A Board of Your Own

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There were three key challenges," he says. "How [to] take people that already have decades of experience and help them to form peer boards; how to teach people to facilitate, regardless of professional backgrounds, to business owners who all have egos; and finally, how to get people who are used to giving orders a process where they're able to listen." Fishman developed a series of exercises that addressed his three challenges and established TAB. He set up a number of boards, perfected his system, and in 1996 he franchised the concept.

TAB now has 140 franchises in almost 40 states with 3,000 business owners and board members, up 20% from last year, according to Jason Zickerman, TAB's president and chief operating officer. Board members participate only at the invitation of franchise facilitators, who screen potential members with a series of 22 questions developed by Fishman. TAB's franchise owners and facilitators are required to have at least 10 years of senior management experience.

Each peer group has between 4 and 12 business owners, comprises similar but diverse industries, and meets each month for about four hours. Between meetings, TAB facilitators can meet with business owners one-on-one. All members must sign a confidentiality agreement.

HELD ACCOUNTABLE.

The boards themselves are divided into three categories: president boards comprise companies with an annual revenue of less than $1 million and fewer than 10 employees. Strategic boards are designed for companies with revenues over $1 million and more than 10 staffers. And chairman boards serve companies with $50 million or more in revenue and more than 50 employees. Typically, membership costs between $350 and $700 in monthly dues.

"At each meeting, board members present a challenge or an opportunity they or their businesses are facing, and fellow board members offer suggestions and advice," says Tina Corner, a former Tessco Technologies executive, who established a Washington (D.C.)-based TAB about four months ago.

"This is attractive for business owners," she says. "They love being held accountable. As an owner at the top, no one asks you if you have done this or what are you doing to better the business. They have goals, but nobody is holding their feet to the fire. The board and the facilitator hold them to account."

GOING GLOBAL.

TAB has a few goals of its own, specifically expansion. According to TAB President Zickerman, it will increase the number of franchises this year to 200, and it plans on building its network membership to 10,000 in three years.

Already in Canada and Venezuela, TAB expects to roll out new international locations in Britain, New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, and Malaysia. "We're primarily looking for English-speaking places where the concept is easy to adapt," says Zickerman. Good advice is global.

Perman is a staff writer for BusinessWeek.com in New York.