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Vistage Celebrates 50 Years of Helping CEOs

BY ANDREA SIEDSMA

Pat Hyndman launched his leasing company in 1953. By 1970 his business was doing pretty well, but Hyndman said he didn’t really know what he was doing. He needed more know-how to take his firm to the next level.

Coincidentally, he was approached by someone about a small organization for chief executives called the Executive Committee. Joining the organization, now Vistage International, was the best decision he ever made, Hyndman said.

And though he sold his business in 1978, Hyndman said he continues to be involved with Vistage by coaching other executives.

San Diego-based Vistage, which recently celebrated its 50th anniversary, has become the world’s leading chief executive organization, specializing in executive and business coaching for small and medium-sized businesses.

Now with more than 14,000 members around the world, Vistage provides a forum that allows executives, on an intimate level, to tackle topics such as business strategies, best business practices and leadership styles to enhance their decision-making and performance.

Vistage provides access to a worldwide network of expert resource speakers, CEOs and executive learning workshops. Vistage members gather several times a year at regional, national and international conferences to exchange ideas and connect with chief executives outside their local peer groups.

“To have a group of people whom you respect and admire who are helpful to you in your personal and professional life is just marvelous,” said Hyndman, who was a Vistage member for 15 years before becoming a Vistage chair. “You’d be amazed at how blindfolded you can get in your office. By being part of Vistage, you can get out there and see what other executives are doing.”


One-On-One Coaching

As a Vistage chair for the past 20 years, Hyndman provides insight, advice and leadership support through one-on-one coaching sessions with member executives.

Hyndman also runs two groups through Vistage, in which members get together monthly for day-long meetings. Half of the day is spent on each other’s issues, while the other half is spent discussing and listening to fresh ideas and perspectives from invited speakers.

“Accountability is also a big thing with Vistage,” Hyndman said. “We have what we call ‘care-frontation.’ We confront each other in a caring way. We put honesty over niceness. When you’re running a business by yourself you’re not accountable to anyone. As a member of the group, the group holds you accountable. So, at the end of the day you can make some pretty good decisions.”

Vistage offers a number of programs, including the chief executive program, small business program, key executive program and trusted advisors program.

Helping to fuel small and medium-sized businesses through such programs is something Vistage Chairman and CEO Rafael Pastor is very keen on.

After all, he said, in the United States alone, small and medium-sized businesses create 75 percent of the new jobs and generate 50 percent of the nation’s business revenues.

Vistage members have annual sales ranging from $1 million to more than $1 billion.

According to Vistage, members are more successful than their competitors and grow their revenues at twice the percentage expansion rate after joining.

“Small businesses are the engine of this economy,” said Pastor, who, before taking the helm of Vistage in 2004, held executive positions at several global media concerns, including News Corp. and Fox Television International.

“However, because these companies are smaller than the Fortune 500 companies, they are more limited in their resources. They can’t afford consultants, for example. They need to reach out and get the best possible advice they can within the constraints of their budget.”

Just in the last three years, Pastor and his team have strengthened the organization’s presence worldwide. Vistage, which already has members in 16 countries, plans to expand into other international markets such as China and India, said Pastor.

Vistage is also using the Web to reach more potential members, as well as enhance services, via such tools such as blogs and Webinars.

Vistage’s Web site includes an online directory of members to allow members to make connections worldwide.

Once a member puts in a request or a need, the system will return a list of people who match that member’s specific request.

For example, a member who is considering doing business in China in a certain field can put in a request and get a response from other members who have done business in China.


Provides Additional Tools

“We live in a global economy and we owe it to our members to give them global connectivity,” said Pastor, also a former lawyer and investment banker. “I’m excited about the additional tools the Web will provide us. It will allow us to make our network more valuable.”

The process of finding, hiring and retaining good people is something Vistage coaches its members on. However, Pastor said, it’s not just about hiring good people, but also knowing how to deal with and treat different generations of workers.

“For example, Generation X and Y and baby boomers have different work ethics,” Pastor said. “A good CEO has to understand how different each of them are and how you can leverage technology, for example, to get good people. An executive who is a baby boomer may learn from other Vistage members that Generation Y workers might want to work remotely or have more flex time, instead of expecting them to have the same kind of work habit you have, which is to be at your desk all day. We help our CEOs learn how to relate better to the younger workers.”

For Ruby Randall, Vistage is all about forming strong peer relationships. Randall, the organization’s chief operating officer since November 2007, first joined Vistage as a member while she was president and CEO of the Anthony Robbins Cos.

“The small group experience allows you to customize your business to deal with today’s challenges,” Randall said. “Our member base creates this social network. If you take that to the next level, with the Vistage chairs, these are people who aren’t just doing a job. They are continually giving back. There’s a reason why our members’ companies’ revenues grow more than other U.S. companies do.”


Andrea Seidsma is a freelance writer based in Encinitas.

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