Why I Value Peer Networking

I must admit; when we started the company I felt like I had no time or interest in peer networking.? I was more concerned about our own operations and thought our leaders and I needed to spend all of our time working inside the business.? I originally thought spending time with outsiders was just a waste of time as they would just give me a bunch of ideas I didn't have time to execute on anyway.?

I finally was convinced about two years into the company to join a CEO group in Fargo.? It included a 5-hour meeting each month with an hour with my executive coach.? Everyone in our group was implementing Traction / EOS like us so it was a great way to learn from others in the group.? Each month I hated to give up the 5 hours to go but I found myself walking away with many suggestions I could put into practice, and I enjoyed the ability to get different perspectives on challenges I had in the business.? I participated in that group for 3 years; at the end of it, my business was the largest in the group and I felt like I'd be better served by joining a group that had larger businesses in it so I could learn how to continue to scale the business beyond where it was at the time.

As I looked for my next group, I heard from a few people about Vistage.? It's the largest peer networking group in the world and they have chapters all throughout the country.? I had an introductory call with my potential chair of the group and met a few members of the group.? The group was made up of small and large businesses and across several different domains like food and make-to-stock manufacturing and construction which aligned well with the types of clients we serve, so I signed up.?? It turns out I picked a strange time to sign up - my first meeting was in August 2020 and my first meeting was in one of the member's driveway while we all sat at least 6 feet apart on folding chairs.

I'm coming up on 4 years in the group now and I wanted to share the key reasons why I remain a member and why I think it makes sense for business leaders to join:

External Speakers

Nearly every meeting starts with a 3-4 hour presentation from an external speaker.? Vistage is very well known for getting top speakers to come to meetings and that's certainly been my experience.? My favorites have been one on conflict management (I turned around and trained my own team on that), strength training and how to get the most value for your time exercising (I follow this) and strategic planning (I incorporated this new way of doing it into our business based on what I learned).? I continue to get tremendous value from these subject matter experts who are all really good at delivering content in a way where the recipients can gain value.? Being able to ask questions in an intimate setting really allows me to get the most of out the content as well.

Board of Advisors

With a Vistage group, you have an unpaid Board of Advisors available to you at every meeting (and whenever you want to call them).? This is a tremendous value as well.? I've used my group repeatedly to share an idea I'd like to try within the company; to float ideas that I think our clients would like before bringing them up internally and to review how we're doing as a business to see if they can spot potential issues we're not seeing.? We typically spend our afternoons checking in on how each of us are doing and then taking turns sharing a detailed review of our business.? I also grow by being able to give advice in the meeting to others in the group.? My group has a strong and experienced CEOs and business leaders in it, so I really appreciate learning from their perspectives.

Executive Coach

As part of my Vistage program, I have a 90 minute one-on-one with my coach, Alex Portnoy, Leadership Catalyst .? Alex is an excellent coach and he has a broad range of skills - sometimes he mostly listens; sometimes he listens and redirects me to think in a different way; sometimes he spends time teaching me the best way to delegate or to build trust within my organization.? He has been coaching for nearly 20 years so he's seen so many different businesses and challenges that he can guide me on the best path regardless of the situation.? Lately he really helped me frame up a key position I'd like to hire - he allowed me to step back and think of it more strategically rather than my original, tactical approach.

Alex also asks me to fill out a questionnaire each month that serves as a journal for me - it is really helpful to write down what I'm experiencing on the personal side, family side and business side each month so I can take the time to see the bigger picture and the areas that need focus over the next 30 days.

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I've received tremendous value from peer networking and Vistage over the past many years and I recommend it to each of my leadership team members as a way to expand their horizons.? It's a great way to expand your leadership capabilities by learning from others and you build a great network while you're at it.