A San Diego-based peer advisory group for top-level corporate executives has launched an effort to branch into Springfield.
Vistage, which claims 16,000 members in 16 countries, held an organizational meeting with six members July 10 in Springfield, said Jeff Hindman, owner of St. Louis-based executive search firm The Hindman Group Inc. and chairman of Vistage in St. Louis.
An informational meeting is scheduled for Aug. 16 at Hickory Hills Country Club for interested potential Springfield-area members.
Hindman, who is organizing the Springfield group, was quick to point out that Vistage isn’t a networking group.
“We seek out and interview noncompetitive CEOs to come together in a group of their peers, to help each other build their businesses,” he said.
Full groups are limited to 16, with only one member in each industry sector, Hindman said, and a city can be home to multiple groups.
As the chairman, Hindman meets regularly with individual members to address member-specific issues, and the groups meet once a month so members can share expertise and perspectives.
“Typically, a CEO works in their business, and they really don’t take a lot of time out to work on their business, so this is an opportunity … for them to get together and work on their business and basically, have an alternative board of directors – the other CEOs around the table. They don’t talk about leads (or) any of that stuff,” Hindman said.
Membership in the organization is by invitation only and isn’t restricted to owners, he said.
“You just have to run the company. You have to be the president or the chief operating officer (or) run a business unit that’s pretty substantial,” he said.
Hindman said Springfield-based members of Vistage St. Louis LLC, including Dale Donat, encouraged him to bring the group to Springfield.
Donat, president and CEO of Forsyth-based Mid America Metals, joined Vistage in November.
“It was exactly what I was looking for – I’d been searching (for) a mastermind group, if you will, of business owners or CEOs,” he said.
Donat’s company, which specializes in architectural metal, stone and wood restoration, has 11 offices in five states, with operations in St. Louis.
Donat said group members have a formal process through which they can raise issues to be addressed by the group.
“I’m working on some things right now related to succession planning and acquisitions. Because I don’t have a board of advisers in my company, (the group) is a board of advisers I can go to and throw something out,” he said. They’ll help you work through a situation … whether it’s short-term or long-term.”
In addition to a global online network, Vistage also has a speakers’ bureau, with eight annual opportunities for members to hear from business experts.
Donat recalls one speaker, Kraig Kramers, an Atlanta-based turnaround specialist who has worked at several companies, as being very educational and introducing him to the concept of 12-month trailing average charts, which he now uses at Mid America Metals to track performance.He said Kramers also inspired him to improve communications for employees.
“Because my company is so spread out all over the place, trying to have good communication at all levels of the company is always a challenge,” Donat said. “(He) gave me the idea (to) start doing a video update … to all the employees. I produce it once a month (and) it really has been a big hit.”
Hindman declined to disclose a full list of local members or membership costs citing confidentiality, but he said they’re a worthwhile investment because they help facilitate positive results.
According to Vistage.com, a 2010 analysis found that Vistage member companies had an average compounded annual growth rate of 5.8 percent, compared to a 9.2 percent decline among U.S. companies between 2005 and 2009, as reported by Dun & Bradstreet.
The July 10 meeting was the first for Vistage member Larry Stock, president and CEO of Queen City Roofing. Stock said his board service in organizations such as the Midwest Roofing Contractors Association allowed him to meet professionals from other cities who are involved with Vistage, and their feedback about benefits sparked his interest in the group.
Stock said he views Vistage as a vehicle for personal and professional growth that will benefit his company.
Stock said Queen City Roofing has grown to be a roughly $7 million company with 47 employees, and that growth brings challenges that he hopes Vistage can address.
“We’re crossing what I would call a threshold of business staffing levels, moving from a small to a medium-size company, so I get into how to staff up, how to manage people and things of that nature that I’m looking to the group for some assistance on,” he said.
He’s also looking forward to insights on other business concerns, such as insurance and banking.
“With the help of a facilitator, you’re dealing with some pretty sharp minds, collectively, to share experiences with and to problem-solve with,” he said.[[In-content Ad]]
