, to pay attention to their guidance. 

As an “old fart” with greater top sight, I find myself thinking about the horizon, and how what’s coming will affect the landscape my friends are traveling on. I recently wrote an article about the proposed Renters Reform Bill, to get my thoughts down and allow others to be aware of changes that will affect so many. My gazing into the future assists those that I advise to make sensible preparations, and to take advantage of the changes, before said changes take advantage of them. 

Yet, the corporate seas are not always stormy; sometimes, the waters are deceptively calm. It can be here that the figurehead-advisor's role becomes even more crucial, for it is easy to lose one's way in calm waters. When times are good, we don’t notice the bad bits. Our trusted advisor ensures that the ship stays the course, keeps the edges tidy, and doesn’t fall for short term gains, but remain guided not by the wind's whim but by the objective of the voyage.

Consider the example of Steve Jobs and Bill Campbell. Campbell was not just Jobs' advisor; he was the figurehead that steered the Apple ship through some of its most crucial decisions, ensuring that the corporate vessel stayed on course amidst the changing tides of the tech industry.

Of course, even the least experienced sailor knows that a ship's course isn't just about navigating through the storm; it's also about working with the crew, the 'lesser advisors', if you will. The trusted advisor, much like the figurehead, serves in part as the crew’s guiding light and as a result, as the link that brings together the disparate elements of the crew, ensuring that they work in harmony to keep the ship steady. 

In the end, the role of the trusted advisor in strategy and decision-making, much like the figurehead's role in a seafaring vessel, is not about making decisions. It's about guiding decisions, ensuring that the corporate galleon, like the ship at sea, sails smoothly and steadfastly towards the horizon.

Sailing into the Digital Age 

As we venture further into the vast expanse of the business sea, we find ourselves amid new currents and tides brought forth by the winds of change, and change has never been faster with the winds of digital technology. How does our figurehead-advisor need to adapt, navigate the business vessel through this new age, and do they need swapping out for a new, fresher solution with a built in GPS? Our journey is far from over. 

The advent of technology has brought with it changes as vast and varied as the seven seas themselves. Our advisor, akin to a figurehead that has weathered storms and sailed calm waters alike, has remained steadfast at the prow, guiding the ship through these changes. They've embraced technology, not as a threat to be feared, but as an ally to be welcomed, a new compass to guide their course.

From the telegraph's arrival in the mid-19th century, changing the speed of communication, to the internet's rise in the late 20th century, revolutionising the very way businesses operate, the role of the advisor has evolved. Yet, their essential function as a guiding beacon, much like the figurehead, remains unchanged.

Let me skim the pages of my own logbook. As a mentor to property investors and developers, I have seen the tide of technology change the landscape of the sector. With the emergence of virtual reality tours, app-based management assistants, and now blockchain-based transactions and artificial intelligence-based market analysis, my role as an advisor has evolved and the advice still changes. As I am interested in the changing world, I adopted these technological advances not as replacements for my advice but as tools to augment it. This, of course, maintains my position as the trusted figurehead when guiding my clients. 

I recall in the 1990’s when tech company values were increasing rapidly, many people with grey hair said “business is business, and tech businesses should not be treated differently”. In part they were right, valuations were riding a tsunami during the perfect storm, and the pre-2000 valuations came crashing down to reality soon after the millennium. But they also missed part of the picture, and the effects of Metcalf’s law are now so appreciated they’ve become part of the rulebook. Network-based structures obtain and give outstanding value in comparison to their cost. 

The same can be said of the advisory world. I don’t wish to reduce my own value as a mentor, but more heads, those in the here and now particularly, provide diversity of thought, and will typically be better than one. It’s an old saying but it’s truer than ever. This is the premise behind TableNetwork, and having been a Member of the original CANI Table, and witnessed first hand the value it brought to everyone involved including myself, I am hugely excited to be part of its roll out to other business leaders, helping them to gain clarity, creativity and community. The value of the figurehead remains, trust and dependability being a challenge to find in the many, and let’s face it, the waters are full of sharks. That is why TableNetwork is so rigorous in its selection process during the application stage. Peers one can trust are increasingly important for some outside the box thinking, and for addressing modern problems that grey hair often fails to wrap its head around. 

