It is not easy to ask people to challenge and perhaps abandon established ways of working, traditional structures, or settled arrangements. In a very uncertain world, it is not easy to determine which of the massive market changes are transient and which are the ones to build on for the future.

Many chief executives feel a need to test their ideas  in such an environment.

However, given inevitable time constraints and the need to maintain the confidence of and support those around one, the process of engineering such a discussion can be anything but straightforward. 

Life less lonely at the top

Back in 1957, one Wisconsin based US businessman, Robert Nourse, stumbled on a solution to the problem of how best to put to the test business propositions in an atmosphere where confidences will be respected.  

Nourse’s ‘ Eureka moment’ consisted in the following deceptively simple idea:  the formation of peer learning circles of CEOs, where ideas can be tested in relaxed surroundings, where no hostages are surrendered to fortune.

A half century on, Nourse’s concept has taken root. His membership organisation, known as Vistage, has 15,000 members. In 2008 alone, 1,800 new members came on board. 

An Irish application :

According to Etain Doyle, Group Chairman for Vistage Ireland, Vistage has been operating in this country since shortly after the turn of the Millennium.

Etain runs two groups in the Republic. There are several more in operation in Northern Ireland.

The first  group which she took on in 2008 has membership restricted to Chief Executives. The Chairperson plays an important role in the selection of candidates.  It is important that CEOs are open to change and to participation in the group.  To discuss issues openly, a CEO will not wish to find themselves in the same group as someone with whom they already have a business connection whether as a rival, customer, or supplier.

As I recruit someone, I find out quite a bit about their business and I check to make sure that there are no conflicts of interest with any other person already in the group. Incumbents have priority.”

Meetings take place monthly on a regular basis. “What members find useful is the fact that their ideas can be threshed out within the group from a lot of perspectives. They may not necessarily take the advice of the others in the group, but even so, they can go ahead and make their decision with greater confidence, in the knowledge that it has been stress tested.”

Regular workshops

Workshops included in the meeting are led by specialist experts and take place six to eight times a year. Examples of topics covered include the following:

- Sales management in a challenging market environment.

- What CEOs from a non financial background need to understand about finance.

-Maintaining morale in recessionary times

The workshops are practical and focused. There is an opportunity to try out key techniques. This helps ensure that participants are in a better position to implement change on their return to their organisations.

Well known Irish people are brought in regularly as guest speakers. Recent visitors have included Professor John FitzGerald of the Economic & Social Research Institute, the insolvency practitioner, Tom Murray, and HR specialist, Ann O Callaghan.

CEOs also have monthly one to one sessions with the group Chairman. According to Etain, “the one to one sessions are an opportunity for a CEO to keep track of what they are doing with the aim of ensuring that they are working ON their business as opposed to merely working IN their business.”   

“The idea is that people should step back and look at what is really important.”

“The only person who can do the CEO’s job is the CEO. If the CEO is buried in tasks, he or she will lose sense of direction.”

At present, all the current members in the Irish Group are drawn from the private sector. However, this has not always been the case. “There have been members from the commercial end of the public sector; likewise members from not for profit organisations.  What is important is that members are focussed on improving their business and sharing their experience with others.”

Says Etain: “People are pretty frank with each other. There is no value to be had out of people politely listening to each other, or clapping each other.”

Membership is very flexible with quarterly renewals, rather than annual contracts.

Recent innovations : 

Etain is developing a second group geared to the needs of smaller enterprises which have passed beyond the start up stage.

Executives below CEO level in larger organisations are also participating in this group.

Since taking over as Chairperson in January 2008, Etain has dealt with a membership group drawn from among large retailers, suppliers of fast moving goods, large software developers, a wide range of distributors, bankers, lawyers, and hotel management entities among others

“I would like to see more Vistage groups emerge. But what really matters is that each current member is increasing his or her effectiveness, and is finding that their life is being enhanced by virtue of being able to work in a smarter fashion.”

“The temptation for a CEO is to go on doing the bits of the job that they are good at. People, under stress, tend to retreat into their comfort zone. Vistage helps, in ensuring that members concentrate on the things they need to concentrate on to ensure their businesses survive and thrive..

Etain Doyle: CV.

1997 – 2004: Head of the Office of the Director of Telecommunications Regulation, subsequently Comreg.

In this capacity, Etain was Ireland’s first sectoral regulator, responsible for putting in place the regulatory framework driving liberalisation for a sector which was experiencing rapid technological change.

In the early 1990s, Etain worked in Poland, and then in Russia, managing the inspection service for the EU bilateral aid programme at a time when these countries were emerging from Communist rule.

Etain is a qualified accountant (FCCA) and a UCD graduate.