Tag Archives: Vistage

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Vistage Quotes – March 2014

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The local brotherhood of CEOs gathered for our monthly meeting… it was a light day for the usual brilliant utterances flowing from the steaming cauldron of intellect (Whoa Nelly, where are my boots?).

Personal anonymity is respected… well, usually.

ANSWERING THE QUESTION AND DON’T BE DEFENSIVE:
A:  “Let’s figure this out.  Just answer the question Yes or No”
B:  “You would never answer a Yes/No question… EFF-YOU!!”
      – The guy who keeps your kids safe online

CAREFULLY STATE RECOMMENDATIONS:
A:  “You could say, No other competitor gets all the porn that we do.”
B:  “Are you sure you want to say it that way when pitching schools?”
A:  “Oops, What I meant was…”
      – The guy who wants to kick an unethical competitor’s butt

DECISIVE LEADERSHIP:
“People who need to be 100% sure about something end up not doing anything.  It’s your company – make the call!”
     – The guy managing your retirement

 KNOW WHEN TO FOLD ‘EM:
A: “Earnouts are really difficult and usually rife with issues”
B:  “Well this earnout is very achievable……. hey, why is everyone laughing?”
     – The guy with the software company purchased by Int’l company

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Vistage Quotes – February 2014

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Happy Valentines Day!

Before attending to our respective spouses / significant others, the usual suspects (ragged CEOs…) gathered for our monthly meeting.  Rising from the camaraderie and care-frontational feedback came the usual pearls of wisdom.

As usual, anonymity is mostly respected…

BRANDING THE FOUNDER:
“I want to be ‘the brand’ – out there cutting ribbons, kissing babies and be like Colonel Sanders on the bucket.”
      – The guy who manages your retirement

POSITIVE MENTORSHIP:
“I’m just kinda f-ing telling him what to do, I don’t care anymore.”
       – The guy who founded an IT reseller

NOT JUMPING THE GUN:
“Hey, just ask questions – no thinly veiled solutions!”
     – The moderator

A CONVERSATION ABOUT SPEAKING IN METAPHORS:
MR. A: “You are trying to turn a phillips screw with a straight screwdriver.”
Mr. B: “What the heck does that mean?”
Mr. C: “It means he doesn’t know S* about tools.”
Mr. A: “No, what I meant was…”

KEEPING THE SIZE OF THE ISSUE IN PERSPECTIVE:
“This guy is a 7-digit problem in the face of a 9 or 10-digit opportunity for the company.”
       – The guy who built an independent publisher

FOCUS & VISION:
“We had no clue, but that didn’t stop us.”
      –  The guy who founded a software company

A productive day overall and two new member candidates dropped-in for an evaluation visit.  Although, couple regular guys were missed and the energy is higher when we all are there.

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Vistage Quotes – January 2014

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Jan 16th:  Another powerful monthly Vistage meeting.  Action promises that will change companies and change lives were recorded with appropriate emphasis.

The meeting also yielded it’s usual trove of humorous bits as the cabal of abused CEOs gathered again to solve each other’s problems, vent and pickup some wisdom along the way.   The foot-stomping and fist-pounding often yields quotations that beg to be memorialized.  Now, because our group credo is “what happens in the room, stays in the room,” the names of the CEOs and their companies have been replaced with brief descriptors.

MOTIVATION:
“If I was any lazier, I’d slip into a coma”
      – The guy who manages peoples retirement

INTERNATIONAL NEGOTIATIONS:
“Words on f*ing paper don’t seem to mean to these guys what they mean to us.”
      – The guy selling his software company to a buyer in a foreign country

NOTE:  The above CEO is also a master communicator who consistently demonstrates that the f-bomb can be used in a dizzying array of grammatical combinations.  My favorite is starting every sentence with “F!” and the take a deep breath before getting to the point.

CHANGING PRIORITIES:
“I don’t have a big issue to report, but I will pause to announce that being single again is great – I am getting laid like crazy and I’m happy about it.”
      – The guy with a software company that makes waiting for things in life less time consuming – such as the line of men outside his ex-wife’s bedroom.

COMMANDING RESPECT:
“Then he said to me, HEY, I don’t work for you!  So, how do I respond to that?”
     –  The guy who founded an IT reseller

PAYING FOR VALUE:
“He is used to $250K/$300K.  What I am trying to do is get him for $120K. Any suggestions?”
     – The guy who runs a manufacturing company

MOTIVATING THE TEAM TO EXECUTE:
“I told him, it’s the right thing to do, he just doesn’t want to work.  Dammit!”
      – The guy who built a new communications solution

MANAGING THE BOARD:
“I don’t know – Do I tell them to f-off and stuff it?  C’mon guys, I’m new to this!”
      – The guy who founded a new power company

February should bring more world-changing wisdom from the group…