Peer Councils Bringing CEOs Together
BY VICKI PROCK
If the basis of effective enterprise-wide business consulting is to understand the real-world challenges of our clients (and it is), a very effective learning tool for us at Minnesota Technology, Inc. (MTI) is the remarkable success of our Peer Councils.
We host six CEO-only councils in locations throughout Minnesota once a month for four- to five-hour sessions. As the MTI employee who oversees and facilitates these sessions, I have come to realize that their value to us and to their members would be hard to overstate.
A brief profile in the February 2008 issue of this magazine prompted some questions about the history and background of these councils. The councils were born of the efforts to help our clients grow dramatically. Previously, MTI’s team of consultants focused primarily on helping companies improve through “point solutions.” If someone wanted help “leaning up” their organization, we’d put it together; if they wanted marketing help, we’d find it. And results tended to be more incremental than dramatic. But about eight years ago, my colleagues, Dick Pedersen, John Connelly and others, realized that MTI’s consulting services and relationships could accomplish far more than bringing efficiency to our client companies. If we could knit together these various point solutions into amore enterprise-wide direction, we could help them grow.
We knew that growth would come from involvement at the CEO level. About the same time, we heard that client CEOs were increasingly interested in extending their own personal leadership development. They challenged us to help them accomplish that goal. They wanted to talk about issues and gaps within their own organization, to work with people whose experience would make them stronger CEOs. Who would that be? Other CEOs.
Recruiting was done thoughtfully. John and Dick used their existing relationships to recruit CEOs they thought would be compatible, but also who wanted aggressive growth. Each member of the first group attended the first session with the idea that his company had the potential to double their earnings in two years. This targeted recruitment and invitation-based foundation still drives the councils today.
But we also needed relevance. The concept of CEO roundtables has been around for a long time. Some work very well, but most fall short of providing what the CEOs need — the chance to talk with one another about things that matter. Instead, they tend to be more educational and one-sided in nature. Sponsors bring in a speaker, cover a topic and facilitate a Q&A session. The content is centered on an agenda.
The MTI model succeeds because we concentrate on CEO-to-CEO interaction. The councils aren’t passive networking sessions. Instead, members make a commitment to one another to be there and to bring their best game. Each knows they can expect to get thoughtful consideration on the topics they discuss and each expects to deliver thoughtful consideration in return.
Logistically, the day is divided into two segments. The first half of any session is dedicated to what’s happening right now. We call it “fast burn.” Do they have HR issues or vendor challenges? Are they looking for ways to expand customer relationships? Anything is on the table and everything is confidential.
The second half of the day is more planned and focused on one topic of interest. But we always try to couple the “structure” with issues that have emerged from previous fast burn sessions.
Peer Councils open the door for CEOs to share ideas and support each other. If the success of these six is any indication, we would like to be able to double that number in the coming years.
Vicki Prock is a business consultant with MTI.