Catlin & Cookman Group Developers of High-Growth CEO Forums™ High-Growth CEO Forums™: A Unique CEO Learning Exchange Presented to: KM Forum May 2007 by:

Catlin & Cookman GroupDevelopers of High-Growth CEO Forums™

High-Growth CEO Forums™: A Unique CEO Learning Exchange

Presented to:

KM ForumMay 2007

by:

Bouzha Cookman

Adapted from Leading at the Speed of Growth By Katherine Catlin & Jana Matthews (Wiley, 2001). © 2007 Catlin & Cookman Group Developers of High-Growth CEO Forums™

Context: The Dream


Context: The Reality


Context: The Reality


Predictable Stages of Corporate Growth™ Continuously Building Value

FORMATION

GROWTH

TURBULENCE

NEW GROWTH

TRANSFORMATION

Declining into theSpin Cycle

Building the Profit Spiral


Stages of Growth: Company Goals

START UP

INITIAL GROWTH

RAPID GROWTH

CONTINUOUS GROWTH • Jump to the next curve• New growth strategy• Expand to new markets/niches• Add products and services• Re-invent operations

• Become market leader in your niche• Ward off competitors• Build management team• Hire and integrate more people• Become profitable

Drive Sales

Lead the Market

Dominate the Industry

Develop Product

TURBULENCE

TURBULENCE

TURBULENCE

TURBULENCE

• Launch differentiated product• Capture market share• Grow revenues• Raise Funds

• Figure out product & concept that customers want to buy

• Build relationships• Raise funds


Evolution of the CEO & the Executive Team

START UP

Develop Product

INITIAL GROWTH

Drive Sales

RAPID GROWTH

Lead the Market

CONTINUOUS GROWTH

Dominate the Industry

Strategic InnovatorChange CatalystOrganization BuilderChief of Culture

Team BuilderCoachPlannerCommunicator

DelegatorDirection Setter

Doer/Decision Maker

TURBULENCE

TURBULENCE

TURBULENCE

TURBULENCE


High-Growth CEO Forums Help CEOs Succeed

“The job of the CEO is inherently and unapologetically isolating. The High-Growth CEO Forum offers a refreshingly honest and sincere source of support and advice from peers who live on similar quarterdecks. Its format and strong

facilitation differentiate it from other groups I have seen. The Forum is one of the most effective feedback and personal development mechanisms available to a CEO. It has made me a more effective leader and a happier, more

balanced human being.”Colin Angle, CEO of iRobot, which had a successful IPO in November 2005 Colin was an E&Y Entrepreneur of

the Year winner in 2003

"I am a strong advocate for the CEO Forum. I grew and sold my last company for 5X more than it was worth when I started as CEO. There is no way I could have done that without the Forum. The quality of the people and input I got

from them along the way was invaluable. We are all dealing with the same issues, just different context and timeframes. As you know, a CEO's biggest challenge is prioritizing – especially his/her time. The fact that most of this

team never misses a meeting speaks volumes about the value proposition! As an aside, my current company is less than a year old and our last round post money was already 5X the first!

Paul DiGiammarino, President & CEO of Anaqua. Paul is back in a High -Growth CEO Forum running his second company after a successful exit with his first.

“The High-Growth CEO Forum fills a unique slot in a CEO’s advisory requirements. The group really shares deep problems, concerns, fears, challenges, and hopes. I didn’t expect the depth and clarity that we get into on some tough topics, such as how to handle sticky board of directors’ issues and how to make executive and organizational change

better. The High-Growth CEO Forum was a major contributor to giving me the ideas and inspiration…that led to winning the Entrepreneur of the Year Award.”

Dan Schimmel, Dan Schimmel, CEO of Pyramid Research, former CEO of OneSource Information Services and an E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year winner in 2001.


Nine Years of Proven Value

• Seven High-Growth CEO Forums are running in the U.S.

and Europe• 45% of Forum CEOs have had a successful exit, including

IPOs. 75% who sold their companies are back in the Forum as CEO of their next venture.

• Six member CEOs have been winners or finalists in E&Y's

Entrepreneur of the Year program.

• Members have been on the INC 500 and Deloitte’s Fast 50

multiple times.

• The annual membership renewal rate is 100%.


What makes it work?Selection Criteria

Similarities

• Want to learn from and contribute to each other

• Are smart

• Are investor-backed

• Share similar business environments - high-tech

Differences

• Have diverse skills and experiences

• Run different stage companies

Process

• Are screened by the existing members


What makes it work?Unique, High-Impact Format

• 1.5-2 days quarterly -- “the forest through the trees”

• Confidentiality

• Ground rules

• Emotional breakthroughs: “putting it on the line”

• One “Member Challenge” per CEO each meeting

• “Best Practices”

• Accountability -- Milestones

• Key Discoveries

• CCG IP - co-authored books Leading at the Speed of Growth and Building the Awesome Organization, cutting-edge tools, models and performance evaluators – to frame discussion and deliver actionable insights.


Some Challenges

• Managing Board of Director (BoD) effectiveness

• Getting sales traction

• Changing strategies and/or organizational structure

• Scaling the Executive Management Team (EMT) -- making hard people decisions

• Jumping to the next level of growth -- organic, M&A, etc.

• Managing fast growth

• Managing through downturns

• The CEO as chief of planning, communication and culture

• Sale vs. IPO -- pros and cons


• Alignment with investors – effective BoD management

• Effectively evolving the CEO role

• Planning process and plan

• Building an effective culture to support the plan

• Building the Executive Team as Leaders of Growth

• Listening to markets and customers

Best Practice Topics


• Didn’t work: T’s setting Board of Director expectations in early stage start-up

• Worked: C’s setting of Board of Director (BoD) expectations in early stage start-up

• Executive Team Performance Evaluator insights -- D & J’s VP HR

Best Practice Case Studies: Collective Learning over Time


• Initial Framing & Preparation: prioritization of issues starts here

• Unbiased interest in the success of each participant

• Continuity -- builds on experience with each other over time: EMT decisions

• Paradigm shifting analysis: M’s Founder dilemma, D’s acquisition strategy, G’s BoD Upgrade

• Support & Development for a new point-of-view: S’s User Experience Challenge

Member Challenges Success Drivers & Examples


Q&A

Documents

Catlin & Cookman Group Developers of High-Growth CEO Forums™ High-Growth CEO Forums™: A Unique CEO Learning Exchange Presented to: KM Forum May 2007 by: