FAQ

The Top Ten Myths Why You Can’t Join Vistage

#1 – I can’t take the time to join Vistage

Do you think your time is precious? No Vistage member has any more time than any other member. We all have 168 hours each week – that’s it! The question is, how do you choose to spend your time?  Vistage members don’t participate in Vistage because they are bored or trying to find some way to spend time. They are among the most productive business people anywhere. They are very conscious of how they best invest their time. Vistage doesn’t take time; Vistage nets time. Vistage members report within 45 or 90 days after joining, they stop doing other people’s work, start getting home earlier and devote more time to the most important relationships in their lives.

#2 – I need to wait until I get over this hump (project or initiative or fiscal quarter)

Anyone who thinks, “I’ll have more time after I get over this hump” isn’t accurately predicting the future. There are always more humps to follow your current hump. Weren’t you dealing with humps 24 months ago? Twelve months ago? Six months ago? Just think about this…humping is not the cure for humping! Vistage helps you live better by learning to plan better and anticipate issues so you minimize or, in some instances, illuminate the humps altogether. Many Vistage members will tell you they wished they had joined Vistage 12 or 18 months earlier.

#3 – I’m too busy in my business

Vistage members report spending time working on their business (rather than in their business) with their fellow Group members and makes them more effective leaders and builds their confidence. Within months of joining Vistage, members find they are doing more in less time.

#4 – I can’t afford Vistage

What is your budget for your own professional development? Surely, it’s not zero. Renowned speaker and author Brian Tracy states, “Successful leaders invest on average 5% of their gross income into their own personal development.”  None of us is as smart as all of us together!  Don’t you agree it’s much better (mentally, emotionally, and financially) to learn from the successes and failures of others than your own?  Vistage members don’t belong because they need to find some way to spend money. They do it for the 5 ROI’s…Return on Investment, Intelligence, Integration, Implementation, and Innovation.

#5 – I don’t see the benefit; our budget is very limited

In a 5 year independent study (2005-2009) across five industries, Vistage CEO Member companies significantly outperformed the compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of the average D&B U.S. Company by 15%.  If Vistage member companies could grow during a struggling economy, imagine what Vistage can help you achieve in a growing economy! In Vistage, members help one another to find the wherewithal to fund productive change for growth.

#6 – I already have a peer group

Is your current peer group highly functioning? If so, great. If not, what’s going on? Is it a social event calling itself a “peer group”? Does your peer group have a professional, trained chairperson? Vistage chairs receive hundreds of hours of training each year. Meetings are challenging and productive — and members leave with new methods for leading their own meetings within their companies.

#7 – I already have an executive coach

Executive coaching is an excellent resource, and I should know I provide such coaching. In Vistage, each one-to-one session with a Vistage Chair is put to the peer group test. Peers hold one another accountable more powerfully than a single coach can. The coaching and peer group combination at Vistage amplifies the call for leadership, maximizing the growth of each member.

#8 – I already have an advisory board

You have friends, trusted advisors, a spouse, and close associates who may give you advice. But is their advice always “agenda-free” advice? Or is it swayed toward a personal agenda … their love and affection for you, their desire to impress, or their ax to grind. Others’ advice might be good, but it’s seldom free of some personal agenda. Vistage groups offer agenda-free advice. Members share their best thinking, and you can take it or leave it. The highest performing Vistage members listen intently to the advice from their fellow members. Vistage is about helping to grow better leaders who make better decisions and achieve better results!

#9 – I’m not comfortable sharing my business problems in a group

Some Vistage members arrive ready to learn. Others are reluctant to learn. But they all learn they are not the smartest person at the table on every issue. Every Vistage member will tell you: I have learned fundamental lessons from each person in my Group. As mentioned previously above, the most important lessons we learn often come from others’ mistakes, failures, or successes. And we wonder, Why didn’t I think (or see) that roadblock or opportunity?

#10 – I can’t see how I can learn from others who don’t know my business or industry

One CEO told me he had been a member of two industry groups for years. Still, after attending a Vistage Executive Summit for potential members and experiencing an issue processing session, it occurred to him those in his industry group all had the same background and experience, and perhaps they were all looking through the same rose-colored glasses! Vistage members learn quickly from the diversity, experience, and wisdom of their fellow members.  Consider this: In business today, it’s no longer about what you know or who you know; it’s about “who” who you know knows, who introduces that new idea or opportunity.

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