In this Texas Business Radio interview, host Matt Register and co‑host Jay Curry speak with Leo Bottary, Vice President of Peer Advantage at Vistage and co‑author of The Power of Peers. Bottary explains why CEOs and business leaders need peer advisory groups, distinguishing “peer influence” (the informal, childhood‑stage effect of friends) from “peer advantage” – a strategic, selective, and structured approach to surrounding oneself with fellow CEOs. He cites a Stanford study showing two‑thirds of CEOs avoid outside advice and notes that fewer than 1 % use peer groups, despite strong evidence of personal and professional gains. Bottary outlines the five pillars of an effective peer group: (1) selective, like‑minded membership; (2) a safe, judgment‑free environment with confidentiality; (3) strong facilitation by a “smart guide”; (4) a proven process that drills to core issues and opportunities; and (5) a culture of accountability that turns insights into action. He also discusses the book’s co‑author Leon Shapiro, the role of Vistage, and practical advice for leaders to either join an existing group or start their own. The conversation emphasizes the power of peer support, accountability, and courage to act, positioning peer groups as a critical, under‑utilized tool for CEOs.
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And welcome to Texas Business Radio. I'm your host, Matt Register, here as always along with Jay Curry. Hey Matt, I'm excited today. We're going to talk about one of my favorite topics. Topics, peer groups. This is going to be good. It's going to be good. You know, guys, get your calls in, 844-814-8144. Use Twitter, hashtag TBR. Uh, we monitor— go to the website, texasbusinessradio.com. Tons of way to get in touch with us. Get in touch with us, get your questions in. We're gonna have a great show for you today. We're talking about peer groups. There's a lot of different flavors of peer groups out there, and as a CEO and as a business leader it gets a little bit lonely at the top, right? Every time. Every time. And sometimes there's value in getting together with other guys in your exact same situations. I am in a peer group. I always advocate for people to be in a peer group. And as unique as we all think we are, we are not. Other people have solved the same problems that we're having. That's right. That's right. So to start off the call, we have— or to start off the show. We have really a book, and to tell you the truth, we're stealing the title of the book for the show. So the theme for the show is The Power of Peer Groups, Power of Peers. And we have Leo Bottari on Skype. Welcome to the show, Leo.
Thank you.
So where are you Skyping in from?
I'm actually Skyping in from Rutgers University. I have a talk I'm doing in just a couple of hours here on the power of peers and peer advantage.
So right around the corner in New Jersey, Rutgers University. I'm glad you could join us, and I appreciate you taking the time to join us. Tell us a little bit about this book, because the book— and I haven't read it yet. It is on my list, and I'm hoping you send me one. Hint, hint, hint. But I would like to read it. It is about the power of peers. Tell us a little bit about the book.
Sure. There are thousands of books out there about leadership, hundreds more on followership, and very few about the people who stand beside us. The fact is, who we surround ourselves with really, really matters. And, you know, second to that is CEOs and business leaders can help each other in ways that they just can't find anywhere else. And that is ultimately what we cover in this book. We talk about that. We talk about the difference between the peer advantage— excuse me, the peer influence that we've experienced for our entire lives when we were little kids and our parents cared about who our friends were and all that because they knew it had a big influence on, on our behavior, and the peer advantage that can be realized when a CEO or business leader is more selective, more strategic, and more structured about how they engage their peers. So for example, if you're interested in running a marathon, you'd want to hang around with people that want to do that also, so you can cheer each other on, give each other technical advice, hold each other accountable that you're doing your training every day. It's no different if you're a CEO trying to grow a company.
No, and that's absolutely true. And I tell you what, I've noticed this myself as a relatively younger man, as I started becoming an entrepreneur. All of a sudden I realized that a lot of our friends that were employees certainly didn't have the same problems we did. You know, they certainly came home at 5 o'clock, didn't think about work until, you know, the next morning. And that was certainly not the case for us. And peer groups were a very valuable, you know, tool to be able to meet people that have the same pressures that you do.
