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Sage Executive Group, started just two years ago as a CEO peer organization, is spreading its roots to strengthen the leadership skills of finance and operating officers and other top-level executives. The announcement was made in a Sage Press Release to the media across the San Diego region and Southern California.
Here is what Sage has to say:

Sage Executive Group Expanding to Include CFOs, Other C-Level Executives

CEO peer advisory organization Sage Executive Group is adding membership options for finance, operating and other C-Level executives to join its collaborative program of coaching and problem-solving for key decision makers.

San Diego, CA (PRWEB) May 01, 2014
Fast-growing peer advisory start up Sage Executive Group, which expects to more than double in size in 2014, is now expanding its membership options to include CFOs and other C-level executives.
Sage members, all chief executives of fast-growing private companies in the region, said they find the peer advisory meetings so valuable that they want to broaden the program to include other key executives in the collaborative process of problem-solving.
The new groups will be added later this year, and will be announced at that time.
Under the Sage process, the CEOs meet in groups of 12 with a coach, who serves as chairman and guides CEOs through discussions that relate directly to their businesses.
The coachs are chosen because they have been successful CEOs in the past and bring their experience and expertise to the conference table. In addition, speakers with backgrounds in business offer real-world insights and valuable hands-on advice.
The 2-year-old, San Diego-based organization has emerged as a formidable competitor to similar groups in the region. The number of CEO members is expected to double by year-end 2014, along with the addition of finance, operating and marketing executives.
The median annual sales figure for a Sage member is $22 million, which is higher than competing organizations, so the membership is much more selective.
Members praise the sage process for helping to transform their business operations.

• Steve Wagner, President and co-founder of Stone Brewing Co. in Escondido, said, “I’m a very hands-on business owner and I really like to be involved in everything. It forces me to look back at my business and think about it and what I’m doing in my life, the people I work with and what kind of satisfaction I get.”
• Greg Wells, CEO of Corporate Alliance in La Jolla Towne Centre, said, “You have a safe and trusted environment to process your issues, bring your assumptions and questions about your business and have these other CEOs focus totally on exploring and identifying your issues, challenges and opportunities. Sage helps you develop plans and strategies, and then you leave the meeting to go execute the growth that you are looking for.”
• Jennifer Miller, regional president and partner of ACCESS Destination Services in San Diego, said, “It’s been invaluable because I get advice from other local business leaders who are outside my industry. I learn how they handle their businesses and have an opportunity to see how different business leaders interact with their teams and make day-to-day decisions to push their businesses forward.”

About Sage Executive Consulting
Sage Executive Group establishes and operates peer advisory groups for CEOs, presidents, partners and founders of privately held businesses. The Sage process has been developed by leaders who have over 45 years of collective experience with CEO peer advisory groups. As a result, Sage knows what it takes to put together an effective and value-driven member experience. For more information, contact Sage at (800) 648-1063, or go to the Contact Us page at https://www.sageexecutivegroup.com.
Contact: Tom York,
Tom York Public Relations
Email: tom(at)yorkpr(dot)com
Phone: 858-775-4603
 
 
 

I just reread a book that has become one of my favorites. It is called “The Go-Giver” by Bob Burg and John David Mann. I first read it in 2009 when it was given to me as a gift for helping someone get ahead in their career. It meant a lot to me because the message written inside the book said, “I read this book and it reminded me of you.” Here is a summary of the book’s key messages.
 Five Laws of Stratospheric Success:

1. The Law of Value: Your true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in payment.
2. The Law of Compensation: Your income is determined by how many people you serve and how well you serve them.
3. The Law of Influence: Your influence is determined by how abundantly you place other people’s interests first.
4. The Law of Authenticity: The most valuable gift you have to offer is yourself.
5. The Law of Receptivity: The key to effective giving is to stay open to receiving.

My only regret in my career is that I didn’t start practicing these business principles until middle age. If I had read the book in my 20’s, I think I could have accomplished even more.  I suggest that if you have high school or college age children or friends, gift them this book. I don’t think they will learn this in business school.
Weekly Wisdom by Jerry Rollins, CEO of Sage Executive Group

“Don’t watch the clock; do what it does. Keep going.”
– Sam Levenson
What does the most effective workweek look like? I have always been a believer that hard work and effectiveness will equal success in business. During times of great growth I found that 60 to 80-hour workweeks were commonplace and rewarding.
Having just read The 4 -Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss, he challenges many of the old views of working, life balance and success. He is a believer in the ‘Pareto principle,’ as am I. What it says is that 80% of your results come from 20% of your efforts. So by recognizing and focusing on the 20%, we can get similar results vs. being ineffective in our utilization of time.
I am different from Mr. Ferriss because I never felt that my jobs sucked the life out of me as he described in his first business experiences. For the past 25 years I have been involved in businesses that were interesting and fulfilling.
Although I could not be effective running a company on 4 hours per week, I do think that by focusing our efforts we all could accomplish much more within a 40-hour week.
My takeaways from his book are that there is probably a balance somewhere in between and that neither old school or the new way he prescribes are  the “best practice.”  The truth always lies somewhere in the middle.
Weekly Wisdom by Jerry Rollins, CEO of Sage Executive Group
 
