The Peering Podcast

[00:00:36] Mike Richardson: Hey, everybody. Welcome back to another episode of the "Peering" podcast. If you want to see the future, the best way is to peer into it together. And here today with me doing that is one of my new best friends, Scott Thornton. Say hello, Scott.

[00:00:54] Scott Thornton: Good morning, good morning, good afternoon, good day, wherever you're at across the globe

[00:00:58] Mike Richardson: You, you can already tell everybody it's gonna be a fun time with Scott. Not least of all, by the way, he is a professional podcaster himself, so I'm gonna have to raise my game today just to keep up with him. Scott, I'm really happy to have you here today. We're gonna explore, everybody, a number of very cool things that we're doing here in Temecula Valley Wine Country, uh, which is in the intersection of Los Angeles, San Diego, and Palm Springs, um, around peer communities and peer groups.

And actually, let's just give the game away right now, Scott. We're gonna launch a second CEO peer group here, uh, in Temecula Valley. Uh, Scott is a member of the first CEO peer group that we launched. We're gonna launch a second one in, in, uh, in the next, uh, few months or quarters. And, uh, no guesses, everybody.

No, no prizes for guessing that Scott here is going to be the facilitator, the forum leader of that second CEO group. And as we go in our conversation here, you're gonna understand why he is gonna be a great choice for that. So I don't know, Scott, let's go back to the beginning. I'm a little fuzzy. How and when did you and I first meet?

[00:02:19] Scott Thornton: Uh, I would say, I mean, one, if we're friends, you shouldn't be fuzzy. Come on, man. Um, it, it was, uh, with the Temecula Valley Chamber of Commerce. Uh, they were running a, a program with you. It was basically a rough session,

[00:02:35] Mike Richardson: Yeah

[00:02:36] Scott Thornton: and I was a part of it, and you were facilitating it, and I was like, "What is this? This is amazing."

And, uh, I was very excited. I mean, e- right afterwards, I, I reached out to you and I was like, "What? Hey, I love this." I love helping people and,

I love how you did it, so

[00:02:55] Mike Richardson: Yeah, so, so everybody back in, I'm thinking 2024, I decided that, uh, I was going to join REF, Renaissance Executive Forums, that had rebranded itself to R-E-F, REF, a couple of years previously, and I became an equity partner of the franchise license for REF in San Diego, where we're building lots of forums.

And then I thought to myself, "You know what? I, I'm just so passionate about this work. I've been doing it for 25 years." I th- I thought, "You know what? I'm also going to launch REF in Temecula Valley." And I approached, uh, the CEO of the Temecula Valley Chamber of Commerce, Brooke Nunn. I invited her to be in the first CEO forum, and then I offered, I offered as part of that, I said, "You know, do you offer anything to your members of the chamber, um, around a peer forum experience?

Because if you don't, I would be happy to do that for you, you know, pro bono, as it were, as an added value experience for your sort of top-tier members." And so we did that first one, um, and you were there, Scott, right? And, uh, you, you were there for the half-day session and it piqued your interest. What, what, what sort of piqued your curiosity?

[00:04:21] Scott Thornton: Well, uh, really it, it's, uh, it's hard running a business. I don't care what anybody says, right? Um, at least for me it, it's hard. It's a, it's a, it, it's, it has its challenges and to be amongst other business owners and you can let your guard down and just be honest and authentic and, you know, one of the big ones for me was people that I had seen in the community, I was like, "Holy cow, they're just like me."

They're having the same problems. They're having the, the same issues. And to band together and support each other, it just blew my mind. And I was like, "Holy cow, you, you can have like supporting friends doing this? Nice."

[00:05:07] Mike Richardson: So what happened everybody is, is, um, we did, we did that first one for the chamber that Scott was at, and then w- I got busy building the first CEO group in town, and Scott, as you heard, you know, connected with me and said he really wanted to be part of it, and so indeed he is. We've built that group to 15 CEOs, and Scott is a member, and Brooke Nunn is a member, and then there are 13 others who are members.

And then, Scott, we cooked up this bigger concept that we call CXO Exchange Temecula Valley, which is to above and beyond the forums that we run, is to engage the sort of mid-market of CEOs and C-suite executives and senior leaders of what, what we've come to call big small companies, right? They're, they're in that middle zone where they're sort of too small to be big and too big to be small.

They're in that middle zone, which up here in Temecula Valley, there isn't much of a support ecosystem for that, so we decided to, to get going with something. We had our first annual CEO C-suite conference, or summit rather, in November last year, and you did one of the TED-style talks from the main stage.

