There is a group of amazing people I meet with every month. Tomorrow is our meeting day: my favorite day of every month.

I knew I liked them a lot, but I didn’t realize how much until I heard myself talking about them in this interview (watch it, I think it’s really good) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwWzNqcG2_E&t=14s) that was recorded for Vistage by Joe Galvin, the insightful head of research. Vistage is the oldest and largest company in the world for small- to middle-size business executives who want to improve themselves and their businesses.

When Joe asked me about how these members are facing the challenges of the day in business (inflation, possible recession, supply chain shortages and the search for talent) I answered without thinking much. We do not focus on what is going wrong. We focus on what we can do to grow our companies. Where are the new opportunities? How do I anticipate the customer needs? Where is the “green space”?

When I listened to my answers in this interview, it became so clear to me – the leaders in my Vistage group do not whine, they act. They come up with new ideas and bring them to the group meeting so they can get good experienced and unbiased feedback from their peers. It was like I was looking in a mirror and seeing it for the first time.

At last month’s meeting, after a thorough scrutiny of one member’s actions (along with some pointed criticism), I allowed the silence to rest on the group for a moment. A few of the members began to apologize for their critique. I stopped them and said, “You don’t join Vistage because you want everyone to tell you how wonderful you are. You join because you want the unvarnished truths from your peers. That’s how you get better.”

Of course, my members can get better. But watch the video and see if you think they are pretty terrific already. I do.