 
 

Interesting and very thoughtful message for all to read.  This is special…
A successful businessman was growing old and knew it was time to choose a successor to take over the business. Instead of choosing one of his Directors or his children, he decided to do something different. He called all the young executives in his company together.
He said, “It is time for me to step down and choose the next CEO. I have decided to choose one of  you.” The young executives were Shocked, but the boss continued. “I am going to give each one of you a SEED today – one very special SEED. I want you to plant the seed, water it and come back here one year from today with what you have grown from the seed I have given you. I will then judge the plants that you bring, and the one I choose will be the next CEO.”
One of the executives named Jim, like  the others, received a seed. He went home and excitedly told his wife the story. She helped him get a pot, soil and compost, and he planted the seed. Every day, he watered it and watched to see if it had grown. After about three weeks, some of the other executives began to talk about their seeds and the plants that were sprouting.
Jim kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew. Three weeks, four weeks, five weeks went by, still nothing. By now, others were talking about their plants, but Jim didn’t have a plant and he felt like a failure.  Six months went by — still nothing in Jim’s pot. He knew he had killed his seed. Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing. Jim didn’t say anything to his colleagues; he just kept watering and fertilizing the soil. He so wanted the seed to grow.
A year finally went by and all the young executives of the company brought their plants to the CEO for inspection. Jim told his wife that he wasn’t going to take an empty pot.  But she asked him to be honest about what happened. Jim felt sick to his stomach. It was going to be the most embarrassing moment of his life, but he knew his wife was right. He took his empty pot to the board room.
When Jim arrived, he was amazed at the variety of plants grown by the other executives. They were beautiful – in all shapes and sizes. Jim put his empty pot on the floor and many of his colleagues laughed, a few felt sorry for him!
When the CEO arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted his young executives. Jim just tried to hide in the back. “My, what great  plants, trees and flowers you have grown,” said  the CEO. “Today one of you will be appointed the next CEO!”  All of a sudden, the CEO spotted Jim at the back of the room with his empty pot. He ordered the Financial Director to bring him to the front. Jim was terrified. He thought, “The CEO knows I’m a failure! Maybe he will have me fired!”
When Jim got to the front, the CEO asked him what had  happened to his seed. Jim told him the story. The CEO asked everyone to sit down except Jim. He looked at him and then announced to the young executives, “Behold your next Chief Executive Officer!  His name is Jim!” Jim couldn’t believe it. He couldn’t even grow his seed.
“How could he be the new CEO?” the others said.
Then the CEO said, “One year ago today, I gave everyone in this room a seed. I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it and bring it back to me today. But I gave you all boiled seeds; they were dead – it was not possible for them to grow. All of you, except Jim, have brought me trees and plants and flowers. When you found that the seed would not grow, you substituted another seed for the one I gave you. Jim was the only one with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it. Therefore, he is the one who will be the new Chief Executive Officer!”

• If you plant honesty, you will reap trust
• If you plant goodness, you will reap friends
• If you plant humility, you will reap greatness
• If you plant perseverance, you will reap contentment
• If you plant consideration, you will reap perspective
• If you plant hard work, you will reap success
• If you plant forgiveness, you will reap reconciliation.

So, be careful what you plant now; it will determine what you will reap later.
Think about this for a minute.
Weekly Wisdom by Jerry Rollins, CEO of Sage Executive Group

Top-tier executives accustomed to handing out credit can encounter a surprising challenge – how to accept praise.
That question of personality fit was one of the main themes of an address on conscious business management given to a roomful of San Diego-area business executives by consultant and corporate trainer Scott deMoulin, head of Destiny Training Systems, at a meeting hosted by Sage Executive Group.
Sage CEO Jerry Rollins said that a psychological profile is a valuable tool to use in ensuring that people fit the job before they are hired. “An accountant shouldn’t have the same personality style as a salesman,” Rollins said. “Adapt the job description to the people you are bringing in. Assist a leader in leading and motivating.”
That is  why understanding the psychology of praise is so important.
“Many people can’t accept a compliment,” Rollins said. “It almost makes them uncomfortable, especially really good leaders who don’t want credit for what they do.”
Sage Smart:  A blog of tips and lessons from Sage Executive Group
 
 
 
 
 

