Shoestring Marketing: Peer groups help business leaders learn, improve

Alf Nucifora is an Atlanta-based marketing consultant.

They've been operating quietly for years, but the recent recession has brought them out of hiding and into the forefront. Advisory boards, or peer groups, comprising chief decision-makers within the company, meet to discuss the mutual issues and concerns that confront them in the running of their businesses and, in true support-group fashion, share experiences and dispense solutions.

The groups generally convene under the guidance of a trained facilitator. Honesty and candor are the norm. Confidentiality is a mandate. Accountability is demanded. Every member's thinking is challenged.

Who are the players?

There are a number of small, regional organizations of the type throughout the country. Among the more significant outfits, the oldest and perhaps most well known, is the Young President's Organization, a group noted more for its social and networking activities rather than its business-training legacy.

Two of the largest and most well established for-profit players are TEC and Renaissance Executive Forums.

TEC (www.teconline.com), which is the largest in the world with 600 groups, representing 8,500 members in 14 countries, offers two group alternatives the Chief Executive cohort, comprised of chief decision makers, primarily CEOs, president's, managing directors, owners and principals, and the Key Manager sub-set comprising next level, up-and-coming succession management within the company.

The average TEC group comprises 12 to 15 members, representing companies with average annual revenue of $45 million and 100 employees. Fourteen percent of the group membership is female. Industry representation is broad with the top categories representing manufacturing, services, retail/wholesale trade, finance, insurance, real estate and construction.

Renaissance Executive Forums (www.executiveforums.com) mirrors the TEC experience. With 55 locations primarily in the United States and Canada, Renaissance also facilitates the formation of groups, each with 10 to 14 members.

The profile is primarily mid-sized businesses with an average of $10 million to $20 million in annual revenue and 10 to 25 employees. Members are primarily CEOs, presidents and business owners representing companies in noncompeting industries. Monthly meetings are facilitated with outside speakers and experts.

What do they discuss?

It's a lonely world at the top, particularly if you run a small- or medium-sized business where the resources and training traditionally available to the Fortune 1000 manager, are lacking. The issues run the gamut from the macro to the picayune and cover the full panoply of management concerns including how to get the senior management team on the same page, pricing, personnel, succession planning, compensation and finance, production, government regulation, controlling costs, increasing revenues and strategic planning.

Said Walt Finkelstein, president of the Washington, D.C.-based Deep Learning Group and an experienced group facilitator, "They need to grow their businesses. This means handling change and learning how to survive in a tough economy."

Why do they join?

The group dynamic helps alleviate that loneliness at the top. Members are exposed to different perspectives and, as a result, lower their business risk, which in turn leads to a peace of mind.

Jim Fontanella, president and founder of Renaissance Executive Forums, said, "By tapping into the group wisdom, they are able to improve their decision-making ability and broaden their management expertise beyond their own limited experience. It's the best form of training in an arena where there are few programs on how to be a CEO."

The monthly meetings also provide a rare opportunity to get away from the office, phone, e-mail, interruptions and fires that consume so much of the day.It's a monthly retreat shared by like-minded habitus where the hair is let down, the angst unloaded and the solutions unearthed. "They learn how to handle the demons," said Finkelstein.

Defining success

Success varies depending upon the personality and composition of each group. But some success attributes are common across the board. There must be a willingness on the part of each member to share experiences and advice. Participation ultimately becomes personal as members grow comfortable in confronting their own (and each others) fears, concerns and vulnerabilities.

Said Dan Barnett, COO of TEC, "For us, it's very much a matter of success, particularly in today's tough times."

Advisory boards are not the answer for every business owner and manager. But for those who thrive on group experience and a team approach, peer learning of this type may well provide the most efficient and effective way to capture business success.