7 CEO Groups for MN Business Owners

As a CEO, have you ever felt worn out by the heavy responsibility? unable to take some decision? under intensive pressure or having things out of control?

Maybe you need a solid agenda, some training? or just a short holiday? Or, there is another solution you are skipping; joining a CEO peer group.

let’s face it, most of people around you are not aware about what it takes to be a CEO. Yes, being a CEO is a sui genius role to play. There are some issues you can’t share or simply can’t be understood by your subordinate, a friend or by a member of your family. You can only get support or relevant experience from an expensive moody consultant or through a friendly chat with business owners in relaxed constructive atmosphere.

What is a CEO & Business Owner Peer Groups?

An executive peer group is a development roundtable gathering ambitious business owners and CEOs with the concept of peer-to-peer mentoring.

Growth, support and problem-solving are the main focus of these mastermind groups.

The ideal and most common size of an executive peer group is 8 to 10 business owners. They conduct regular meetings with rotating leadership and structured discussions.

 What CEO peer group meetings are about?

Discussion topics are participant driven but most of them focus either on business issues or on personal development. Below is a bench of these topics:

• Start-ups
• Partnership and hiring
• Business Models
• Online business – e-commerce
• Branding – Look and Feel of the Company
• Strategy – Mission, Vision and Core Values
• Marketing & Sales 
• Administration and Regulations 
• Accounting
• Insurance and Taxes
• Invention– Trademarks and Patents
• Technologies – Software, security and systems
• Leadership
• Time management
• Stress management
• Personal life-Work Balance
• Focus on main goals
• Social media 
• Public Relations
• Manufacturing Best Practices
• Human resources priorities

Why you need to Join a CEO Peer Group?

In his book ‘The law of success’ Napoleon Hill stated that cooperating with peers through mastermind groups is something he learned from studying successful persons such as Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Graham Bell and Theodore Roosevelt.

Here are 7 benefits you get from joining a CEO Peer group:

1. Staying updated: new software, business approach, political incidence, latest tools and resources! most of time you are too busy to hear about changes contributing to the business sphere. CEO roundtable keeps you informed.

2.  Learning managerial skills: at your office you are lonely at the top, no peers to learn from their experience, nurture your leadership or debug and handle your errors.

3. Interactive talkshop: according to a study conducted by Harvard Business School, 47% of a CEO’s work is done at the company headquarters, while the rest is conducted outside. This is not surprising, CEO job is a whole lifestyle and it is up to you to choose how to get things done.

4.  Problem-solving: insights, experiences of others, brainstorming are keys to solve daily problems you face as a business owner.

5. legal help: you need to ensure that you are in line with local regulations, mainly licenses, permits, insurance and taxes.

6.  Scaling up your business: you will be inspired to learn from closer real example of success and growth and you can even get referrals or new potential clients.

7. Valuable relationships: it is impressive to make some new friends from the group, you will enjoy your time with them, have some fun, share new ideas and get advice when needed.

How to choose your peer advisory group?

Now that you have decided to join a CEO peer group, when selecting the group that better fits your needs in Twin Cities of Minnesota, keep these points in mind:

• consider the caliber of your peer group members. This will define your ability to build strong relationships with them and get advantages from their competences.

• Try to get in touch with, at least, one of them. Have the names of the members sitting at the roundtable and check their LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook profiles with focus on the group facilitator.

• Check their website if any and the place and frequency of their meetings (quarterly, monthly, bi-weekly, etc.).

• Check their attendance to the routinely handled meetings. If most of them are at the rendezvous this means that they are serious and at the same time, the meetings are adding value to their personal and professional lives.

• Ask for their agenda ideas and Hot Seat frequent questions. They are important to determine the long-term focus of the group.

• Try to assess the level of commitment of the members.

• Have clear ideas about costs.

• Determine if you prefer groups which brings in external speakers.

• Finally, do not forget to be flexible. If you feel like you are paying for a brand name rather than investing for growth relationships, move on! You can join another. 

The 7 Most Important Peer Advisory Groups of Minneapolis–Saint Paul

Now let’s go straight to the point. The main CEO peer groups of Seven-county region of Minnesota that you will find particularly valuable are:

1. Executive Group incorporated it is more than a CEO peer group. They organize workshops, learning events and have many levels of membership. They bring an external CEO on quarterly basis for gold members. It is located in Loretto and headed by Bill Mills.

2. Executive Advisory Group situated in St. Louis Park. Scott Weicht is the president. Board members are introduced in the website of the group.  Many of their meetings are highlighted by an outside speaker.

3. Allied Executives, you can schedule a conversation with John Palen before joining the group. Team members are introduced at the website. Member selection process includes online application followed by an interview. 

4. The Bailey Group, they are specialized in CEO advising and executive coaching since 1989.They have a 10 months program that includes 9 roundtable sessions. It is located in Minneapolis and headed by Leigh Bailey. Each team member is introduced at the website.

5. CEO Roundtable, 8-11 fellow roundtable, applicants go through member selection program based on 6 factors of success. It is situated in Plymouth and directed by Dan Grady. You can check their board of directors online.

6. The Alternative Board (TAB) The owner and facilitator of the board is Peter Quayle. It is located in St Paul. There are many resources on the website (whitepapers, Videos, Case Studies, Webinars etc). You can apply for membership online.

7. Vistage located in Minneapolis, member stories is there on the website and you can subscribe to the weekly newsletter. Members of Vistage benefits from a private online community.

Again, if you are a CEO or founder, congratulations! As you already know, this role is filled with opportunity and brings with it a host of challenges. It takes a special kind of person with a splash of crazy to take on the challenge of running a company. Fortunately, the role provides incredible opportunity to make a difference. Find a group of peers who you can support and be supported by. CEO peer groups are an excellent option.

Check out our guide on how to leverage your chamber of commerce membership.

Finally, on a personal level, let’s connect.