Phrase: What does “A fish always rots from the head down” mean?
Definition: When something fails, it is the leadership that is the root cause. If the top of the organization is not functioning properly, then the bad practices filter down.
This phrase was presented yesterday in a Sage Learning Event by Scott deMoulin of Destiny Training Systems. He was discussing assignments where his team was engaged to train employees of companies and improve their performance. He said that when the training was not working because of the capabilities of the people he was working with, he would request a meeting with the senior leadership. It became clear after meeting with the C suite in these companies that the organization was challenged at the top and that the real training needed to happen with the leadership.  Last evening, 60-plus people joined us to learn from Scott. What was consistent about all of these C-level leaders is that they took several hours out of their day to improve themselves as leaders.
What did you do this week to improve as a leader?
Weekly Wisdom by Jerry Rollins, CEO of Sage Executive Group

How did the underdogs get their bite in knocking off a stunning array of top-seeded teams in the NCAA college basketball championships? And what can aspiring business leaders learn from victories achieved against teams with far greater star power?
Jerry Rollins, CEO of Sage Executive Group in San Diego and a former professional hockey player, was struck by the initials “T.O.E.” imprinted on the jerseys of the little-known Manhattan College Jaspers when they almost defeated a nationally ranked University of Louisville team with several players bound for the NBA.
The initials stood for, “Team Over Everything.” In game after game, Mercer, North Dakota State, Dayton and Harvard “with less talented players beat much better athletes on the floor,” Rollins said.
It’s a lesson that can be applied to the business world.
“The best teams I ever had went up against bigger companies, had less capital, weren’t as highly educated or ‘articled,” but always seemed to win,” Rollins said.  “On a business team, checking egos at the door and playing a role rather than having five stars on the floor leads to better results.”
The smarts that a coach uses to win against seemingly stronger opponents can be used by a chief executive officer as well.
“Get a bunch of high-powered individuals to play well together and coexist in the sandbox,” Rollins said.
Sage Smart:  A blog of tips and lessons from Sage Executive Group

“Growing old is no more than a bad habit which a busy person has no time to form.” Andre Maurois
Each year as our birthday approaches, we are reminded that some decade markers are getting closer. They seem to create an emotional barrier until the big day passes and you still feel the same. This came to mind this week because I have a birthday approaching and was discussing health, fitness and life balance with a group of millennials and 30 somethings. Since I am in my late 50’s and very conscious of health and fitness, it was funny to hear some of them say, “I’ll get more balanced and concerned with health and fitness when I’m in my 50’s”.
Habits formed when you are young and able to are much easier to manage than habits formed because you are forced to. If you do form them at an early age, the second half of life can be much more enjoyable. A great example of this was when was a young man of 20 and playing professional hockey. I had the honor to play against Gordie Howe, who that year was 46. He not only played at that age, but was still a very physical specimen and a major contributor to his team. My message in writing this is that he played until he was 51 and was able to do so because of his amazing exercise regimen. I, on the other hand, was retired at 24 because I was never as disciplined as he.  Form your habits now and live a more balanced life and enjoy a more prosperous career.
Weekly Wisdom by Jerry Rollins, CEO of Sage Executive Group
 

When it came down to interviewing the finalists for a key management position at a San Diego company, Sage CEO Jerry Rollins and adviser in the hiring process discovered surprising similarities in why great candidates wanted to leave their current firm.
“They were told what to do, but had zero input into the direction of the organization,” Rollins said. “Their  job was to implement orders sent from afar.”
Top talent is looking for “organizations that are agile and nimble compared to big and stodgy,” and wants to be rewarded for top-tier performance. The finalists, while well paid  in their current jobs, had received no significant rewards for outstanding work. “Big companies are breeding mediocrity into their organizations” by not offering major incentives tied to performance, Rollins said.
The finalists had another thing in common. Everyone of them came through a personal referral, lured by the company’s reputation.  “You want to create culture of never having to look for someone to fill a position because people are lined up wanting to work for you,” Rollins said.
Sage Smart:  A blog of tips and lessons from Sage Executive Group
 

“Don’t let your ego get too close to your position, so that if your position gets shot down, your ego doesn’t go with it.” Colin Powell
This past week, I spent several days with some of the best leaders in business. They were speaking of their companies, families, dreams and personal aspirations. I observed common attributes they shared, the teams they had built, the successes achieved, their lofty goals and also what they wanted to contribute back to society. What I did not hear was a lot of self-aggrandizement about what they personally had accomplished. They talked more about the cultures they had helped create and foster. Now I don’t want you to think these folks don’t have healthy egos. They possess much self confidence, and it is based on knowing who they are and what they are capable of. They also know what they don’t know and are not afraid to surround themselves with executives who are better, smarter and faster.
Great leaders know the way, show the way, and go the way, while allowing their teams to take credit for all of the accomplishments.  I like this quote when talking about ego in leadership.
“Don’t accept your dog’s admiration as conclusive evidence that you are wonderful.” Ann Landers
Weekly Wisdom by Jerry Rollins, CEO of Sage Executive Group