Maybe you’re a good fit to join a CEO group — can you imagine sitting around a table with twelve to sixteen other CEOs, and being engaged in open and honest discussions on how to grow the business? Well, it takes guts to join a CEO group, but it can also be one of the most rewarding and fulfilling things you do on a monthly basis to help grow your business.
Christopher Hann, a Contributing Author for Entrepreneur, states that, “If you’re a business owner or chief executive who wants honest (sometimes brutally honest) feedback on how to do your job better, you could be a prime candidate to join a CEO group.”
CEO groups, also known as executive peer groups, help you get down to the root of the problem, including topics like — how to put more profit back in your business deals, why your business growth may have stalled, how to make sure you’re hiring and firing the right people, how to make sure you’re legally compliant, and tons of other helpful and useful topics.
Brian Davis, the Chair of three Vistage groups, shares this about CEOs that may want to join a CEO group, “Members must be willing to divulge their company’s biggest challenges and make their own candid contributions to the group.” Davis also states, “I think of a CEO peer group as a gym — it’s not a spa or a hospital.”
Even if you want to join a CEO group, you need to go through the application process to make sure you’re a good fit. If you’re not willing to share what’s working vs. not working, and not talk candidly about your business with the twelve to sixteen other CEOs in the group, you’re most likely not going to be accepted.
If you are accepted into a CEO group, like Vistage (the nation’s largest facilitator of such groups) offers, expect to meet with your CEO group one-time a month in a group setting for a daylong meeting, and one-time a month in a triad with three CEOS diving deep into your issues and opportunities
Recently, I was personally invited by Mark Taylor, one of the Nations top Vistage Chairs, who runs CEO group meetings in Manhattan, to attend his monthly VistageNYC group to get a feel for what it was all about.
My initial thought was that of being overwhelmed, but as I spoke to each VistageNYC member on an individual basis, I found them to be extremely welcoming and outgoing. Mark’s group is diverse and has some big-hitters — CEOs that generate between $10M to $100M in revenue on an annual basis.
On the day I attended Mark’s VistageNYC meeting, Ami Kassar, a highly sought after public speaker and business lending expert, was hosting a workshop on Finance. Make no jokes about it, Ami ripped the cover off the baseball and started digging down into each CEOs finances within an hour. The candidness, and the non-fearfulness of the group members to share their business numbers and experiences was amazing to hear and see.
Now, I’d highly encourage you to take the challenge and attend a Vistage group meeting for yourself — but be ready to roll your sleeves up and get engaged with your CEO peers.
If you’re interested in joining a CEO group, my suggestions is to reach out to Mark Taylor. I’m sure he’ll point you in the proper direction and get you setup with the proper CEO group, no matter where you live.
*This article was a guest post written by Brandon Schaefer. Brandon is a Google Small Business Advisor, SCORE Mentor, and lead generation and sales development expert. The best place to catch up with Brandon is on Twitter (@MyVSF_Brandon) where he’s always online answering questions.
