Crains.com, a “one-stop news source” that delivers a daily newsletter built around specific interests and business needs, recently posted an interview with Tina Leone, The Ballston Business Improvement District (BID) CEO.

Crain’s has an ongoing series titled “If I Knew Then” which interviews “executives, entrepreneurs and business leaders about mistakes that have shaped their business philosophy.”

In the article, Tina Leone talks about being a young and inexperienced CEO and how that had an affect on how she operated, especially when it came to board members: “I always thought the board members knew what they were doing, but I didn’t recognize that they each had a different motivation for being there. I was in the executive position for seven years, and we never made a strategic plan. We kind of knew what we were going to do and what we had to accomplish, but we didn’t have a detailed plan of how to get there, and that was a mistake.”

She goes into detail about what to look for and ultimately provides “The Lesson” – “The lesson is that you need to pay attention to your board of directors. You need to understand and check the motivations of each board member and have conversations about why they’re there. What is bringing them to table? What motivated them? Why do they want to serve with you on the board of your organization? People may have different reasons, but they all need to cooperate and collaborate under one plan and one set of standards. They need to understand that this is where we’re going.”

It’s an insightful article that allows the reader to get inside the mind of one of our area’s best CEO’s. Read the full article on their website at http://www.crains.com/if-i-knew-then/tina-leone/ballston-business-improvement-district.

References

Tina Leone: CEO, BALLSTON BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT. (2018). Crain’s. Source: http://www.crains.com/if-i-knew-then/tina-leone/ballston-business-improvement-district.