There was an acquaintance of my friend, Charlie whose business was in doldrums. Creditors were closing in on her and she could not see a way out. She was wondering what could she do that could save her company from bankruptcy. She contemplated selling the business but the price offer she was getting was too low. She was not really able to make up her mind whether she should take on a new partner, carry on with the current business or sell the business. Then she chanced upon a friend who introduced her to a CEO peer group where she was guided to make a thorough exit plan that required her to work on the business, take it up to a position where it can command a good price and then sell the business.
Just like Charlie, a growing number of CEOs and other top level executives turn to CEO peer groups or CEO clubs for proper guidance and insight. However not many are able to take the full advantage of a CEO association. Many CEOs end up joining an unsuitable CEO corporate association which doesn't yield any results. There are some CEO corporate clubs which are so large that certain members hardly get opportunity to share their problems. And then there are certain CEO groups where members pay more attention to daily business activities and don't focus on strategy implementation. Therefore to get the maximum benefit out of a CEO club is to join the right CEO corporate association. And a successful CEO club is the one which contains not more than 10 to 15 members so that each member gets a fair chance to put forward his/her problems and suggestions.
Besides look for a CEO club which comprises CEOs from non-competing industries such as an architect, manufacturer, designer, a marketing person and so on. Such a diverse CEO group will offer you a broad cross section of skills and strengths that would help you have a different perspective on your business situation.
In order to get the most out of a CEO association, you need to be accountable to other members in way that the group members give you suggestions. You must work on it and discuss in the next meeting on how much you have implemented the suggestions.
Besides when you join a CEO association be it a CEO club in Atlanta or anywhere else, keep in mind that the primary motive of joining it is to discuss the problems you are facing in your business openly and not to only network. So instead of trying to solicit business from other members, try to focus on your problems and get their solutions from the experts.
