Meet Bob Arciniaga | Chief Board Collaboration Expert

We had the good fortune of connecting with Bob Arciniaga and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Bob, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
Board effectiveness and impact were things I needed for my own family business. 20+ years ago we followed the same conventional board structure that most companies use. This process is heavily reporting-based with little measurable impact on the business. The was frustrating to me so I went about trying to fix it on my own. After two years of dissecting the entire traditional board process, I was able to identify why the processes were not impactful and I went about fixing them.

I did not know this was a business until I shared the board journey I was on with a friend of mine in YPO. He told me about similar issues he was having and when I shared some ideas on how to fix it, he told me to start a business. Luckily I was too dumb to know that building a company that disrupted a 100+ year process was going to be really hard.

Being first to market with something seems like a great competitive position to be in but most business owners like me I have spoken with agree it is a long tough road.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
My two companies Advisory Board Architects and Boardology are focused on supporting the boards of organizations in creating High Impact from their interactions. Our techonology and methodology focus on increasing the engagement, efficiency, and effectiveness of every board meeting. Our platform measures these critically important aspects of a board and provides benchmarks and recommendations on increasing a boards performance in real time.

As the founder, I am proud of what our organization and my team have accomplished. We are recognized for our expertise in board performance but my vision and passion are focused on human collaboration. I am most proud of the results our clients recieve when leveraging the collaborative power of a group of people to solve an organizations important issues and opportunities.

What I get most excited about in my business is the transformative impact that we see our clients achieve with the support of their boards. Few companies can honestly say they achieve this and I get to see these types of results everyday. I love to hear our client CEO’s and Business Owners tell me that they are happily surprised that what we told them was possible is actually happening. I think they all hoped it would happen but were not sure if it would. Often our board meetings end in applause. I don’t think that you hear applause for a job well done after most board interactions. These outcomes drive me.

What has been amazing to me is staying true to the original vision that I had in building my companies. Disrupting an established, secretive, and restrictive process has been a difficult journey. I think many people doubted I could be successful. Now some of those doubters are trying to copy our model which I think is hilarious and the ultimate compliment.

I think what I have learned is that by staying focused on my original vision but open to enhancing how we achieve it is the starting point. From there getting others to be passionate about the vision so they feel they are a part of it is an important skill that I wished I learned earlier. I want our team to be more focused on what we are building for the long term and not focused on what we are “making”.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Not sure I am the right guy to ask about this as I do not spend too much time in Denver. For a week-long trip, I would not recommend anyone stay in Denver the whole time. I would and have recommended my friends get up to the mountains. Every mountain town has its own unique traits and are so different. Something for everyone. The different parts of the State are amazing too. One of my favorite spots is Southwest Colorado. It is so beautiful there. Gateway Canyon Resort is a perfect place to relax and immerse in the beauty of Colorado.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I am sure everyone says the same thing, but my Wife and Children deserve the bulk of the credit. Building a successful business from scratch requires focus. If things are not smooth at home, focus can be difficult to achieve in your business. I am lucky that my wife is so understanding about this and we were both able to fulfill our life goals, mine to build a great business and hers to build a loving family.

My grandmother or “Abuelita” also had an amazing impact on my success. She was an entrepreneur in Mexico when women, especially Latinas were supposed to stay in the kitchen. Talk about learning from the master.

Finally my brothers in Young Presidents Organization (YPO). My forum “Double Dueces” are all successful business owners and have shown me what living at the highest level really means. Demonstrates that when you surround yourself with your “carnalitos” who you can look up to and who will always have your back anything is possible.

Website: www.advisoryboardarchitects.com

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bob-arciniaga-boardexpert/