Alan Gonsenhauser – Get to know our VAB member
What inspired you to become a member of the Virtual Advisory Board community?
The opportunity to share my marketing and customer-led growth expertise with commercial boards as a board advisor. And … to meet some wonderful people to grow my network and help folks advance along their board journeys.
In what area do you feel board advisors can add the most value for Boards of Directors (BoDs) and executive teams?
I can definitely help companies with intelligent and profitable growth. Plus, I am eager to advise C-suite members on best practices and encourage cross-functional alignment. Beyond that I feel advisors can assist in aligning strategic direction and initiative prioritisation, and I am certainly open to sharing contacts to folks in my network who could be helpful with bridging identified gaps.
What would be your dream company/organisation to work with as a board advisor/NED?
A firm where I can help them build and scale a remarkable customer experience and true competitive advantage because their ideal customers stay with them and bring them new customers. A market leader in net promoter score and intelligent growth. A firm where all functions understand the importance of putting customers first as a key part of the employee culture and which helps to make our world safer and more sustainable for our children.
What book or podcast would you recommend to VAB members that might improve their skills in corporate governance, board advisory or boosting board-to-executive team communications?
There are quite a few really good books out there, but I have limited my list of recommendations to the following for now:
The Trusted Advisor by D. Maister, C. Green, and R. Galford;
The Business of Expertise by David Baker;
The Go-Giver by Bob Burg and John David Mann; and
Winning On Purpose by F. Reichheld, D. Darnell and M. Burns.
Follow Alan Gonsenhauser on LinkedIn.