How was that for you?

[00:06:29] Scott Thornton: Terrifying. Uh, uh, but it, honestly, it was amazing, um, to just be able to get up there and, and, and be honest with people and deliver a bit of my story and how it could help people. Um, yeah, blew me away. Uh, it was exciting and terrifying, and I loved every second of

[00:06:52] Mike Richardson: Yeah. And, uh, we've got another one of those coming up in, in this November as well. But that, that's a great place to go now. So you just said, you know, tell your story. So let's go there, Scott, and let's understand a little bit more about your story. Let's start with the basics, and then we'll start to flesh it out because there's a lot of richness now to the things that you're already doing, the things that you wanna do more of in the future, and to the degree that you wanna share, you know, the, the sort of backstory to, to all of it.

But you're now, uh... you now run Temecula Winelson. Tell us what that is, Scott.

[00:07:29] Scott Thornton: So Temecula Nelson is a plumbing wholesale company, so we provide materials to the professionals, 'cause you don't want me coming doing anything at your house. Um, yeah. Um, and we, and we have corporate backers, so I own 30% of the company. I run the day-to-day stuff and, um, amazing opportunity. And we've, you know, we, the team and I have grown it from 3 million in sales to 13 million sales over the last decade.

And it's, uh, again, it's fun, it's challenging, uh, it's the spectrum of all the emotions. So that, that, that is my current,

uh, thing I'm, I'm, I'm doing full time

[00:08:10] Mike Richardson: Yeah. And it's, it's by virtue of that, everybody, um, it doesn't matter to us what it says on somebody's business card, if they call themselves the CEO or the president or the general manager or the owner or, um, or the chief, you know, bottle washer. It doesn't matter to us. Whoever owns the sort of P&L responsibility for a business unit or a business overall is, is who we have in these CEO groups.

We have other kinds of groups for other kinds of people. We'll get to that in a moment. Um, but for these CEO groups. So, so Scott joined, and we've enjoyed, um, you know, being in the-- on the journey with him over the last two, three years with his growth, as you've heard. And then I discover that Scott has so much more going on.

Uh, where do you wanna start, Scott? Should we start perhaps with poetry?

[00:09:08] Scott Thornton: Sure. Yeah.

[00:09:09] Mike Richardson: Tell us about that

[00:09:11] Scott Thornton: uh, I'm a poet and nobody knew it. Yeah. Um, or didn't know it. I always wanted to be a writer when you're a kid, right? Certain thing, you know, astronaut, baseball player. I certainly didn't have the, uh, physical skills for that. So, um, and then life happens, and you forget, and you do this and that, and I run in- ran into a tough period in my life.

And just to help me process everything and, and get thoughts out of my head and everything, I started writing poetry, and I found it to be, right, my own therapy, and I thought it could help other people, right? Uh, so they didn't step in the piles of poo that I've done and maybe give them a... There's been a lot of them, too.

Um, right, to give them ho- hope that, man, you're not stuck. You're not, you're not broken. Or, or even if you are, you don't need to stay there. And with, with hard work and intention, um, you... and perspective, you, you can change things. And so I published a poetry book, and it was amazing and a dream come true

[00:10:14] Mike Richardson: And tell us the title of the book again.

[00:10:17] Scott Thornton: You're okay.

[00:10:19] Mike Richardson: And, and what you've written a second, second book since then. We'll come to that in a moment. But for the first book, everybody, I went to the launch event at Wilson Creek Winery last year,

[00:10:32] Scott Thornton: Mm-hmm.

[00:10:33] Mike Richardson: and I brought my wife with me. And of course we, we bought the book and you signed it for us and all of that.

I have to tell you, as we were driving home, my wife was beside herself with what a phenomenal event it was with you and some of your, um, friends and, and colleagues, uh, reading poetry from the front of the room and just everybody's story and backstory and just the whole story of how you, you came to find the courage to write the book and, and surround yourself with support to get it done.

I mean, it was just-- she was just beside herself with it, Scott. So, and I, you know, obviously me too, but you left a huge impression on my wife, which was just phenomenal. It was a great event, wasn't it?

[00:11:25] Scott Thornton: Yeah, I, you know, you, you, you're kinda nervous before something like that, and you, you don't know what's gonna happen 'cause I've never done anything like that. And like you said, I, I had the right people around me, uh, people that cared and put a ton of effort into it for me, and it turned out even better than I had

[00:11:44] Mike Richardson: Yeah. Yeah

[00:11:46] Scott Thornton: was, it was amazing and to, and, and to have those other poets there, and like you said, to hear their stories a- and, and their words, phenomenal.

