CEO Retreat Podcast

Thanks to our talented Retreat Chairman, Keith Warman, we have a terrific podcast containing highlights of an interview with our Retreat presenters, Bo Burlingham and Doug Tatum. Hear directly from them why you can’t miss this Retreat. Bo and Doug will tell you how they are going to use the “Four M’s” to structure the Retreat and guide you through keynotes and small group discussions to develop a strategic map for your business. To download or listen to the podcast, go to:
http://web.mac.com/keith.warman/iWeb/VACEOS/Podcast/Podcast.html

CEO Retreat Registration

Registration has begun for CEO Retreat 2008, to be held at Kingsmill Resort on April 15-17. For the complete brochure, or just a registration form, go to www.vaceos.org.

Register by March 14 and save $100!

Biz Gurus Relish VACEOs Forum

Bo Burlingham is a contributing editor for Inc. Magazine, and an author of several books, including the acclaimed Small Giants. Doug Tatum is founder of Tatum Partners and author of the recently released No Man’s Land.

When we called these two business gurus and said, “Hey, what if we brought both of you to our CEO Retreat in April 2008?”, they were doing back flips! Each of these authors said that when they do presentations, they spend a lot of time referencing the other’s work. Their two books positively intertwine. As Doug said on a conference call yesterday, “By having both of us present at the Retreat, it will give VACEOs members a great opportunity to think strategically about their businesses. It all comes down to a choice.” Our sense is that these two business growth experts offer different, compelling stories that can help a CEO make important, strategic choices about what sort of business they want to grow.

The upshot of yesterday’s conference call? Doug is flying out to California in two weeks to spend a day with Bo to work on our Retreat program. There is a tremendous advantage in having the presenters involved in planning the Retreat. I can’t wait to hear what they come up with!

Call in The Marines!

What unconventional sources of talent do you have?

Give Them a Taste

For several years, our membership committee has hosted “recruiting lunches” to introduce prospective members to the benefits of membership in the Virginia Council of CEOs. I knew we were not converting these prospects at a very high rate, and we needed to to something differently.

I called on one of the smartest people I know, Steve Kimball of Tuscan Advisors. Steve is an expert on growth strategy, and he did not disappoint. Steve said, “they need to taste the ‘secret sauce’!” The secret sauce in VACEOs is of course, the CEO Roundtable. It is why CEOs join, and it how they make meaningful connections with peers, find trusted advisors and learn from one another.

So, instead of our next recruiting lunch (blah, blah, blah), we invited prospects to a “Live Roundtable Experience.” I gave them four minutes of overview on the Council and we dove into an abbreviated Roundtable session. Everyone there gave an update/introduction and we chose one issue to present. The CEO presented his issue and everyone present shared their experiences around the issue. Powerful.

Two immediate indications of the success of giving them a taste:
1. Half of the prospects present applied for membership.
2. People connected. No one left in a hurry when the meeting adjourned and there was lots of telephone and email traffic among the participants following the meeting.

No doubt we will continue to “give them a taste” instead of the old blah, blah, blah!

How can you give prospects a taste of your “secret sauce”?