Where Do You Turn for the Big Stuff, When You’re Busy Fighting Fires?

Almost eight years ago, my father-in-law asked me to lead the company that our family owns. The company, Onex, is an industrial furnace manufacturer located in the Rust Belt, primarily serving the forge and steel industries. Because the company had lost its way, a board of advisors was also put in place to hold leadership accountable. When I accepted the general manager role, I had no idea what board governance meant or what reporting expectations were. I had no previous board experience, so I was in uncharted territory. Thank goodness a few Google searches gave me enough background to begin to understand a corporate structure that was once foreign to me.