Forum Sharpens Leaders

It happens behind closed doors.
No one discusses what is said. They are legally and morally bound from telling tales.
Behind those closed doors, eleven premier business leaders, representing a spectrum of industries in Northwest Arkansas, meet once a month.
The goal is to merge their knowledge and talents. They work to help each other become better leaders.
Tim McFarland, an officer of Arkansas Capital Corp. Group and founder of Grayrock Advisory Services, launched the CEO Forum of Arkansas one year ago. The group has been such a success that McFarland is planning a second group to accommodate others who are interested in joining.
The Forum meets at 7:30 a.m., a time the group chose to fit their schedules. McFarland may say a few words to the group, but if he does have to speak, he keeps it short. He wants to get right into the heart of the meeting.
The Forum members go around the table, sharing their individual trials and triumphs. The members want to know what others are doing to be successful, but more importantly, they want to know what issues are nagging at them — and how they can help.
The issues can range from common issues of personnel matters or attracting capital. It can be a timely issue, such as the emergence of e-commerce. It could even be a personal issue.
“You feel their pain, and you want to help them, and you do help them,” McFarland said. “You become a stakeholder in their challenges.”
Another part of the meeting is inviting a guest speaker, a specialist on a topic of interest to the forum. The speaker doesn’t just recite a presentation, McFarland said, the speaker engages in discussion with the group, giving the members the most benefit.
Bill Hanna, president of Hanna Oil & Gas Co. in Fort Smith, said the Forum is a place to realize and learn about insufficiencies as well as what to do to overcome them.
Hanna said some of the most important lessons for him have been to work on patience and listening.
“It’s more of a support group,” he said “It’s probably something you would get from therapy without calling it therapy.”
Hanna said the Forum fills a void because company leaders can talk to their spouses and friends only so much before wearing out their patience. It’s a type of refuge where the members can talk openly about their issues.
“It’s well worth the effort to jump in my car once a month and drive to Northwest Arkansas to meet with those guys,” Hanna said.
Beginnings
McFarland started the CEO Forum of Arkansas, but the Forum is actually the brainchild of Jim Myers, a retired Phoenix businessman, who has nearly 40 years of experience as either a CEO or chief operating officer of various companies.
Myers flew into Northwest Arkansas for the Oct. 24 meeting of the Arkansas group, supporting his protégé’s one-year-old forum.
Myers laughs that his mother thought he had trouble holding a job. The truth is he has worked for an array of companies, both public and private, as well as two Fortune 500 companies. Today, he still sits on the boards of 14 firms and works for CMC Golf Inc., a specialty golf gift company, in Scottsdale, Ariz.
With his experience in leadership positions, Myers decided to leave the corporate world and offer consulting services. He started Myers Management & Capital Group Inc. in 1986. As part of his services, Myers started the CEO Forum. The idea was to present a safe environment where CEOs can discuss their important issues.
“Whatever they were fussing with, I can usually help because I have been there and was either successful or failed miserably,” Myers said.
Through the CEO Forum, Myers has worked with more than 100 CEOs. One of the Arizona members is Dan Schweiker, co-chairman and co-CEO of China Mist Tea Co., also of Scottsdale.
“When I first joined, I thought it would be kind of like a football coach where you’re diagramming plays with all the X’s and O’s about how to add dollars to the bottom line,” Schweiker said. “We have dollars in the bottom line, but really what it’s all about is internal — how do we become better leaders? How do we help our people perform better than they ever thought they could?”
Schweiker, a 10-year member, said he always takes home one or two points that he can implement into his business.
“You say, ‘In my business, do I have the right people on my bus, and is each one of those sitting in the right seat?'” he said. “Sometimes they’re not bad people, but you have them doing the wrong thing.”
Schweiker has learned about personnel issues from Myers and the Forum. He said when an employer finds that workers aren’t right for the company, it’s important to “help them find their future,” letting them go but also pointing them toward something that will better suit them.
The Forum has also led Schweiker to change his hiring practices.
“I used to hire people because I liked them,” he said. “Now, I really, really drill down into who they are. I’ve seen some bad hires because they had all the competency in the world, but they didn’t share your values.”
One of the most important lessons Schwieker learned was something he said everyone should have learned in kindergarten.
“With the last few senior executive positions we’ve looked to fill, one of the things in the job description was: ‘must play well with others,'” he said.
McFarland was one of the original members of the CEO Forum in 1989. Originally from Arkansas, he had moved to Arizona to pursue a career in banking, which was fraught with challenges.
“During that period, there were so many complicated issues with the economy the way it was, that you just needed help sorting through the complexity of it,” he said.
Banks were taking losses and needed capital, and the Forum provided him with support to keep his bank afloat, he said.
“When you have an area that’s underperforming or a big, glaring weakness and it’s very difficult to take action, to cut that weakness out, it’s kind of like a cancer in the body,” McFarland said. “If you don’t take action, it’s going to hurt you worse.”
In 2000, McFarland returned to Arkansas. Phoenix had grown too large for his liking, and handling three difficult bank restructures had taken its toll. He wanted get back home and spend more time with his family. But McFarland stayed in constant contact with Myers.
“When I was considering anything of significance, I would call Jim,” he said.
Through their ongoing communication, Myers suggested to McFarland that he start a CEO Forum in Arkansas.
“I was really honored and though that was so nice of him,” McFarland said.
He found his way to the Arkansas Capital Corp. and eventually met John Lewis, founder of The Bank of Fayetteville, who was well-connected with the Arkansas business community.
When Lewis retired, McFarland asked him to attend a CEO Forum meeting in Phoenix. The two flew out to Arizona and sat in on a Forum meeting. Lewis was impressed, and they agreed to start the Arkansas Forum.
During the Oct 24 meeting, the CEO Forum of Arkansas invited 20 guests to listen to Myers, a special open portion of the Forum before the group again closed its doors for its regular agenda.
“Jim fit right in,” McFarland said after the meeting.
Myers said he was delighted to meet with the Arkansas CEO Forum.
“It was good to see it in action in another place,” he said.
Click here for a short list of members in the CEO forum.