Not Just Any CEO Peer Group, Make Your Choice Wisely

Though it’s good to be the ultimate power, it can sometimes be devastating as well. Who can understand this statement better than a CEO of an organization? 

While reading an article on Forbes, ‘The Worst CEO Screw-ups Of 2012’, I got to know about some CEOs who have to lose their powers and influence for inefficient performance, continuous losses or for some decisions going wrong.

The list includes some reputed and renowned names including Aubrey McClendon, CEO of Chesapeake Energy; Brian Dunn, former CEO, Best Buy; Robert Diamond, CEO, Barclays; Stuart Gulliver, CEO, HSBC among others.

Though a CEO sits at the top in an organizational hierarchy and is the most powerful identity, he is lonely at the same time. He has a panel of experts and board members to seek advice and counseling but there are some situations when he would require the experience and expertise of someone of the same stature and role.

I am talking about CEO peer groups where CEOs can seek resolution to their problems and concerns from like-minded people. No doubt, a CEO association or CEO group is a great place to help CEOs deal with their woes but the purpose can be solved only if you knock at the right door. With so many CEO associations around, it gets very difficult to zero on the right one.

This article provides some suggestions on how you can choose a good CEO peer group.

Attract Varied Expertise

Look your CEO associations that offer a wide range of skills and expertise so that you can seek advice on different elements of business ranging from a how to build a start up to exit planning.

Stay Small

For a CEO group, the ideal size is 10-15 members. In a relatively larger group, it may have to wait for long to get heard or find a resolution to your query.

Secrets are meant to be kept

The clause of confidentiality is the most important factor to be considered before joining a CEO peer group. At times, you may have to disclose your secret strategies or plans to seek suggestions or feedback from the group.

Therefore, make sure you join a reputed CEO group that strictly follows the oath of confidentiality.

Non-competitors should join

It is very important to ensure that your peers in the group are from non-competitor businesses so as to avoid any conflict of interests.

Good Facilitators

The effectiveness of a CEO association is assessed by its facilitators. Know in advance the facilitators in your group and what expertise they possess.

Ideally a facilitator should be capable of making a conversation interesting, resolving conflicts, responding to queries and building a healthy atmosphere.

The Brain Trust is an Executive Peer Group constituted of up to 16 non-competing business owners/CEOs and top executives.

Brain Trust CEO Conferences benefit you through the combined experience of other business leaders from non-competitive domains and the expert facilitators.

Adopt a Broad-Base Appraisal Policy to Control Attrition

Why do employees leave? 

Answers are plenty but they do not provide complete solutions as different individuals have different needs and requirements. Some employees prefer to leave a job because they don’t like the work culture. Some may not be satisfied with the salary or appraisals. Some are not happy with their co-workers while some may have some other problems.

Say for instance, you hire a new employee and his training period runs for six months. During these months, he simply adds to the cost-to-the-company as he is not fully involved in the production. 

If the same employee leaves after 2-3 months of being confirmed then this investment turns into a loss for the company as it fetches the company virtually no returns.

Attrition to some extent is good for the organization as it helps you get rid of non-performing resources. However, it becomes a real problem when it goes beyond the desired limit or draws away your performing workers. 

In this blog, we will discuss the major reason of attrition – the lack of motivation – which in turn, results in employee dissatisfaction. 

Controlling attrition is not just about retaining employees. In fact, it is the act of retaining the resource you actually want to retain or in other words, identifying workers who are actual assets to the company! 

‘How to motivate employees’ is an oft-repeated question. Is appraisal a foolproof method? But then, you can’t appraise every employee equally. Then how do you recognize the deserving person? 

According to an article by Josh Bersin, published in Forbes, “tenure-based rewards systems have virtually no impact on organizational performance”. 

The article further states, “companies that scored in the top 20% for building a “recognition-rich culture” actually had 31% lower voluntary turnover rates (this is when good people leave on their own).”

Make the appraisal system more flexible and broad

Most companies recognize and reward their employees on the basis of productivity numbers, which however, should not be the only criteria for appraisal. You can satisfy and motivate some employees by evaluating and rewarding them under these criteria. 

But going simply by numbers and output to judge performance may make you ignore other deserving employees, who have say expertise in client handling or trouble-shooting during crisis, as such qualities are not exactly quantifiable. When such performances go unnoticed, it suppresses their skill and desire to work in the company. 

Recognize employees who are result-oriented as well as self-motivated and most importantly, well-behaved. You can reward an employee when he deals with customers efficiently at the time of a particular problem.

This way, you can satisfy and motivate a broad set of employees who are specialized in one or other domain.

Ignoring Customers Complaints can be Disastrous for Business

“The goal as a company is to have customer service that is not just the best but legendary.”

                 ~ Sam Walton, Founder of Wal-Mart

No matter how big or small your enterprise is, customer complaints are something you can’t avoid completely. From minor to the serious, these are pinpricks you must work towards reducing to the barest minimum.

Recently, Tim Cook, CEO of Apple Inc., had to apologize for warranty issues in China. The apology came in response to the complaints of Chinese customers that U.S. customers receive full replacement for faulty phones while the Chinese customers only get their faulty sets repaired with replacement parts.

According to Apple Insider “Apple on Monday published an open letter from Chief Executive Tim Cook in which he formally apologized for what were described as "misunderstandings" over the company's warranty policies, and revealed new changes that aim to better serve iPhone customers.”

Now check out the changes that Apple Inc. made to its existing polices to retain their customers in China.

·        Modified repair policies for the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S

·        Published a "concise and clear" statement on its website pertaining to repair and warranty policies

·        Improved supervision and training of Apple Authorized Service providers

·        Now, there is a new feedback service to help customers conveniently contact the company regarding issues or complaints

It gives a clear idea about how bad servicing or customers’ dissatisfaction can lead to dire consequences even for established and strong players like Apple. It is very important for a business to handle dissatisfied customers effectively.  