Well, you used the expression early on about lonely at the top. Isolation that CEOs can feel when they're trying to lead their companies. Back in 2013, Stanford Graduate School of Business conducted a study that revealed that two-thirds of CEOs are not seeking outside leadership advice. And when you think about where they are getting advice, they're doing good things. I mean, they're reading books, hiring coaches, going to executive development programs, but fewer than 1% of all the CEOs and small business owners out there are availing themselves of a peer advisory group. And what's fascinating about that is we know they work really, really well. The results that people have achieved both personally and professionally were part of these groups are just so extraordinary. So I think it's about time we kind of squared that circle a little bit and gave some language that, you know, was common to people. And I think that for people, for CEOs, for business leaders to understand what peer advantage can bring to their lives and bring to their businesses I think is probably the biggest charge that we have in this book. This is not about selling Vistage or selling any particular organization that runs groups. We even suggest start your own group if that's what's best for you. I think the real point here is to find the best solution, find the best group of people that can help you achieve your goals, and you can do some extraordinary things. I'll bring one point that's kind of interesting as we hit into early March here. So, about 45% of Americans You know, they take a New Year's resolution, right? They decide, okay, I'm going to take on a New Year's resolution. It could be any one of a number of things. 6 weeks later, 80% of them are out.
6 weeks sounds a little long, actually.
It's all over. It's all over for that, you know, 80%. And that's largely because we're really good oftentimes at identifying what we want. We're not always as good at identifying who are the people around us that can help us get there. And I think, you know, there's more— if we can get the support that we need, we can make some extraordinary things happen. To your point, we don't have to go it alone.
Well, and it's more than just the support. It's the accountability. It's other things that go along with it that adds added benefit. Now, you have a co-author in this book, correct?
I do. Leon Shapiro. He serves on the board of directors of Vistage, and, you know, it was really extraordinary to have his experience as a CEO. As a group member. And, you know, I always said too, you should never try to write a book about the power of peers by yourself. So it was very good to have a co-author.
You do need to drink your own Kool-Aid a little bit, right?
And we enlisted the help of a lot of people who lead groups. We talked to competitors, we talked to, you know, all kinds of people to try to get a complete picture of this. And I think the idea of peer advantage, you know, as we said, we know the difference between peer influence and peer advantage is that issue of selectivity, strategy, and structure. But More than that, it's more than just putting people together in a room. You know, again, to double down on being really selective, surround yourself with people who are as committed and as passionate and who want the same things you do for your organization. You know, second is environment. And what I mean by that is it's an environment where it's free of judgment, where people listen more than they talk, they learn more than they judge. and they're there for one another in that way. And what also creates the element of safety is confidentiality, to know that when you're all talking in that room about very sensitive issues, what happens in the room stays in the room. You know, third is the importance of really good leadership. We refer to it as a smart guide in the book, and it's really about what does that leader do to bring people together and really get the group to work to its maximum efficiency. You know, fourth, while it's really helpful to give people the emotional comfort and safety that comes with knowing they can be vulnerable, they also intellectually have to believe that there's a process that will help get to the core of the issues that they want to talk about and help them solve complex issues and identify promising opportunities, and that's really, really important. But lastly, and I think what most people in a group, whether they're in a group or leading the group, will tell you that the culture of accountability is by far, you know, the single biggest factor that really makes peer advantage sing. You know, it's the difference between the promise or the hope of something happening and having it actually happen, because the group serves as a mechanism not only for giving you insights but also giving you the courage to act. And I think when CEOs feel that support from their group members, they have that courage to act.
Yeah, no doubt. Leo Bottari, the author of, or the co-author of, The Power of Peers, and is the Vice President of Peer Advantage at Vistage International. Yeah, you know, there's a lot of different kind of peer groups. Absolutely. And we're going to end up talking to some of them later on in the show. I'm a fan of this. I'm a member of Vistage. You are a master chair of Vistage, correct? Uh, that is just one of several, and I think the point of the book is pick one. It really doesn't, uh, it matters less the exact model that you're using, but get side by side with some of your peers and make sure that, uh, uh, you know, you have somebody to talk to, that you have somebody commiserate with, you have somebody to bounce ideas off of, correct?
That's exactly right.
And get unbiased opinions. Don't get your father-in-law in it, right?
No question about it.
Or your spouse.
You know, part of what the strength of the group also is that these are people that care about your success, and at the same time, they don't have a stake in the outcome. They're not worried about the sacred cows in your organization. They're not saddled with all of the issues that people that either know you or inside your organization or inside your industry, for that matter.
Hey, Leo, we're running out of time. PowerOfPeers.com. PowerOfPeers.com if you want to learn more. Thank you very much, Leo Battari, for joining us on the show. Guys, get your calls in, 844-814-8144. We got to go to a break. We will see you right on the other side. Got more coming.
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