CEO Focus-Boston NorthA l Rut h a zer1 2 O l de B er r y Ro a dA n do ver, MA 0 1 8 1 0a l r ut h azer @ceofocus.com 9 78 .886.7713

• Business Leader Performance Groups(a.k.a. Mastermind Groups)

• “Business Essentials” Program

CEO Focus-Boston NorthAl Rut h a zer1 2 O l de B er r y Ro a dA n do ver, MA 0 1 8 1 0a l r ut h azer @ceofocus.com 9 78 .886.7713

Performance Groups Rock!For leaders of businesses in our region: CEOs, Presidents, Partners, and General Managers

What is a performance group?• Up to a fourteen local business owners banding together as

an informal board of advisors to each other. Typically leading B2B companies with sales between $1M and $20M, with 6-50 people in their company.

• Non-competitive industries

• Confidential discussions about critical business opportunities

• Meet monthly together (plus a 1:1 with the groups facilitator)

Why were performance groups created?

• In general, improves performance• Napoleon Hill generally credited with the mastermind group concept in his book Think and Grow Rich,

however, mastermind groups have been around much longer. Even Benjamin Franklin belonged to a group, which he called a Junto.

• Small businesses fighting an invisible foe

• The “Black hole”

• Perpetual shortage of (capital, talent, time)

• Scale • Can’t afford luxuries of support within Fortune 500 companies

• Google has over 100 MBA interns1

• Avoid School of Hard Knocks

• No time2

• On it not in it. According to The Emyth, the average business owner spends 70% of time working on the business and only 10% on the top-level entrepreneurial activities.

1http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2012/pf/jobs/1205/gallery.top-MBA-employers/251% of Americans read 0-5 books per YEAR, Average CEO reads 4-5 books a month. www.refreshleadership.com

Why do people join?

• Pressing opportunity• Sale/merger

• Partnership

• Too fast growth

• Frustrated with pace of progress• An Inc. study showed that over 80% of SMBs miss their goals1

• Accountability• You can’t hold yourself as accountable as a group can

• Have more fun…plus six more2

1http://www.inc.com/guides/2010/06/setting-business-goals.html2http://www.forbes.com/sites/chicceo/2013/10/21/7-reasons-to-join-a-mastermind-group/

How do members benefit?

• Sounding board

• Accountability

• Best practices

Fill Void

• Better Leadership

• Sound business decisions

Consistency• Companies in

Peer groups grew faster than Inc 500

Improve speed of change

A key concept of Jim Collins’ 2011 book Great By Choice is the “20-Mile March.” Explained simply, the 20 Mile March cites the example of the divergence in strategy between the explorers Roald Amundsen and Robert Falcon Scott, in their efforts to lead their teams to be the first to the South Pole in October 1911.

How do I know if I will benefit?

You probably will, if you meet 4 criteria

• Have a significant opportunity

• Are the right kind of thinker (can glean from different people and industries, can give and receive quality input)

• Are committed to achievement

• Are growth oriented, and not satisfied to simply persist in “survival mode”

vs. other methods

Cost

DIN

DIY

DIF

DIW

Speed

What you can expect?

• Maintain a more consistent & strategic focus

• Have more fun, and have greater success…in the monthly meetings, in your business, with your customers, and with your suppliers

• Accomplish your goals with greater consistency

• Learn from the good School of Hard Knocks

• Close the effort-reward gap

Anything else?

• 1:1 monthly support meetings to help ensure progress toward achieving quarterly goals

• Complimentary workshops throughout the year

• Access to facilitator’s network of trusted advisors

Next Steps• Schedule a Business Acceleration Profile

• Make a mutual decision at the end of meeting- Membership benefits include a business analysis

- Ongoing 1:1 support

- Monthly CEO Mastermind group meetings

- Complimentary tickets to local University of CEO workshops

- Membership $495-$695/mo.

- No long term commitment required…stay as long as it’s a “win-win”

Contact Al Ruthazer at 978.886.7713 to set an appointment

QUESTION:• What if a business leader isn’t quite ready to join a CEO Focus

Business performance Group?• His/Her company is a bit too small (1-5 employees…with sales $100K to 1M?

• Not quite enough experience to join a traditional CEO Focus Performance Group?

• Can’t make the commitment of time or money?

• What if a business leader wants to join CEO Focus and is ready, but doesn’t have quite as much “business acumen” as the other seasoned CEO Focus Performance Group members, and wants to grow personally, as fast as possible?

•ANSWER… The Business Essentials Program!

It’s NEW, and it’s GREAT!

CEO Focus-Boston NorthA l Rut h a zer1 2 O l de B er r y Ro a dA n do ver, MA 0 1 8 1 0a l r ut h azer @ceofocus.com 9 78 .886.7713

Business Essentials…The essential things to ensure your business success!

For leaders of businesses in our region: CEOs, Presidents, Owners, Partners, and General Managers…Plus Managers and Directors in their firms too!

What is a Business Essentials Program?

• Business owners, directors, leaders, and managers coming together to learn best practices to make their companies as successful as possible.

• Meet monthly

• Variety of topics

• A dedicated trained facilitator for you group, plus featured guest experts for select topics

• A combination of lectures, workshops, and group work too!

What types of topics are covered?• Linked-In Mastery

• Recruiting/Hiring/Training

• Sales Systems

• Marketing-Highest number of leads, at the lowest possible cost per lead

• Business Systemization

• Saving for retirement

• Leaving your business-Sell, close, merge, or CEO Emeritus?

• Delegation and Leadership

• Growth through acquisitions

• Managing your sales funnel

• Sales 101-Pitches and closes

• Negotiating with difficult people

• Understanding financials

• Advanced Sales-Overcoming Stalls and Objections

• Getting the most from your website

• Adwords marketing

• Reducing Costs

• Managing difficult employees

and more!!!!!

Why do people join?• You may be an expert in their field, but want to become a better

business OWNER or business LEADER.

• You may be frustrated trying to manage growth

• Have you missed some deadlines?

• Do you desire to make more money?

• Do you want to bring the FUN back into going to work?

• Do you wish you could take more vacation time, without worrying about what’s happening in your business?

• Do you wish you knew you’d have plenty of money for retirement?

ONE THING

How do I know if I will benefit?You probably will, if you meet 3 criteria

• You are the right kind of thinker…open to LEARN new ideas, and try new things at your company.

• You are committed to achievement

• You are growth oriented, and not satisfied to simply persist in “survival mode”

What can you expect?

• Learn new ideas each month, about a variety of topics affecting all small and medium sized businesses

• Have more fun, and have greater success…in the monthly meetings, in your business, with your customers, and with your suppliers

• Accomplish your goals with greater consistency

• Meet other local like-minded business leaders

Anything else?

• Quarterly support meetings to help ensure progress toward achieving YOUR goals, for those who commit to at least 3 months of Business Essentials programs.

• Access to the facilitator’s network of trusted advisors

• The opportunity to get first preference to be considered for openings in a local CEO Focus Business Performance Group, when any openings exist.

Next Steps

•Schedule a Business Essentials orientation meeting

•Make a mutual decision at the end of meeting- Membership options include monthly, quarterly, and

annual.

Contact Al Ruthazer at 978.886.7713 to set an appointment