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Common Yet Diverse Perspectives

To become involved with a PEG, prospective members must complete a questionnaire to provide background information on themselves and their business to the other members. They may also attend a meeting to help determine if the union makes sense for all parties from personal, business and geographic perspectives. If everything appears in order, the group then votes on whether or not to approve the applicant.

For Sullivan, a PSA member for 12 years, joining was a breeze. It helped that he already knew a few members on a casual basis.

“The process of getting started was much easier than I anticipated, but it helped that we were all in the same situation and had similar feelings,” he says. “At the same time, each person brings something unique to the mix because our companies differ in size, markets, expertise, etc. And we are all at different phases of both our business and personal lives. I look forward to each and every time we are together as a group.”

Balancing commonality and diversity is one of the key components to maximize the effectiveness and breadth of a PEG program. Members say the PSA PEG has found just the right blend of talents and experience.

“Although there is a great deal of synergy in the group, we all represent different size companies providing services in different parts of the county,” says Ladd. “This gives us all a well-rounded involvement.”

Kottkamp adds: “Each PEG member has specific areas of competency. One has a very strong accounting background and several are second-generation owners. Some members have experience owning other businesses. Over time, each member recognizes not only who has the most relevant experience but also similar values and expectations, which is also important.”

Besides a degree of financial investment, the PEG commitment requires meeting in person two to three times a year. In this case, the PSA-TEC conference and other events provide that opportunity. In addition, the group visits a chosen member’s office annually and conference calls take place another six or seven times throughout the year. Typically, the proceedings will revolve around an internal agenda or there will be a presentation by a speaker on important business topics.

“When you attend a PEG meeting, you share experience with the other participants. You hear different points of view and you may adopt all or some of what you hear or learn,” says Nunberg, who purchased ISS in 1981. “You can bounce ideas off of each other – like a sounding board. If you have an issue, you can present it to the group and get six or seven different viewpoints to consider when deciding how to move forward.” 

Facilitator Ensures Success

Critical to the entire process is having an experienced and reliable facilitator to oversee organizational, administrative and general housekeeping matters. Equal parts manager and psychologist, this person’s responsibilities range from establishing agendas to assisting in developing policies and guidelines for the group to preventing things from getting off-track to averting or settling disputes.

Indeed it requires a special skill set to balance the egos and idiosyncrasies among several CEOs. According to its members, the PSA PEG owes much of its success to the outstanding work of Fathelbab, whose firm is the largest provider of CEO-to-CEO forums with 24 facilitators serving in seven countries.

“The success of PEG is because of the quality and commitment of each individual in the group, and the leadership and facilitation of Forum R
esources Network,” says Ladd. “Thanks to the leadership of Fathelbab, the group has melded into a strong, unified group. A PEG without a strong facilitator will fail.”

“Being a facilitator is often referred to as ‘herding cats,’” says Fathelbab. “The facilitator allows the participants to be selfish in getting their needs met without dominating the meeting or going off on tangents. Inevitably, disputes and conflicts arise and we actually believe it’s a healthy habit to ensure they are addressed early before they fester.”

Group Wisdom Improves Results

According to Fathelbab, in general terms, the benefits of PEG participation include: learning from peers; avoiding mistakes others have made; leveraging years of experience to grow member businesses; a confidential place to discuss challenges that often can’t be discussed elsewhere; seeing blind spots; having a support group; developing friendships; sharing tools; and growing as a leader professionally and personally.

However, talking with members of the PSA PEG reveals some of the specific and direct ways being part of the group has advanced their businesses.

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