The Loneliness Problem at the Top
There is a paradox at the heart of leadership: the more successful you become, the more isolated you feel. A Stanford Graduate School of Business study found that nearly 75% of CEOs do not receive outside leadership advice, and many struggle with significant isolation. When you are the one everyone else looks to for answers, there is no one to look to yourself.
I have felt this firsthand. After 18 years of building businesses, I know what it is like to sit with a decision that could change the trajectory of your company — and have no one in your orbit who truly understands the weight of it. Your team looks to you. Your family trusts you. But neither can give you the unbiased, experienced perspective that the decision actually requires.
That is exactly why I became a Vistage Ambassador. And it is why I believe Vistage is one of the highest-ROI investments any CEO or business owner can make.
What Vistage Actually Is
Vistage is the world's largest CEO coaching and peer advisory organization, with over 45,000 members across 40 countries. It has been operating for more than 65 years, and its model is deceptively simple: bring together 12-16 non-competing CEOs and business owners in a confidential group, facilitated by an accomplished executive coach (called a Vistage Chair), and meet for one full day every month.
That is the core of it. But the impact is anything but simple.
The Vistage Advantage: By the Numbers
Vistage Performance Data (Dun & Bradstreet):
- +4.6% revenue growth for Vistage members vs -4.7% for non-members in 2020 (a 9.3 point swing)
- 2.2x faster revenue growth over the long term
- 95% goal achievement rate with peer accountability
- 45,000+ members in 40 countries — the world's largest CEO peer advisory organization
- $1M+ average member company revenue
The Three Pillars That Make Vistage Different
1. Peer Advisory Group — Your Private Board of Directors
Your Vistage group is made up of business leaders from non-competing industries who have no agenda except to help each other succeed. Every member brings real-world experience, diverse perspectives, and genuine investment in your outcomes.
The group becomes your confidential sounding board — the place where you can share your actual financials, your real fears, your half-formed strategies, and your most pressing challenges without worrying about competitive risk or political fallout. The non-compete rule is absolute: no two members from competing industries are ever placed in the same group.
2. One-to-One Executive Coaching
Beyond the group meeting, every Vistage member receives monthly private coaching sessions with their Vistage Chair. These sessions are where the real personal development happens — where you process the sensitive issues you cannot raise in a group, where you are held accountable to your commitments, and where a trusted mentor helps you see the blind spots that are holding you back.
3. World-Class Expert Speakers
Vistage brings vetted subject-matter experts into every meeting to deliver actionable insights on the trends, economic forces, and business challenges most relevant to your industry and stage. This is not generic content — it is curated intelligence delivered directly to your peer group.
The Numbers That Make the Case
I am a data-driven marketer, so let me give you the numbers.
In 2020 — one of the most economically turbulent years in modern history — Vistage CEO members grew their annual revenue by an average of 4.6%, while comparable non-member companies saw revenue decline by 4.7%. That is a 9.3 percentage point swing, documented by Dun & Bradstreet.
Over the longer term, Vistage member companies grow 2.2x faster than non-members. The average member stays with Vistage for more than 5 years — which tells you everything about the return on investment they are experiencing.
And from a behavioral science perspective: the American Society of Training and Development found that having a specific accountability appointment with a committed partner raises your probability of achieving a goal to 95%. That is exactly what your Vistage group provides every single month.
What Vistage Does for Your Leadership
The business outcomes are compelling. But the leadership transformation is what I find most profound.
It breaks confirmation bias. Great leaders are high on curiosity and low on ego. But even the best leaders fall into the trap of seeking information that confirms what they already believe. Your Vistage peers — who have no stake in your existing assumptions — will challenge your thinking in ways your team never will.
It forces you to work on the business, not just in it. One full day per month dedicated to strategic thinking, away from the day-to-day noise, is a discipline that most CEOs never build on their own. Vistage creates the structure that makes it non-negotiable.
It builds the accountability infrastructure that drives results. Telling your Vistage group what you committed to last month — and then reporting on whether you did it — is a powerful forcing function. The social accountability of peers who respect you is more motivating than any internal deadline.
It expands your leadership identity. Mark Marmo, CEO of Deep Well Services, said it best: "I'm a totally different person. It's because of what Vistage showed me. It's helped me evolve into a better person and a better CEO." That kind of transformation is not unusual — it is the norm for members who engage fully.
My Personal Experience as a Vistage Ambassador
I became a Vistage Ambassador because I believe in what it does. I have seen business owners walk into their first Vistage meeting carrying the full weight of their company on their shoulders — isolated, reactive, stuck. And I have watched those same people, over the course of a year, become more decisive, more strategic, more confident, and more effective.
The peer advisory model works because it combines the three things that actually change behavior: perspective (from peers who have been there), accountability (from a group that holds you to your commitments), and coaching (from an experienced mentor who asks the questions you are not asking yourself).
If you are a CEO or business owner who is serious about growing your company and becoming a better leader, I encourage you to explore Vistage. The investment is real. The return is measurable. And the transformation is personal.
How to Get Started
Visit vistage.com to learn more and connect with a Vistage representative in your area. If you are in the Tucson market or want to discuss whether Vistage is the right fit for your stage of business, feel free to connect with me directly on LinkedIn — I am happy to share my experience and make an introduction.
The best leaders I know are not the ones who have all the answers. They are the ones who have built the systems and relationships to find the right answers — faster, with more confidence, and with less isolation than they would have alone.
