Braintrust (Personal Advisory Board of Mentors)

Add a handful/group of individuals with different perspectives and lenses to your mental panel, allowing you to ask questions/advice/feedback.
- When faced with a dilemma, ask one of them, “What would you do?”
You might not know them personally, and they might not know each other neither.
- While a real panel of advisors is invaluable, an imaginary panel has advantages: it’s not limited to people you can call, and it requires no one else’s time.
  - A great example: Podcasts
    - A unique opportunity to hear experts and thought leaders talk you through their experiences and decision-making processes.
    - You can choose to be “mentored” by industry leaders or inspiring professionals, even if they have no idea who you are.
    - Their insights are freely available/accessible, tailored to your schedule, and infinitely revisitable at anytime!
A few key features of the group members:
- Unbiased (ideally not family)
- Diverse experiences, perspectives, lenses, mindsets ¹
- Willing to provide raw feedback and candor
- Vested interest in your success (i.e., they want to see you win)
Consider your Braintrust as your life giants—you will always see further by standing on their shoulders by adopting the views from them / tapping into the minds of them.

Murder Board

also known as a “scrub-down”
is a committee of questioners set up to critically review a proposal and/or help someone prepare for a difficult oral examination.