In this interview with Rebecca Drew, Managing Director of Vistage UK & Ireland, we learn more about Vistage and discuss entrepreneurship, the potential impact of AI and some of the challenges facing growing businesses.
Vistage UK & Ireland is part of Vistage, the world's largest coaching peer advisory business for SME CEOs with 45,000 members globally across 40 countries.
Rebecca Drew: . Whilst our track-record is impressive, there's more scope to tell the story of our impact. We need our members to share their leadership journeys in their own words. It baffles me that we're not bigger than we are here today, so a key focus for the UK and Ireland is to continue to grow the community. The more CEOs we can help, the better it is for the economy, and this will have a ripple effect.
Rebecca Drew: Another priority is to keep delivering as much value as possible to our members. Membership includes one -on- one time with their Group Chair, plus one day each month with their peer advisory group. Additionally, we have 120 Vistage speakers covering pretty much any topic you can think of from mainstream business issues to health and wellbeing.
It's important to continue to build out that value through speakers and events. Members keep telling us they want to connect with people outside their immediate groups. So, we're running social connect events that are more relaxed and casual. And there's our flagship CEO Connect conference in Birmingham in early October - we're expecting 500-600 members to attend this year's event.
Rebecca Drew: Our traditional approach is that the Chair picks a speaker for a three - hour workshop based on their specific group needs. We've also built out My Vistage, which is an on - demand learning platform which acts as a repository for content and recorded sessions from our incredible speaker roster.
That said, we have developed an internal AI tool - we call it our App - that helps chairs navigate all our information more efficiently. When it comes to content delivery, I think there's definitely more we can do to help people access the right information exactly when they need it.
Rebecca Drew: I think we're heading toward a fundamental shift in how business gets done. Some repetitive tasks will definitely be automated, but I believe AI creates new opportunities too. In my own team, we're already using it for customer service, data entry and marketing automation.
I don't necessarily think people are going to lose their jobs outright. But I do think that SMEs will be more considered about hiring decisions. We'll see new roles emerging too and the key is helping people develop the skills necessary for these.
Rebecca Drew: Absolutely. Gen Z has this entrepreneurial spirit, and social media has made people believe they can build their own brand and persona. That's made being an entrepreneur more achievable than ever.
AI is the technology that actually makes it possible. You don't need to be super tech - savvy anymore to build an app or automate processes. Entrepreneurship takes resilience, adaptability, and a pretty high tolerance for risk - and I see all of that in the younger generation.
Rebecca Drew: Yes, we've got some brilliant examples. There's a £15 million marketing agency that won an industry award for their AI product. They're using it to streamline their entire workflow. Another business trained an AI agent to critique and improve their sales calls and saw a 30% jump in conversion rates.
These stories matter because they inspire others to think, "Okay, maybe we could try something like this." That's what's so powerful about the Vistage community - the opportunity to share these stories.
Rebecca Drew: It might level the playing field a bit. Corporates have well - documented training programs and structured processes. When you work for an SME or startup, you're learning on the job. It can be messy, but there's also way more room for creativity. I worked for a startup once and it gave me a really strong grounding in resilience and adaptability. What AI will do is help make things a little less messy for people in SMEs.
Rebecca Drew: It's part mindset, part skillset. You absolutely need resilience and adaptability, but a vision and sense of purpose are also essential.
The best entrepreneurs spot gaps and opportunities that other people miss. They look at problems differently and think, "How can we do this better?" They're genuinely passionate about improving things. For this you need tenacity, adaptability and to be comfortable with some level of risk.
Rebecca Drew: It has been a bumpy ride. We track a Confidence Index every quarter and our latest index reflects a complex picture facing SMEs in the UK and Ireland. While leaders are grappling with rising costs, weaker customer demand, and uncertainty around government policy, many are still focused on growth - planning to expand their team and invest in employee engagement.
As such, the leaders most adept at navigating uncertainty are turning to their peers for perspective and guidance, helping them make informed decisions and position their businesses for long-term success.
Employee engagement also remains a top priority. We've found that leaders are actively tracking their team's well-being through regular one-on-one meetings and engagement surveys, while focusing on building a positive workplace culture and providing career development opportunities. This emphasis on people suggests that SMEs are not only preparing for growth, but are also investing in the resilience and satisfaction of their teams.
Rebecca Drew: I think you have to be optimistic to succeed. I've been talking to members, and yes, they acknowledge what's happening in the world. But they're also cautiously optimistic. It's very much a mindset thing.
If you see the opportunities and go after them, you'll grow your business. The companies that succeed have that positive outlook. They navigate tough times by asking, "Where are the opportunities to do things differently? How can we be more effective and efficient?"
What I can also say is that business leaders who are Vistage members tend to grow two to three times faster than non - members. During COVID, Vistage members grew by 4.5% while non-members contracted by about the same amount.