As one of the leading business coaches in the Twin Cities, I routinely hold executive peer groups featuring the state’s top CEOs and entrepreneurs.

Everyone has a unique set of motivators for joining a Vistage CEO Peer Group, but there are five reasons that I continually encounter:

1.  Better business results, quicker

Most entrepreneurs didn’t go to “CEO school.”

These entrepreneurs are typically great at sales, developing innovative products, putting together deals, or they may be taking the reins of a family owned business.  Regardless of how they have come to lead their businesses, most entrepreneurs are self-taught and have learned by trial-and-error.

2. Learning from failure, without failing

Failure is the best learning tool – but it doesn’t have to be your own failure.

Many entrepreneurs join Vistage peer groups because they want help making better decisions and they want to learn from the experience of others’ mistakes rather than making the same mistakes themselves.

3. Leadership Growth

Minnesota entrepreneurs that join Vistage often seek to become better leaders.

Vistage CEO peer groups have peers who will push entrepreneurs out of their comfort zones to address the business and personal challenges that are holding them back.

4. Camaraderie

Entrepreneurs often seek relief from the isolation that comes from running an organization.

It really can be lonely at the top, and entrepreneurs need a confidential sounding board with whom they can be vulnerable and discuss their failures and fears, not just their successes.

Friends and family can lend a sympathetic ear, but they usually don’t have the experience to be helpful or the perspective to help the entrepreneur see what they are doing to create a problem.  An entrepreneur’s own company executives may have their own agendas or lack the courage to tell them the kind truth, and a board of directors responsible for CEO evaluation and succession is often not the first place they want to go for help.

5.  Growth Acceleration

Vistage group members want access to business experts and resources that will help their businesses thrive and enhance their lives.

For example, at least six times a year, best-in-class speakers come to our meetings to do workshops on critical topics including:

• Creating a culture of alignment and accountability
• Increasing employee engagement
• Building a world-class sales organization

For specific issues, entrepreneurs can get referrals to local professional service firms who other members have used to get great results at a reasonable price.

Brian L. Davis, PhD is the leading Vistage chair in Minnesota.  With one of the highest-rated Vistage chair practices in the country, Mr. Davis has coached some of the top executives in the Twin Cities.  Mr. Davis business leadership coaching skills have been noted by a variety of publications, including The Minneapolis Star Tribune, The Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal, and Entrepreneur Magazine.

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