I was discussing the performance of an advisory board the other day, and the client was voicing their frustration that they didn’t seem to be getting traction. On further discussion, it appeared that the advisory board members were very nice people.Well, there’s your problem right there.The best advisers are like in-house consultants, or insultants for short. They know enough about your company to know your weak points, and their job is to jab a finger into your sore spots and keep jabbing until you wince. At a personal level, they like you enough to want to see you do well, but not so much that they would rather avoid offending you than tell you the truth. They should be immune to your charm and wise to your tricks because they’re no use to you if they let you off the hook. Their sole interest should be in seeing you deliver on your full potential, even if the questioning and the challenge annoys you (especially if it annoys you).Actually, this is also true for your staff and customers as well. Politely but firmly holding you to a higher standard of accountability until you are uncomfortable.Damn.