New Year Message, Forum Dates & Topics for January and February 2018 | Tools for Goal Setting, Planning and Scaling

Happy New Year, 

We want to thank every member of every forum for the opportunity to serve you by helping you solve challenges, take on new opportunities, network with your community and develop as leaders.    We begin 2018 with 86 valued members  in eight forums.  In total, 75 organizations are represented and the forums are served by four highly-capable chairs, Ed Nicholson, Todd Wood, Mike Smith and Tim McFarland and our Super Assistant, Pear Pleetissamuth.     

We hope as part of your New Years' resolutions, you have resolved to dive deeper into your peer advisory group.  We hope you will put forth your most challenging issues and greatest opportunities to your  fellow forum members. When we do this, we make better decisions and execute around them more effectively. 

During the month of January, we customarily ask members to share your goals for the year.   In doing so, please consider the M.I.T.s Tool - Most Important Things.  Please find a link to this tool and how it works. Click Here. 

January's Calendar of Forums

February's Calendar of Forums    

If you are scheduled to be a lead presenter soon, your chair will be meeting with you well before you are scheduled to present.    

Scaling Up, In-Sync and EOS - Resources for Planning and Executing

For planning beyond your M.I.T.s, please consider the One Page Personal Plan, a tool developed by Verne Harnish and a part of his popular book - Scaling Up.   To get a copy of the tool, Click Here.

Verne's background: 

• CEO of Gazelles
• Founder of EO (Entrepreneur Organization)
• Author of Mastering the Rockefeller Habits

For more information about Verne, click here: www. Gazelles.com.  Verne shares a number of resources here, including his perspective on the Rockefeller Habits.

To go deeper relating to your organization's strategic plan, please consider a resource brought to us by Mike Smith, Innovate Arkansas and Chair of CEO Forum V based in Little Rock.  Mike recommends, as a starter, the following 2 minute clip of Michael Sync's methodology Click Here.   In the month of Februrary, Michael will be a guest presenter at CEO Forum V.  Michael resides in Memphis.  For more info about his firm and tools, please click here: http://in-synk.com/rock-sand/

Tara Limbird and her firm, Limbird Realty, recently engaged EOS for planning and executing.  We plan to invite one of EOS's certified coaches to present at a NWA CEO Forum.  Learn more about EOS's platform here: https://www.eosworldwide.com/what-is-eos    Over time, we will be able to handicap each firm and their product and when they are a fit. 

We hope and trust that 2018 will be a great year for each one of you.  We look forward to being a part of that great year.     

Five For Friday - Five Resources Brought to Us by Members and Colleagues During the Week Ending December 15, 2017

Each time a peer advisory group comes together, resources, nuggets, counsel and input are transferred from one member to the full group of members. 

During the week of December 15, 2017, the following resources or links were brought forward:

1. Emotional and Social Intelligence Tools  - Click-  

The Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations was founded in 1996 to aid the advancement of research and practice related to emotional intelligence in organizations. The following research projects and articles are provided by the Consortium to support this mission. Full-text documentation of each of these articles available for download free of charge.  Thank you, David Lewis, "of counsel" member of CEO Forum II. 

2. Business Planning Software - Click -

The world's leading business plan software, built for entrepreneurs like you.  Thank you Andrew Dabney, member of CEO Forum III. 

3. Eat, see and do in Northwest Arkansas

An App called LeisurList.  Download the app and allow it to offer you a curated recommendation list based on your lifestyle and interests.   Developed by the Runway Group.   Thank you Ed Nicholson and Michael Clark.  Ed is the chair of Elevate Performance's Accelerate Leadership Forums and is a great resource for members and others for how to optimally communicate with our stakeholders.  Michael Clark is a member of CEO Forum IV, semi-retired PR professional and will soon announce his second half career plans.  

4. Useful Resource

A resource for strategically executing in your organization coming from the authors of Traction, an app named EOS Global. Tools and articles that help leaders tighten up how we will execute and really prepare to scale and gain Traction.  Thank you Tara Limbird, Limbird Realty and member of CEO Forum IV.  

