Personal Board of Directors

Build a community of peers and mentors who help you see around corners in your career

Gibson Biddle
The art of product strategy and prioritization

Personal Board of Directors

"My greatest fear is aging ungracefully... I was a pretty good picker, and the reason I was a good picker of companies is, I would lean on my personal board of directors." - Gibson Biddle

What It Is

A Personal Board of Directors is an intentionally curated network of peers, mentors, and advisors who help you navigate career decisions, validate opportunities, and see around corners. Unlike formal mentorship programs, this board is informal, self-assembled, and consists of people at different levels and with different expertise.

Gibson Biddle credits this approach with helping him make excellent company choices throughout his career—joining Electronic Arts in 1991, Netflix in 2005, and Chegg in 2010, all of which turned out to be great decisions.

The concept originated when Biddle was about 30 and got promoted to VP. He asked his CEO: "How do I learn how to do the job well?" The CEO's advice: "I don't know. Reach out and build your community of peers."

How It Works

Your board consists of two types of relationships:

Peers (Easier to Build)

  • Former colleagues from past companies
  • People at similar career stages
  • Professionals who face similar challenges

How to maintain: Keep up on LinkedIn, occasional check-ins, share interesting articles or observations.

Mentors (Harder to Build)

  • More experienced leaders who can see patterns you can't
  • Domain experts in areas where you need guidance
  • People who've "been there" at the next stage of your journey

How to develop:

  1. Identify potential mentors (don't ask them to be your mentor—that's awkward)
  2. Find ways to be helpful to them
  3. Build the relationship organically through mutual value exchange

The "Everyone Needs Help" Principle

Biddle emphasizes: "Everybody needs help. Everybody, everybody, everybody."

To help you understand the kind of help he needs, Biddle shared: "My greatest fear is aging ungracefully. I'm trying to understand what's going on. I asked [Lenny], should I be on Discord?"

His point: even very senior people need help with specific things. If you can identify what someone needs and provide it, you start building a mentor relationship.

The John Lou Example

One person approached Biddle repeatedly asking: "Do you have any startups I can work with on the weekends?" Biddle didn't have answers. Eventually, frustrated, he said: "Just build me a baby website." John Lou couldn't code, so Biddle gave him a credit card and said "Get on Squarespace."

John Lou built GibsonBiddle.com. That single act of helpfulness—building something Biddle needed—created a lasting relationship.

How to Apply It

Building Your Board

  1. Identify gaps: What questions do you consistently struggle with? What decisions would benefit from outside perspective?

  2. Map your network: Who do you already know who could help? Former colleagues, bosses, industry contacts?

  3. Add intentionally: When meeting new people, think: "Could this person be on my board?" Add people with diverse perspectives.

  4. Maintain actively: Don't let relationships go stale. Even a quarterly check-in keeps connections warm.

Using Your Board for Decisions

When Biddle was considering joining Chegg, he reached out to board members with specific expertise:

  • CFO/VC board members: "As a CFO, as a VC, would you invest in this startup?"
  • Industry peers: "What do you know about the textbook rental market?"
  • Former colleagues: "What's the culture like at companies with this leadership team?"

This is the same due diligence question he had to ask himself: "Should I invest my time?"

Making Quick Decisions Through Your Board

For tactical questions, the board provides immediate value:

  • "What's the right level of investment on mobile vs desktop?" → Text your peers for their data
  • "How do other companies handle this policy?" → Ask people who've seen multiple approaches
  • "Is this compensation package fair?" → CFO contacts can benchmark immediately

When to Use It

  • Career transitions: Job offers, promotion decisions, industry changes
  • Strategic questions: Product direction, market opportunities, competitive threats
  • Skill gaps: Learning new domains, understanding unfamiliar industries
  • Validation: Testing your assumptions before committing to a direction
  • Benchmarking: Understanding what "good" looks like across companies

Board Composition Guidelines

Type Role How Many Meeting Frequency
Close peers Day-to-day challenges, quick questions 5-10 Weekly/monthly
Senior mentors Career guidance, strategic perspective 2-4 Quarterly
Domain experts Specific functional expertise 3-5 As needed
Industry veterans Pattern recognition, historical context 1-2 Annually

Common Mistakes to Avoid

  1. Asking someone to "be your mentor": Build the relationship through value exchange instead
  2. Only reaching out when you need something: Maintain relationships consistently
  3. Building a homogeneous board: Seek diverse perspectives, not echo chambers
  4. Ignoring junior people: Your board should include people at all levels
  5. Expecting one person to answer everything: Different people for different questions

Source

  • Guest: Gibson Biddle
  • Episode: "The art of product strategy and prioritization"
  • Key Discussion: (40:51-44:45) - Personal board of directors concept and career advice
  • YouTube: Watch on YouTube

Related Frameworks

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