In 2005 the Carlyle Group asked me to run a $15M enterprise software company. Upon stepping in as CEO and Chairman, I also joined my first group Vistage Group. Several members of that group are still good friends with whom I share my innermost thoughts even after long intervals apart. The Carlyle venture went incredibly well, in part due to the support I got from my Vistage peers. The company has now gone through four hold periods and last sold for over $1.5B.

• After 35-years of success running businesses, American University asked me to codify what I was doing to share with master’s students. For AU, I developed a 36-hour course called Organization Analysis and Strategy that was delivered in two three-day weekends a month apart. The course was also taught at the University of San Francisco and Golden Gate University in various in-room formats. I soon realized that rather than asking master’s students to “imagine you run a business” it would be far better to work with actual business leaders.

• With the help of an online education expert from Stanford, the course went from behind classroom walls to online. We organized a 30-hour program with ten modules that run on any learning platform (e.g., Blackboard, Moodle, Canvas, etc.). We have delivered what is now called Manage to Lead online in a series of ten two-hour sessions to over 100 executives around the world in cohorts of three-to-five teams composed of three-to-seven members over the past several years. The WHAT-WHO-WHY Workshop is a derivative of Manage to Lead’s Module-2.

I call myself a professional CEO because I have run businesses in different business models, industries, capital structures, and maturity stages. I have studied what works, and why it works, across these dimensions and discrened what is common that drives success. I have  compared insights with what has been written and packaged to share with others what I have learned that is not otherwise documented.

• EOS Traction and Scaling-Up share roots in Rockefeller’s 10 Principles which help leaders run their companies well from the bottom-up. The Manage to Lead System helps leaders architect, build, govern (as opposed to run), grow, and change their business from the top-down. Think of MtL as architecting a building before building it as opposed to how to live well in what is built.

• For example, EOS makes clear that every organization needs to be clear about its value proposition and its core processes whereas MtL provides tools and workstreams for developing an organization’s purpose, core processes, and operating model.

• Peer Group members comment that valuable tools and workstreams from both EOS/Scaling-Up and MtL work well together and are easily incorporated into any operating organization.

One MtL Program participant was a record producer who has worked with artists whose names you would recognize. He said record producers bundle a collection of good songs together into an album but, generally, only one of those songs is a hit and hits are what sell. He said the IntelliVen Manage to Lead content is all very good, but the W-W-W is a hit and should be treated as such. I am trying to follow his advice.

Sample quotes from members:

• “Peter’s content isn’t received by members as a presentation so much as it is discovered through its application during the session.” CEO of a Silicon Valley Health Venture with $165M in VC funding.
• The workshop is both experiential (we learn by doing) and relatable (members are familiar with the case material).
• “What are you doing on Tuesday?” CEO of family-owned and operated poultry farm.
  
• “Can you run my customer-facing team through this workshop before the end of the month?” CEO of a venture-backed startup.
  
• "The session provided the opportunity for members to work together ON the group in a structured way that also serves as a road map for doing the same with leaders in our companies." Longtime Vistage member running a startup.
• "My team needs this workshop right now to all get on the same page to re-set our company strategy." Longtime Vistage member who organization is in transition given changing time.

Contact PeterD any time at peterd@intelliven.com or 415-848-2634.