How long do you benefit from a new idea or understanding? If it becomes a part of your conscious thought, you can apply it for the rest of your life. The Power of Illumination found in CEO PEER GROUPS enables members to dramatically shift their set point, defined as a reference by which a person relates their experience to their world view. When a member receives new information and ideas from the group, it is as if a light goes off for them and they are now able to see things in a whole new way. Just as magnification brings new power and intensity to bear on your problems, the illuminating power of a CEO PEER GROUP help you find your way in the dark. Continuously discovering previously unknown information is an ever present challenge for CEOs, as staying competitive means learning how to discover new ideas and integrate them into the company structure. According to Andy Grove, former Chairman of the Board and CEO of Intel Corporation, the real risk to companies comes from firms in unrelated industries, pointing out that what companies do not know is more dangerous to their survival than what they do know. To survive, a CEO has to be looking beyond their traditional competitors towards unconventional external threats and the only way to do that is by seeing them before they see you. A CEO has to constantly ask themselves the following questions: 1. What do I know I know? 2. What do I know I don’t know? 3. What don’t I know I don’t know?
A CEO has to ask himself, of all that there is to know about his industry (customers, competitors, macro economic trends, disruptive technologies, etc.), what is it that could affect his company the most and how much of that does he and his organization know? While the answer can be elusive, it is no less critical to consider because through the process of deliberate thinking the CEO will begin to discover what was previously unknown to him. When something moves from the unknown realm into the known realm, a breakthrough or discovery occurs. Usually it goes from the unknown realm into the known realm by way of the I know I don’t know process. Once the CEO becomes aware that he does not know something, he can set about finding the answers. The more the CEO moves information from the unknown realm into the known realm the more he can act upon it. Once in the known realm he can work to move it into the I know I know area and the more competent he becomes on that subject. The last question can never fully explored due to its ambiguity. But that is exactly why it must be asked by CEOs of themselves and their firms, as can be done through CEO PEER GROUPS. The CEO PEER GROUP brings the extensive experiences and market awareness to the awareness and benefit of every member. This collective knowledge provides illumination and information which the members would not be able to get any other way. A fresh set of eyes can shine new light on an old idea. More information can be found in my book, Critical Mass: The 10 Explosive Powers of CEO Peer Groups. Purchase the book on Amazon here: https://amzn.to/2yKIASQ