Editor’s note: Paul Kirch is CEO of ActusMR Inc., a Lewisville, Texas, business and sales consulting agency. Kirch can be reached at 214-295-6111 or at pkirch@actusmr.com.

When I started my company, I wanted to get off on the right foot, especially considering I had very little experience in building a business. I created a team of advisors who served as sounding boards and guides to help me move in the right direction. I started with six professionals who were business owners, CEOs or consultants, each with a different background and perspective. I’ve had several people inquire how I was able to get these people to commit the time and energy. Quite simply, I asked. Granted, I knew each of these people but they didn’t do it simply as a favor. Most people have interest in giving back or helping. When I approached them with my plan and suggested I needed their help and support, every one of them was more than willing. (Of course, I had to be respectful of their time.)

The human element

The key to success is finding people who can understand your vision and help you reach your goals and objectives, without sabotaging your plans by being overly negative or critical. With all of the information and data available at the click of a button or with a simple search online, it’s easy to fall into the trap of solely using information found online to support our theories and ideas. Yes, we should take advantage of the stored knowledge available but we must remember the human element and why it matters: It’s only through human interaction that we can truly understand how something is resonating. It’s why marketing research will always have a place in business.

In reality, not every decision requires or warrants a research study. For many, you can rely on a trusted advisor or group of advisors. I’ve built relationships with experts in areas that aren’t my strongest to build a solid network to keep me on track.

Careful about collecting

Though I have great support at my disposal, I am careful about collecting too many opinions. Two “experts” can have very different viewpoints. Those differing views can be really important but I’ve learned to filter out things that take me off course - unless there’s a very good reason to do so. In the end, I find there’s often a need for at least a second opinion. For example, I recently was working on a marketing initiative. I approached two of my advisors who are professional marketers. One of them gave me very positive, supportive feedback, which made me believe I was on the right path. The other was very critical of my plan and was even somewhat harsh - telling me it would not work.

There was a time I would have let the second person’s opinion derail me. I was disappointed by the feedback but I had to filter out the harsh criticism and look at why he was taking his stance. We discussed the differing opinions and out of that discussion came an even better solution. On my own, I might have made the decision to move forward but I wouldn’t have had the confidence I gained by querying these two marketing gurus.

‘We Can’t Do It Alone’

Recently on Twitter, one of my connections posted a simple song title by the band Van Zant. All she had on her post was “We Can’t Do It Alone - Van Zant.” I’m not sure I’ve ever heard the song but the title resonated with me, since I truly believe we can accomplish so much more with support than we can alone.

That doesn’t mean all support is good. In some cases, you may ask for feedback from someone who has a very strong bias or they may not be knowledgeable enough to provide feedback you can trust. If they are a co-worker or close friend, they may be too close to you or the topic to provide an unbiased viewpoint. This is why some companies rely on consultants or coaches.

Forget what you know

Have you ever heard the adage that you forget what you know? It’s not talking about memory loss, rather taking for granted what you know about a topic on which you’re considered an expert. Take, for example, a “ridiculous” client request that seems out of place or like it was asked by someone without a clue. It may only seem silly because you’ve spent years becoming a subject-matter expert and you forget others have little or no knowledge of the inner workings that are far too familiar to you. It can be hard to remember what it was like when you didn’t have that knowledge.

If your advisors have the same training and experience as you, how skewed do you think the answers they provide might be versus an unbiased party? It’s good to get an outside perspective, at least to complement other answers you’ve received.

An accountability group

I recently formed another group made up of a couple of members from one of my Mastermind groups who are very dedicated to expanding their businesses. We refer to it as an accountability group, designed to help us complete some fairly complex initiatives. We created a plan that maps out the programs we’re each developing and have goals and milestones in place.

The accountability piece comes in when we meet weekly for a brief call. Each week we set goals to be completed prior to the next week’s call. On the call, we discuss each week’s scheduled initiatives’ status. If the tasks are not completed, we face some harsh feedback. As part of this group, we also provide feedback on each other’s efforts, allowing each of us to gain a perspective that we would not gather on our own. You may not have the desire to be held accountable but for me it has been very powerful.

Deserves the praise

My last two years as an entrepreneur and business owner have been an amazing journey and learning opportunity. I’d like to take credit for all that I’ve accomplished but it’s really my support network that deserves the praise. From my wife to my advisors and the groups I belong to, they’ve kept me on track, held me accountable and provided a great perspective, making my company and direction that much stronger. I truly believe we can’t do it on our own so go out and find your advisors and see what another perspective can do for you.