CEO Solutions

CEO Solutions

CEOs by Dave Szymanski | Tampa Bay Editor

CEO groups, such as the CEO Council and The Executive Committee, help chief executives manage their companies and lives.

When Ralph George was trying to grow his steel subcontracting business in Palmetto, he assembled 10 people, including his banker, father-in-law and even a competitor, took them to dinner and asked them for advice on his business.

About a month later, after reading a newspaper story, George discovered a better way to gather seasoned advice: a CEO group called The Executive Committee, or TEC, which analyzes member businesses in detail and offers analysis on how to boost revenues and profit. TEC brought him and his 65 employees results.

"It is my board of directors," says George, 52, owner of All Steel Consultants Inc.

George's TEC group, part of an international group of CEOs he can access on the Web, has 13 business owners in Palmetto from different industries.

"It's a pool of wisdom you can pull from," George says. "As a subcontractor, you get a standing-in-the-woods-by-yourself mentality. You don't talk to your competition. General contractors hold information close. Suppliers supply your competition."

Another CEO group, the CEO Council, also offers advice, but focuses more on relationships with fellow chief executives to give members ideas and solutions.

"We're not looking at P&L statements," says Andrew Cohen, CEO of Vertical IT Solutions in Tampa, and chairman of the CEO Council. "It's about relationships. I'm a product of the CEO Council. I'm a newer CEO."

Younger CEOs learn how to avoid the mistakes other CEOs have made and get ideas on how to be proactive, Cohen says. There is time scheduled before and after events for CEOs to roam the room and talk. It's fun, CEO-style, but it's not all socializing. The council features roundtable discussions at member companies that help CEOs address specific needs.

"You have to make sure you're not the limiting factor for your company's success," Cohen says.

Along the Gulf Coast, there are several CEO groups, such as the Tampa Bay Professional Alliance, the Renaissance Group and the Young Presidents Organization, which serves CEOs and presidents in 80 countries who are 45 and under. Some, such as the Silverados, focus on CEOs in one industry. Some, such as C12, are faith-based. All try to help chief executives manage their professional and personal lives.

After CEOs consult their middle managers and mentors, the CEO groups offer a pipeline of information for the price of an initiation fee and an annual charge. Many operate quietly and most keep competing firms out of nuts-and-bolts roundtable talks.

CEO Council evolves

The CEO Council began as the Council of Growing Companies. Inc. magazine started it in 1992 in various cities. The publisher set up a chapter in Tampa and the members included IBM and Price Waterhouse. Five years ago, it became the CEO Council of Tampa Bay.

The vision stayed similar, to be the premier CEO group, to provide what members need. Pioneering members like Guy King added activities. It sought to solve more member problems together and pursue professional development. It began spending $50,000 a year to bring in speakers from around the country.

One speaker was a doctor who spoke about diet and exercise and how those affect alertness and the ability to think, reason and make decisions. It is a club-like atmosphere at the member breakfasts.

"We evolved a lot, in a very good way, both in activities and level of members," says Jane Toombs, the council's executive director.

It began with a monthly meeting and 68 members. It now has 146 members and six roundtables. R (Relationship) Groups are smaller groups where members spend one to 1½ hours on personal questions.

In addition, the Council has also teamed up with other business groups, such as the Tampa Bay Technology Forum, to co-sponsor events important to both groups.

"The number of member contacts has grown," Toombs says. "Because of that, relationships grow and there's more trust. We've had such strong friendships grow. These people would kill for each other. It is very much a family."

The cost of admission is $1,250 a year. CEOs must have a minimum of 25 employees and $3 million in revenue.

For that fee, the advice can sometimes save a CEO's job.

For example, one CEO in a roundtable meeting asked for advice on how to deal with a rebelling board. Prior to going into the roundtable, he felt he would be fired as CEO at the company board meeting.

After the roundtable, he went into the board meeting and made the board understand it needed to change its mission and let him run the company. Most of the board agreed with the CEO. The company ended up replacing some of the board members and the CEO remained.

"Without the knowledge and experience of the CEOs in the roundtable, he may have lost the opportunity," Toombs says.

Gaining separation

What is the most important outgrowth of the council's programs? That CEOs reach a level of working on the business, instead of in the business, Toombs says.

