Feeling alone at the top?

Take heart; some Southwest Florida organizations are there

for executives, providing a confidential haven to air challenges and get advice

from others on issues from staffing to finances. Another plus: the opportunity

to learn cutting-edge business strategies from top speakers and executives

worldwide.

Though each group is unique, they all require one crucial

element—commitment. Members must regularly give their time, money and business

acumen. The results, executives say, are personal and professional growth,

improved decision-making, increased accountability and networking.

“A primary benefit is to hear well-qualified speakers make

presentations on areas in which they have a great deal of expertise,” says Bill

Myers, an attorney with Fowler White Myers Krause and a member of the

Presidents Forum of Southwest Florida, a Naples-based executive network. “This

kind of information isn’t generally available locally. You’d have to travel

many miles to be able to hear people of this caliber.”

To have access to this kind of exclusive information,

potential members must meet certain criteria.

The Presidents Forum, founded in 1996, requires that the member’s

firm has $2 million in annual billings and at least 15 employees. Monthly

meetings feature experts on issues ranging from strategic planning to process

management, and the group hosts breakfast seminars, workshops and cocktail

parties. The Presidents Forum charges an initiation fee of $1,000 and a yearly

membership of $1,200.

The Executive Committee, or TEC, an international

organization that promotes continuous learning for executives, has a Southwest

Florida chapter. TEC meets one day a month, featuring a speaker for the first

half of the day (former Porsche

AG chief executive officer Peter Schutz was a recent speaker), followed by a “meeting of the minds” where members

provide help for their peers’ business issues. In addition, TEC provides

one-on-one sessions with local facilitator Barbara Monti.

To join TEC, the company must have at least $3 million in

annual sales and employ 25 people or more. There is an initial $1,200 fee plus

$2,550 per quarter to maintain membership. There are nearly 8,000 TEC members

worldwide.

For Samira Beckwith, chief executive officer and president

of Hope Hospice and Palliative Care, the time—and money—invested in TEC is

worth it. “It’s very helpful to me to have a group I can talk with,” says

Beckwith. “They might be able to see or hear things in my presentation of an

issue or a problem that I might be too close to.”

Smaller firms may find it tough to meet the requirements or

afford the fees. That’s one reason why TEC created Smart Tools, a mentoring

organization for small businesses and middle managers. Initiation costs $500

and a one-year seat goes for $6,000. Smart Tools focuses more on tactics rather

than overall business strategies.

Membership for all three groups is invitation-only.

Competing companies can’t be members of the same organization. In addition,

some of the groups ask members to sign a confidentiality agreement, which helps

executives feel comfortable sharing

sometimes-sensitive company information.

With Southwest Florida’s growing reputation as a hotbed for

small business, The Alternative Board, or TAB, an international mentoring

organization that primarily serves small business owners, plans to start a

chapter here.

Serving nearly 1,500 businesses in 100 cities worldwide, TAB

brings together business owners, presidents and chief executive officers of

non-competing, privately held firms. There is a $750 initiation fee to join TAB

and a $500 monthly fee. The group says it aims to provide practical ideas,

honest advice, sound strategies and simple motivation. “It’s the difference

between theory and real life,” says founder Allen Fishman. “You learn from

other people’s experiences. The key is getting advice from your peers and a

strong support system.”

Members credit the organizations with providing invaluable

help. Naples restaurateur Vin DePasquale, president of Dock 5, says the

executives in his TEC group were instrumental in helping him develop a quality

assurance program for his workers. “They added a lot to the success of the

program and helped to shape and mold it,” he says. “That way, we could deliver

the program with pretty good assurance and confidence that we were heading in

the right direction.”

For executives in this fast-paced, high-stakes business

climate, that kind of peace of mind is priceless.

Southwest florida’s executive organizations

The Alternative Board

Contact: Allen Fishman

Phone: (303) 839-1200

www.TABboards.com

Allen@TABboards.com

The Executive Committee/Smart Tools

Contact: Barbara Monti

Phone: (239) 949-4400

www.teconline.com

Bmonti@compuserve.com

The Presidents Forum of Southwest Florida

Contact: Rick Kraska

Phone: (239) 592-9700

www.presidentsflorida.com

director@presidentsflorida.com