SME business owners are essentially alone when it comes to the crucial decisions and crunch times about their businesses. I was at the Singapore Chinese of Commerce Annual Conference just yesterday and attended some sessions where business owners share their experience about being entrepreneurs. One such person was describing his experience in China when he was hit by a lawsuit. Suddenly, all his friends melted away. Chinese officials who were courting him previously were nowhere to be seen. Singaporean officials who were supposed to be supporting him were silent and not around. He was basically alone.
This is generally the experience entrepreneurs when they decide on both big and small issues. Thankfully, most of those decisions turn out alright. But almost all entrepreneurs would wish that they have better advice to make better decisions. Indeed, when facing opportunities, business owners can become indecisive because of uncertainty from a lack of knowledge and lack of confidence about the outcome of their decision. The result can possibly range from missed opportunities to completely faulty choices in decision making. Support from reliable persons would be an answer to such issues.
The fact is, almost all decision makers of SMEs are basically alone when it comes to decide, even when supported by a small team of helpers. Because all are part of the business, they would all have an insider view of the business context of their decision rather than the complete picture of the objective outside view.
Larger organizations have learned to make use of consultants and coaches in their decisions about strategic choices in various aspects of running their businesses. These external professionals mean that access to external viewpoints and perspectives would give an objective dimension to their choices so although it does not guarantee perfect decisions, at least resources are available for better evaluation and choices.
That’s what The Alpha Group offer to SME owners and decision makers. As a peer-to-peer Board of Reference external to their business, they provide an external perspective that are often lacking in SME businesses. More important, besides learning how to avoid costly mistakes, they also learn when their colleagues have problems and it is their turn to supply that external perspective. This learning from others is important, for this means that when in future they face a similar problem, they would have the memory of the different aspects they have to consider as they confront that same problem. And because they know that someone who have faced that problem before, they would know who to turn to, for a sounding board to discuss aspects of a particular problem they are now facing.
A further advantage is that they do not need to seek the services of a coach or a consultant. Their fees tend to be expensive and in fact, one engagement of a coach or consultant for assistance is probably more expensive than a year’s subscription to The Alpha Group membership.
The way The Alpha Group functions, is therefore akin to a self-help group where ordinary businessmen and decision makers help one another and support one another. The Alpha Group also make use of highly effective and structured techniques to bring out better and improved diverse results for effective decision making. Members of Alpha Groups have been able to leverage on this for their businesses’ competitive advantage.
Besides the Mastermind groups that provide a platform for effective decision making and strategic choices, The Alpha Group includes workshops that cover a range of management and leadership topics that compare well with the MBA syllabus. However, unlike the MBA which is academic in emphasis, these are practical in orientation and gear towards application and implementation of concepts learned. Hence these workshops are characterised as learning and application of industry best practices.
The Alpha Group is so effective in helping businesses that our promise is that you would double/triple the value of your business by being a part of it.
So, if you are a business owner running your own business, or a decision maker running a business for shareholders, would you not want to be a part of The Alpha Group?
For an invitation to attend, please click here.