"They have reached a level where they are comfortable with their management team to carry on daily operations," she says. "The CEO can take the initiative to fill a need to take the company to the next stage, in finances, sales, customer service, product distribution or other areas, and have a life."

For some CEOs, that transition can be difficult. Some council members wear five hats at their companies. Some are serial entrepreneurs, restlessly starting new companies every year or two.

Some are at a crossroads. Member Geoffrey Dyer, CEO of Lifestyle Family Fitness, built Lifestyle into a small, but successful company. He considered selling it. But on the advice of fellow council members, he brought in investors and strategized a way to grow the company.

Now, Dyer gets to focus on what he's best at and the company is 10 times its previous size.

That is part of why the council doesn't want to see its membership skyrocket. It wants to keep roundtable meetings and events more intimate and exclusive to give members more individual attention.

And the advice doesn't end in the workplace. For example, one CEO in the council told his fellow members he was taking his new bride around Florida to his company's different offices. That was going to be the honeymoon, combining office visits with stays in different Florida cities.

His fellow members told him to ditch that plan and take her to Hawaii for two weeks. He followed the advice.

Other sessions have produced tips on parenting, dealing with children on drugs or members not getting sympathy from their spouses.

Cindy Hesterman, Tampa Bay area chairman of TEC, said members compared some TEC sessions with Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.

"Members can say things," says Hesterman, a former CFO. "No one will hold it against you. But they will hold you accountable."

For Charlie Lenger, president and CEO of Tropex, a 26-year-old Sarasota company with 50 employees that provides interior plants for businesses, the answer to getting outside advice was an industry-specific, national CEO group. It was called The Platinum Group, which later became The Silverados.

Twenty-five of the largest interior plant companies in the United States belong.

Tropex has operations in Sarasota, Tampa, Fort Myers, Naples and Palm Beach. Will Philip, an outside facilitator from San Diego, chairs roundtable discussions at the group's three annual meetings, which last two to three days at different locations.

At an upcoming meeting, CEOs are bringing some of their managers, sales staff and office staff to take part.

"We're not like a regular CEO Group," Lenger says. "We're not about finding customers."

In the interior plant business, companies tend to serve specific geographical boundaries with little competition. Tropex works on the lower half of the west and east coasts of Florida.

Lenger's cost for membership in the Silverdos: $3,500 a year. She believes it is a great investment.

"My business is, for what we do, a big successful business," Lenger says. "The roundtable plays an important part."

Drilling down

While the CEO Council is focused mainly on getting ideas and solutions for CEOs through relationships among CEOs, the Executive Committee focuses on detailed analysis of business operations.

These differences in CEO groups mean that some CEOs belong to multiple groups to gain the different benefits from each.

George likes the international access to the other TEC members. He had a disgruntled employee that challenged the company about back pay. George posted a question on the TEC Web site. In 24 hours he got more than 30 responses from all over the country.

Other TEC members like the one-on-one attention from TEC chairmen, who are like coaches or consultants. Members get a confidential one-on-one session for two hours a month covering financial statements, cash flow and a look at the business, sales and marketing plans. The chairman interacts with direct reports.

TEC also offers a program for VPs and middle managers, similar to the CEO discussions. If their boss is a TEC member, they get a discount. One recent discussion: How do you deal with a CEO that's not focused?

TEC has 883 members in Florida and 264 along the Gulf Coast. CEOs of small companies meet for half-day sessions. Larger company CEOs meet for a full day.

TEC charges larger companies $1,005 a month and small firms $710 per month. The initial membership fee is $1,990 for larger companies and $710 for small group CEOs.

"At the VP level, the reason for that discussion is that these guys are truly in the middle," says Rolfe Arnhym, another chairman with TEC in Tampa and a former Xerox executive.

Part of TEC's strategy with its member CEOs is healthy peer pressure.

"It's a lot like junior high peer pressure," Hesterman says. "People often stay up late getting homework done. I really think the accountability is a reason people grow faster. They share goals. They don't want to be the only one in the group that didn't do it."

Dunn and Bradstreet did a study in 2003 before and after members joined TEC.

The study found that after joining TEC, companies grew 2.5 times faster than before joining.

Organizations: CEO groups

Industry: Management

Key: Draw on the brain power and experience of other executives to help you manage your personal and professional lives.