4.  The Jesse Lewis Choose Love Foundation

Five years after the tragic Sandy Hook shooting, Scarlett Lewis demonstrates how to deal with unimaginable adversity.  This interview has now been downloaded over 12 million times.  Click. Thank you, David Lewis, "of Counsel" Member of CEO Forum II and father of Scarlett Lewis, founder of the Jesse Lewis Choose Love Foundation. 

The Choose Love Enrichment ProgramTM is a free Pre-K through 12th grade social and emotional learning program that teaches educators and their students how to choose love in any circumstance and helps them become connected, resilient, and empowered individuals. These skills, tools and attitudes have been proven through decades of scientific research to be the best way to ensure a healthy, meaningful and purpose-filled life.  Click Here

5. Learning from Leaders for whom we have great respect - Elise Mitchell

A great blog post -  Click -

Thank you, Ed Nicholson, for referring this great blog post to us.  Elise recently presented to Emerging Leader Forum VII and will be invited to present to Accelerate Leadership Forum VIII (previously referred to as the Emerging Leader Forum).  Ed and Elise have both been awarded "Super Mentor Awards" by Elevate Performance.  A super mentor is open to taking time to help aspiring leaders by quietly mentoring a surprising number of people.   

About Our Firm

Elevate Performance operates eight peer advisory groups that has participation from 86 members and over 60 organizations so that leaders can come together in safe settings and process opportunities, issues or challenges with peers who likely have experience and knowledge that when added with other members, delivers impactful results. 

Please contact us if you would like to access the benefit of our structured methodology that brings forward real solutions for real opportunities and challenges.

To learn more about whether a peer advisory group is a fit for you, please contact Tim, Ed or Pear at Pear@ceoforums.us.   

Lead Better |  Elevate  

Accelerate Leadership Forum To Host Orientation Meeting on October 27; November 7 Start-date; Invest in Your A Player

Give your organization a competitive advantage; invest in your most promising team member; prepare your firm's readiness to take on the next level of growth  

In the Accelerate Leadership Forum VIII ( a.k.a. Emerging Leader Forum VIII), we help accelerate the process of transforming good people into good leaders.

The Accelerate Leadership Forum is a ten-month forum, in which members meet for half-days monthly, with a curriculum that combines leadership and management training with peer-to-peer processing of real-life management opportunities.  The program is ideal for quickly-promoted managers or key personnel of mid-sized to large enterprises, owners/CEOs of smaller enterprises, or executive leadership within non-profit organizations.

Give your organization a competitive advantage and invest in your  promising associate that is moving up quickly.   Talk with us about how we might help them fill the gaps.

Please contact:

• Ed Nicholson at Ed@ceoforums.us
• Pear Pleetissamuth at Pear@ceoforums.us
• Tim McFarland at Tim@ceoforums.us

DETAILS ABOUT THE ACCeLERATE LEADERSHIP FORUM VIII (“AL VIII”)

• AL VIII begins November 7, 2017; enroll now and save your key person’s seat
• Up to 14 members from different organizations; no competitors or conflicts

Who is best suited to enroll into this program?

• A learner – Knows the value and importance of being a life-long learner
• Growth-oriented – Eager to take on all that comes with each step of added responsibility
• “Semi-rounded”—Someone whose growth trajectory has left opportunities for professional development, leadership and management skills.

Fundamental leadership development  includes:

• Managing oneself
• Managing and leading others—360 degrees
• Adopting a strategic mindset
• Basic finance and budgeting
• Communicating with stakeholders
• Contributing to a positive organizational culture
• Peer-to-peer processing of opportunities and challenges , which allows members to practice managing diverse, real-life business challenges.
• Competitively priced – $3,500 for organizations with more than 50 co-workers and $3,000 for those with less; members representing diversity receive $300 reduction
• The more diverse the members, the richer the experience can be for all; those representing diversity receive a reduced price
• In this tightening labor market, there is no doubt that your best talent will be recruited by competing organizations and will be evaluating their options. Companies that invest in their employees’ professional development increase loyalty and attain a competitive advantage.

Let us help your  A Player or B Player heading to A Player gain valuable knowledge, perspective and wisdom.

Learn more about the program, click here