As a CEO, can you remember the last time you benefited from sharing operational insights with another business leader?
Chances are it doesn’t happen too often, if only for one simple reason: Firms must carefully protect proprietary information. The little gossip bird that tweets can bring a company down. That said, business leaders may sometimes need sound advice. The story of “Who Wrecked J.C. Penny?” serves as a warning to CEOs that changing course – without the benefit of outside perspective – may turn out for the worse instead of the better.
Even the top business leaders need to have a sounding board. We all need one, because most of us have our myopic moments. But have you considered how difficult it can be to take those in-person business relationships to the next level? That’s because it’s very difficult to find a safe arena where you can simply exchange tips and advice with another CEO without the fear that something you say could jeopardize your competitive advantage.
More than ever before leading a company requires the top people to be astute across a broad range of management skills. So what if you had a safe atmosphere where you could freely share moments of insight with a select group that posed no competitive threat? Groups like that give business leaders a way to safely glean tips and advice without disclosing information to competitors.
Small business networks can create a powerful means of solving pernicious problems. Give it some thought.