Much like the figurehead that witnesses the evolution of the ship from wooden vessels to iron-hulled steamships, the trusted advisor has observed the transformation brought forth by digital technology. Despite these changes, their primary role, like the figurehead, remains constant - to guide the ship, to stand at the prow, fearless and resilient, facing the currents of change head-on. But like the figurehead, they are no longer as prominent at the front of an iron ship as they were in days of old. They have now blended with the bow, their strength being the practical manner in which they enable the ship to forge its way through the varying conditions. 

The Horizon Beckons

As we set course for the final leg of our voyage, let's turn our gaze towards the horizon, where the future of our trusted advisor awaits. Let's see what this rapidly evolving world holds for our figurehead. Steady as she goes, the horizon beckons.

With technology evolving at breakneck speed and businesses continually adapting to meet the demands of the global market, the role of the trusted advisor is arguably more critical than ever. However, the figurehead-advisor of the future must be more resilient, adaptable, and open-minded, armed not just with wisdom and experience but also with a youthful vigour that embraces change and disruption.

Like a figurehead, weathered by countless storms yet standing tall and resolute, the advisor of tomorrow must be willing to brave the waves of technological advances and evolving business landscapes. They must welcome change, not as an approaching squall but as a favourable wind that propels the ship forward.

Advisors guide businesses, but their role is about empowering and enabling decision-makers rather than making decisions themselves. Just as the ship's navigational technology complements the figurehead's symbolic guidance, digital technology will augment an adaptive advisor's insights, making them even more relevant in the digital age.

The future calls for advisors who are as dynamic as the markets they navigate, as visionary as the leaders they guide, and as resilient as the businesses they help build. Like the figurehead that leads the ship towards new explorations, the trusted advisor will continue to lead businesses towards uncharted territories.

Aground and Refreshed 

The trusted advisor, much like the figurehead, has proven to be more than just a guide. They are the symbol of resilience, wisdom, and hope, leading the corporate galleon through the calm waters and turbulent waves alike.

The charted journey we’ve followed along this narrative has shown us that the advisor, like the figurehead, plays a pivotal role in guiding the course of the ship, be it through strategy and decision-making, navigating the currents of change, or charting the course towards the future. And as we've seen, the true value of a trusted advisor, lies in their ability to adapt to change, to weather the storms, and in the ability to trust in them, to guide the captain to sail their ship towards the horizon, irrespective of the conditions.

The trusted advisor is not just a relic of the past but an essential guide for the present and a beacon for the future. Just as the figurehead continues to lead the ship towards new explorations, the trusted advisor will continue to navigate businesses towards success, standing tall at the prow of the corporate galleon as it sails into the future.

Our voyage may be over, but the journey of the trusted advisor, much like the figurehead, is far from finished. As the last echoes of our voyage fade into the distance, I leave you with this question to ponder: 

How will you, the captain of your corporate ship, add value to your business voyage? 

In this ever-changing sea of opportunities and challenges, do you have a steadfast figurehead guiding you towards your goal? 

Do you have a collection of trusted peers, selected from the ocean full of sharks, who are supportive of you and are there to help you succeed? 

Or are you sailing alone, hoping to navigate the complex business waters without an experienced hand at your side?

If you’d like to enquire about a mentor for a real estate focused business, reach out to me via TableNetwork. They’ve pledged to work only with the best in class in any industry, and if a member there’s a reasonable discount. 

No journey, let alone a business one, should be undertaken without a guiding star, a beacon to illuminate the path to success. Your figurehead awaits, ready to guide you through the waters of tomorrow. So, consider this: As the waves of the future rise to meet you, will you find the wisdom to allow a trusted advisor, a figurehead, to guide you? 

Ed Fowkes

June 2023