My 7 years as a Vistage Chair taught me more than my 30+ years as an entrepreneur. That’s the power of a CEO peer advisory group. Vistage’s rigorous selection and world-class training allowed me to witness the transformative impact of executives gathering in a safe space to:
- Solve pressing problems collaboratively
- Offer unwavering support through tough times
- Provide unbiased counsel
- Combat the loneliness of leadership
I learned how to curate cohesive groups, master issue-processing methodologies, and run highly effective meetings. This was the immense value Vistage initially offered.
However, after Vistage was acquired by private equity, its focus shifted. The emphasis on careful coach selection and training in the art of chairing and coaching diminished. The model became less about providing the best possible product and more about rapidly recruiting and deploying as many chairs as possible, regardless of their training or experience.
The unintentional lesson? The quality of the service – the actual support and guidance provided to members – matters more than the size of the salesforce.
When I launched my own practice, I took a different approach. I eliminated unnecessary costs like:
- Paid speakers: Many members found these sessions uninformative.
- Private intranet: Often offered less value than readily available online resources.
- Excessive corporate overhead: High salaries for C-level executives added to costs without enhancing member value.
- Marketing and administration: These expenses provided minimal benefit to members and chairs.
Instead, I focused on delivering personalized, high-value services directly to members at a more affordable price.
Key Improvements:
- Clearer Narrative: The timeline of your experience with Vistage is more distinct, highlighting the change in focus after the acquisition.
- Stronger Critique: The issues with Vistage’s new model are more directly stated, emphasizing the negative impact on quality and value.
- Positive Emphasis on Your Approach: The revised text focuses on your solution-oriented approach, demonstrating how you learned from Vistage’s shortcomings to create a superior model.
- Concise and Impactful: Unnecessary details are trimmed to keep the message focused and engaging.
ThinkTank vs. Vistage
I’m a former Vistage Chair, and I run peer-advisory groups and coach business executives. I help people who run businesses to figure out what to do and hold them accountable for doing it. Check me out if you are investigating peer-advisory groups like Vistage, The Alternative Board (TAB), or Renaissance Executive Forums.
If you’d like to see what a coaching session is like or to discuss, link here to schedule a complimentary, no-obligation online coaching session today.
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