Running a company is one of the most complex jobs in the world. There are so many variables, competition, people problems, and you must work on improving the business every day to grow it. Not to mention macro factors that can kill businesses through no fault of management like recession, pandemics, leapfrogs in technology. . .

If you are like most small company CEOs, you face many tough challenges and also opportunities every day.  And the burden is mostly on you alone. 

Small companies can rarely afford top experts in sales, marketing, finance, operations, product development, HR, legal and dozens of tactical skills needed in any company. CEOs must "wear many hats".

You have to make strategic decisions, lead your team, manage your finances, deal with customers, competitors, suppliers, regulators, and more.

You also have to balance your personal and professional life, deal with stress, uncertainty, isolation, and self-doubt. And sometimes you inherit the problems of employees and others by default.

How do you cope with all these demands? How do you keep learning and improving? How do you stay ahead of the curve? Who can you learn from? 

Group collaboration creates a “third mind” that can take on a life of its own to solve the biggest problems rapidly by tapping the collective experience of the group. No small company can afford a team of CEOs to solve their problems, or a consultant for each one.

But using a mastermind group, you can attack these challenges with the collective brain power of many and break through barriers.

The answer is simple:
Join a mastermind group with quality people.

Many highly successful business titans used the mastermind group concept to obtain their success. Like Andrew Carnegie, who came to the U.S. with nothing, living in poverty. Decades later, he was the richest man in the world. 

Some other famous business titans who used the mastermind group concept are:

   - Henry Ford, who surrounded himself with other smart and wealthy people

   - Benjamin Franklin, who founded a group called The Junto for mutual improvement

   - Ray Hickok, who founded the Young Presidents Organization (YPO) that connects 30,000 CEOs globally

   - CS Lewis, JRR Tolkien, Charles Williams, and Owen Barfield, who were part of a mastermind group of writers and poets in England

But not all mastermind groups are created equal. You need a mastermind group that matches your goals, current level of success, ambition, and commitment.  That's why we created The CEO Mastermind Group for smaller companies with 10 to 200 employees and $1M to $30M in annual sales.  This is the most critical stage shifting a company to the need for professional management systems.

Tony Robins promotes the idea of "modeling" and mentorship to achieve success faster. 

Richard Branson is involved in The B Team. A global initiative that brings together business leaders who are committed to using business as a force for good. The B Team aims to catalyze a shift from business as usual to a new way of doing business that prioritizes people and planet alongside profit. Some of their goals include achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, ensuring 100% renewable energy, and ending deforestation.

And Elon Musk uses this technique less formally by assembling top teams of experts when he formed Space X, Tesla Solar City, Open AI and The Boring Company.  And he drove his ability to learn many things rapidly including rocket science. 

Ideas drive innovation, but only experience can implement these ideas well and generate enterprise value and return for the stakeholders.

A CEO mastermind group can help you:

  - Gain clarity on your vision and goals

  - Learn new leadership and management strategies

  - Solve problems and overcome obstacles

  - Learn new models and ways to think about problems

  - Access valuable resources and connections

  - Stay motivated and inspired. Step back. Reset your focus. 

  - Achieve faster results at lower cost and with less risk

And a mastermind group made up exclusively of growth-oriented CEOs will provide domain experience available nowhere else that can have a huge impact on your business, wealth, free time and health.

Members will be at the same company stage of growth with the same challenges.  And are already successful by most anyone's standard -- but they want more and are committed to constant learning and growth.

This CEO Mastermind Group is an exclusive community of CEOs from companies ranging from $1M to $30M in annual revenue.  These are CEOs who are serious about growing their businesses and themselves. They are willing to share their best practices, their challenges, their wins, and their lessons learned. A confidentiality agreement will be required. 

THE FORMAT IS FLEXIBLE AND MAY EVOLVE

When I first became a CEO in the 1990s, I joined the Small Business Administration's Dialog group for three years and was the Chairman for some groups. I got huge value from this group in wisdom, networking and practical answers only experienced CEOs could provide input on that was practical. Therefore, I have modeled this Mastermind after that format as a starting point, knowing we many want to vary it and evolve. Or even split into multiple groups over time.

This CEO Mastermind Group meets twice per month via Zoom for 90 minutes each session.

Each session is facilitated to ensure that everyone gets value from the meeting.  The format will be open to evolve but the intention is to have 50% hotseat, 25% networking and 25% open discussion to start. Hot seats (where one member presents a challenge or opportunity and gets feedback from the group).

We will also introduce guest speakers and experts, case studies (where one member shares a success story or a lesson learned), guest speakers who will share their expertise on relevant topics, and open discussions where members can ask questions or share anything they want.

The group will set and agree on an agenda every six months on core topics and a schedule of member hot seats where we all act as an informal board of directors to address current challenges. Every meeting will have an opportunity to share a problem and get quick solutions too. 

About Bob Norton – Testimonial by John Assaraf

                  Your Facilitator

They say, "Lunch with a wise man is worth reading a dozen books." So, what is collaboration with six or more experienced CEOs worth to your business?

When you think about equity or enterprise value, there is no doubt it could be millions. Growth rate determines PE multiples and valuations. Valuation can then bring in more or cheaper outside capital to beget more growth, better team, and so the cycle repeats. . .

Only 1 in 6,300 companies will ever reach $100M in sales. Mr. Norton has taken two startups to this level of sales in less than five years each. 

This CEO Mastermind Group is not for everyone. Application is required.  It is only for CEOs who:

1. Have at least $1M in annual revenue
2. Are committed to growing their business by at least 20% per year, even 100%
3. Are willing to invest time and money in their own personal and professional development and also do this for their staff. Frankly if you do not do this you are capped at a small company forever. 
4. Are open-minded and respectful of other members' opinions
5. Are ready to give as much as they receive
6. Will commit to attending the majority of 90-minute sessions twice a month, reserving times months in advance 

NO COST FOR INITIAL MEETINGS - This group will be free to qualified participants for the first two to three months.

After that, there will be a fee for each six-to-twelve-month renewal period.  This will pay the facilitator, support the group and provide quality facilitation, content and communications. We will also use an online board to share experiences and questions later between meetings. And provide recordings for a limited time after each session when life and business get in the way for a specific date.  Vistage charges over $10K for annual membership, some groups charge $25K+/year.  It is our goal to be a fraction of that cost without their overhead.