As a small business leader, you face greater challenges than ever before. Your competitors are relentless, customers are scarce and every day brings another wildfire that needs to be put out. Sometimes you feel like the proverbial gerbil furiously running on the wheel but getting nowhere. How can you, as a small business leader rise above the daily fire fighting and focus on the ‘big picture’ – the strategy that will move the business forward toward your vision. Michael Gerber calls this working “on” your business, not “in” your business.
Joining a CEO Roundtable is the best way to start working on your business. The concept is not new. Benjamin Franklin, early in his career, formed a group he liked to call the Junto. He gathered a group of likeminded tradesmen together to meet regularly to help each member improve himself and his business through collective learning and problem solving. Others have recognized the power of the peer learning group. Napoleon Hill, in his classic Think & Grow Rich calls this a “Master Mind” group and is a key component in his success principles, too.
If you think about it, business leaders in large corporations have at their disposal a board of directors, in-house experts and hired consultants. These advisors may conduct in-depth research, analyze various scenarios and ultimately provide the leader with one or more recommendations. The small business leader facing the same critical decision has his gut and perhaps a friend or his tax preparer. And, of course, he’ll Google a few questions just to be sure. At the end of the day the gut usually wins out.
Making a critical business decision using seat-of-the-pants methods is like trying to defuse a bomb by using eenie-meeny-miney-moe to choose the right wire to cut. . There is a chance to succeed but just as likely chance for failure. Even Jack Bower on the TV show “24” always calls headquarters for a quick bomb schematic download to his PDA before he squeezes the cutters.
Small business leaders lose millions of dollars each year due to poor business decisions and lost opportunities through indecision. Moreover, the isolation felt by these leaders can threaten their physical health and negatively affect their spouse and family. Small business leaders need ongoing support from trusted advisors on a regular basis. And the best way to get this support is through a CEO Roundtable group.
What is a What Roundtable?
It is a group of 6 – 12 small business leaders who get together on a monthly basis to solve problems, share best practices and offer each other personal support. It’s best described by the formula 1+1=3. It’s not the number of people in the room but the collective knowledge and experience of the group that produce solutions exponentially greater than any one individual can produce.
Group members generally are of similar business size and experience, from non-competing industries and vendors are prohibited. This is not a place to network or try to sell your product or service. A Performance Roundtable group meeting is the place to think about your business strategically and use the combined knowledge and experience of the group to grow your business.
How can joining a CEO Roundtable help me?
It’s Your Personal Sounding Board.
Like an informal board of directors, a CEO Roundtable challenges you to reach and exceed goals and brainstorm problems. You benefit from the collective wisdom of the group and can gain practical advice in a relaxed and confidential setting. Since the other members are from non-competing businesses, they have nothing to gain or lose from any information shared and can usually offer a different perspective on your problem. And, as you consider other member’s problems, you gain a broader business perspective learning how other leaders avoided or solved problems.
It’s Lonely at the Top.
Leading a small business is tough and the business more often than not intrudes into the leader’s personal life and family. Who do you talk to when you are the leader of a small growing company? Friends and family usually have no idea of the issues faced on a daily basis. And, while there may be trusted employees in the business, there are some issues that may not be best to share with them. As fellow business leaders, your CEO Roundtable group knows what you are facing because they may have faced the same issues and isolation as you.
Achieve your goals.
Successful business owners always take time to plan and focus on their business vision. A CEO Roundtable can provide the structure you need to get out of your day-to-day activities and really look at your business and where it’s going. As each participant formulates his goals, the rest of the group is there to hold him accountable and to support him if things don’t go as planned. Participants set up accountability structures to keep each member focused on the problem at hand.
Don’t want to go it alone anymore?
CEO Roundtable are the best kept secret of great small businesses. Most participating businesses are generally more successful than other small businesses. Why? By regularly working “on” your business instead of “in” your business you chart a course that propels your business further faster. If you are ready to transform yourself and your business, then apply to a CEO Roundtable today.
How are participants selected?
CEO Roundtable participation is available only to the individual with the final decision-making authority and ultimate responsibility for the direction of the company. The CEO Roundtables are NOT the place to sell products or services but to learn and offer important tips and techniques.
What is required of CEO Roundtable participants?
Because the success of the Performance Roundtable program directly depends on openness and active participation at monthly meetings, as a participant you must agree to:
• Attend 80% of all meetings.
• Maintain complete confidentiality of all information exchanged with Roundtable members. You will be asked to sign a confidentiality agreement.
• Share your expertise and experiences as a company leader with the other Roundtable members.
• Dedicate your time and efforts to achieve an effective, functional and mutually beneficial group.
• Pay a CEO Roundtable subscription fee of $400 to GLI for the first year, most of which will be placed into an account to be used by your group to cover meals, meeting expenses, speakers, materials, and facilitator.
Ready to apply? http://www.greaterlouisville.com/EnterpriseCORP/Forms/CEORoundtable/
For additional Information contact:
David Oetken, MBA
ENTERPRISECORP’S Business Advising Services
502-625-0012
doetken@greaterlouisville.com