Here are some vital tips to deal with customer complaints effectively:

·        Listen to the customer’s complaint carefully. Don't give lame excuses. It will only frustrate him more.

·        Enquire about the problem in a concerned and caring manner. Ask for more details. Don’t jump to conclusions.

·        Think from customer’s point of view. As a business owner, you should pacify your customer if you want to retain him. Make him feel that you are on his side and provide some instant solution.

·        Don’t hesitate to apologize. It could be anybody’s mistake but being the leader and face of the company, it’s your responsibility to apologize. You can take some lessons from Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook. It makes big impact when the apology comes from the top of the hierarchy.

·        Consider customer’s suggestion in providing an acceptable solution. Choose the idea that closely matches the one suggested by customer. It will calm down the customer and will send across a positive message to other customers.

·        The most important aspect of handling customer’s complaint is providing a prompt solution that is accepted to the customer. As in Apple’s case, company immediately rectified their repair policies defying which they may lose around 50% percent of their customers in China.

For more insights into this area, you can join a CEO peer group or a CEO association where you will get important guidance and advice regarding every aspect of the business ranging from starting a business, to dealing with issues of customer complaints and even exit planning.

Remember, in business, making mistakes can be dangerous but when you do not rectify mistakes it can be fatal.

Selling A Business- Create A Proper Exit Planning Strategy

Just like launching a business requires proper planning, selling a business too needs proper exit planning strategy. Usually business owners remain so busy in handling day-to-day business activities, that they don't get ample time to draw out an exit plan. Here are a few tips that will help you in creating an effective exit planning strategy:

• Before you decide to sell your business, you need to figure out what assets of your business you wish to sell. As apart from physical assets, a business also includes client lists, trademark and goodwill. So be clear about what you plan to sell.

• No prospective buyer will buy your business if it is not in good condition. So make a little extra effort to keep everything up-to-date. Make sure all the financial documents are updated, inventory is full and keep the premises clean.

• In order to get maximum profits on sale of your business, generate maximum revenues. After all, buyers are interested only in those businesses which guarantee great revenues in future.

• In order to draw potential buyers, make sure you don't have any pending liabilities. And if there are any, make sure you reduce your liabilities as much as possible. And settle any lawsuits if any.

• For proper guidance on exit plan, it is best to join a CEO peer group in Atlanta or anywhere else where you get to meet other CEOs, COOs and presidents with whom you can share your problems and new ideas and get honest feedback. Becoming a part of a CEO conference or executive business coaching gives you the opportunity to meet with the people who have years of experience behind them and can offer you practical advice on chalking an effective exit planing strategy which will be profitable for you.

Successful Exit Planning Is A Long Well-Planned Process

Does the idea of selling your business frighten you? For most CEOs or presidents, selling a business is often a nightmare. You can't sell your business just right away. Exit planning is a long, well-planned process. Usually it takes around 5 years to carry out a successful exit plan which would yield profits for you. Prospective owners look for businesses which guarantee regular cash flows and you have to fulfill that criteria to make your business sale-able.

In an exit planning process, you need to consider a number of vital issues such as chalking out a succession plan, providing intensive training to key employees, tracing a suitable buyer and so on. What most CEOs find difficult to decide is whether they should focus on asset diversification, create a brilliant management team which can take over the business when they exit and so on.

Usually CEOs remain so occupied in day to day business activities that they don't get time to plan out an effective exit planning strategy. Most of the times they find themselves in a fix where they don't understand which is the right way for selling their business. No wonder CEOs find it tough to find a competent successor who is willing to take over the business happily and where they also stand to gain maximum profits on selling a business.

Hence it is wise to take the help of CEO peer groups in Atlanta or any other city if you are thinking of exiting a business. Consulting a CEO Peer Group or CEO Conference is always a better and more cost-effective alternative to expensive consultants who charge you by the hour. CEO groups typically meet once in a month and consist of CEOs, managers, presidents and COOs from different industries. They share their business related problems, and counsel each other. So if you wish to sell your business, you can freely discuss about your problems and make out a successful exit plan with the help and experience of other CEOs.

Four Tips To Choose A Good CEO Peer Group

Are you one of those who is thinking of joining a CEO peer group? A growing number of CEOs and other top level executives these days turn to CEO peer groups in Atalanta or any other city to provide them with the much needed guidance. However it is very essential to choose a CEO conference which suits your needs. As a good CEO group can help you achieve greater results in your business whereas a bad choice can be a sheer waste of time. Here are  four useful tips to help you select a good CEO group:

Tip no. 1:

Go for a CEO group which consists of a 10 to 15 members. Stay away from a CEO conference which justifies having a larger number of members as in that kind of group you will have to wait for a long time to be heard.

Tip no. 2:

Select a CEO group where attendance record of members is consistent. As any CEO group with a shoddy attendance record of members will never be able to establish and retain the  atmosphere of trust and confidence.

Tip no. 3

Join a CEO group where confidentiality is taken seriously. After all, CEOs share their problems, business ideas, exit planning strategies and so much more openly with other CEOs. Therefore confidentiality is a primary requirement in a CEO group.

Tip no. 4

Large success of a CEO peer group depends upon a facilitator. A facilitator makes certain  that all members are given a fair chance to speak about their issues and prevent any member from dominating the conversation. Make sure the the CEO conference you join has a good facilitator.

Generally, a meeting in a CEO group takes place once in a month where everyone discuss their problems, ideas and offer advice. Given that you will be spending a good amount of time in a group, make sure that you do a thorough research before joining a CEO peer group in Atlanta  or any other city. Keeping the four above-mentioned tips in mind will help you make the choice wisely.