Our final CEO Masterclass of the year happens Nov. 11–13.
We would love to have you join us at Texas CEO Ranch, near Bastrop. You will enter the holiday season with the peace of mind that you have a clear, tested plan for 2027.
Shoot me an email at joel@xpertloop.ai to reserve your spot. Registration includes private lodging and all meals.
What previous attendees have said about the CEO Masterclass…
“The CEO Masterclass is a ten out of ten. It exceeded my expectations and gave me practical tools I can implement immediately.”
—Cory Salter, CEO, SharpeVision MODERN LASIK“The Chief Executive Operating System has been life-changing, for myself and my executive team.”
—Brenda Darden Wilkerson, President & CEO, AnitaB.org“Powerfully simple, and simply powerful.”
—Drew Bagot, Founder & Managing Partner, Serata Capital Partners
“I found the CEO Masterclass to be a game changer.”
—Gary Ivory, President & CEO, Youth Advocate Programs
An executive recruiter once said to me, “CEOs are often the first people who call you back.”
I think that’s true. It captures something important about the people who make it to the CEO chair. They move quickly. Whatever the issue is, they are on it. They have a bias for action.
This responsiveness is a fantastic trait for most professionals, all the way up to executive roles. It’s part of the reason people move up the proverbial ladder.
But once you take on a CEO role, responsiveness and fast reactions can become a trap. In fact, they can easily degrade into the greatest affliction of CEOs: chronic firefighting.
A Harvard study of 27 CEOs found that 36% of their working time was reactive. Even their time alone was usually broken into short stretches. It is remarkably easy to spend the entire day being useful while repeatedly postponing the work that only the CEO can do.
I think about this every time we put together a CEO Masterclass. One of the most common reasons CEOs hesitate to attend is simple: three days is a long time to be away from the business.
I understand. I really do. But sometimes taking the time away from the business is exactly the point.
In almost every case, the business won’t go down in flames if you step aside for three days. To the contrary, the very practice of taking time for intentional strategy work and development of your CEO skills will pay huge dividends.
That’s why Bill Gates had his famous “Think Weeks.” Sometimes you have to get far enough away from the business to think seriously about the business.
This is the dynamic we create in the Masterclass. It isn’t remedial. The CEOs who get the most from it are often already very good at the job and want to become more deliberate about how they do it. They understand the value of a system, especially at the top of the organization. And almost invariably they find that a good system helps them be more intentional and less reactive to every seeming emergency that crosses their desk.
What happens in the CEO Masterclass?
Over three days, we work through specific tools for the CEO role, mental models that apply uniquely to the person accountable for the whole company, and practical ways to improve decisions, resource allocation, strategy and execution.
We also spend time on how CEOs can apply AI intelligently to the strategic core of the business, rather than treating it as another productivity app.
Our last Masterclass of the year is November 11–13 outside Austin. The timing means you can step out of the day-to-day for three days, pressure-test how you’re approaching the role, and go into the holidays with a clear, tested plan for 2027.
The business will survive a few days without you. (But yes, we also have fast Wi-Fi at the ranch, thanks to a new fiber install. We won’t stop you from checking in, I promise.)
Email me at joel@xpertloop.ai to reserve your spot.
Firefighting feels like leadership because every fire has a visible result. The work only the CEO can do rarely does. Which decision do you see CEOs most often let the fires postpone?