[00:11:55] Mike Richardson: Yeah

[00:11:56] Scott Thornton: yeah, it was, it was great fun, and it's a night I'll never forget

[00:11:59] Mike Richardson: Yeah. And you've written a second book since. What's that one?

[00:12:04] Scott Thornton: Uh, that one's called Love, A Many Splintered

[00:12:06] Mike Richardson: Oh, nice.

[00:12:08] Scott Thornton: facets of love that happen over, over time. So

[00:12:13] Mike Richardson: So everybody, it was, it was, you know, at that first event when I'm, I'm seeing Scott on his feet at the front of a room. And by the way, the room was packed. It was absolutely packed. I know the room very

[00:12:25] Scott Thornton: It was shocking to me

[00:12:27] Mike Richardson: know the room very well. It's at Wilson Creek Winery where, you know, I happen to be on the board there.

And, um, there are two sort of upstairs above the big ballroom. The ballroom holds about 200 people. Upstairs above that, there's a room that can comfortably hold, you know, a dozen or two dozen people for sort of like a board meeting. And then there's another room that can, you know, comfortably hold 60 or 70 or 80 people, and that was the room we were in, and it was packed.

I mean, it was standing room only. It was amazing

[00:13:00] Scott Thornton: Yeah, there was probably 60, 70 people there. I was, I was in awe. I'm like, "Holy crap."

[00:13:05] Mike Richardson: And I was, I was seeing, I was seeing Scott on his feet at the front of a room-- of the room, and it-- and I remember noting to myself, "Hmm, this guy's got skills, not just as a CEO, uh, or president or whatever you call yourself at Temecula Wine Olson, but at the front of a room, being real, being human, being a facilitator, being a leader, being an inspirer."

And so that's where I first made a mental note, Scott, that we, you know, might wanna have a different conversation in the future. Um, now you-- we'll come to that again in a moment. Now you, you've got-- you do more. You've got the Men's Den, you've got a Steppingstone. Tell us what else you've got in your sort of portfolio of activities, Scott.

[00:13:55] Scott Thornton: Well, first thank you for your kind words. I appreciate that. Um, so part of my journey of struggling and looking for help with that and coming out of it was during my struggle, I just found there wasn't anywhere to talk about it. You know, I had a coach and a therapist, but there wasn't anyone I could just like, "Ugh, even the therapist said this, and yeah, the coach said this, and what the hell are they talking about?"

And, um, that space was empty, so I created it. And, uh, I call it The Men's Den, and it's, it's like Vegas. What's said at The Men's Den stays at The Men's Den, and it's a place for where men can come and just get things off their chest, off their hearts, and we're not, we're not labeling anything, we're not fixing anything.

We're listening and sharing life experiences if we think it'll help. So, um, yeah, it's been going on for about 10 months now. And, uh, it... Yeah. And then I just started, um, it's called A Stepping Stone, and it's another... It's me being a, a mentor and a transformative support for people who need change and don't know how to do it, and they're stuck in that world from, I know something needs to change, and helping them get to the right coach, the right therapist, the right whatever, to help them through that.

So I, I've just started that and, uh, a- again, to give back, to be, to let people know there's hope

[00:15:27] Mike Richardson: Yeah. Yeah, paying forward all the great, you know, m-mentoring and coaching and, and support that you've had, and also your Men's Den thing, really everybody-- Yes, in my work, we tend to use the phrase peer group, peer forum, maybe even peer advisory board, sometimes personal advisory board. But other kinds of phrases that you will hear out there is a mastermind group, a circle of trust.

And so for me, you know, when I'm listening to what you're describing of the Men's Den, it's a circle of trust where, you know, people can come and just be totally transparent and, and just, you know, just be, right? And just share. And, um, you know, you feeling a little bit, you know, feeling a little bit less alone, right?

"Well, I'm not the only one going through tough stuff." Uh, it helps you regain perspective. Go ahead, Scott.

[00:16:21] Scott Thornton: Well, just g- we, you know, we've had some men come in and they're total strangers. Uh, other people have recommended them come in and just sit and listen or whatever, and, and they've even said after we're done and we're just chatting that... I've had multiple people say, "I've never shared this with other people." You know? Uh, you know, besides maybe saying something to my therapist and my best friend, but, you know, and they've said more in that, in that, in that circle of trust, if you wanna call it, um, than they've ever said. And yeah, it's, it, it's a, it's a big deal because it's hard for, for men to find, or they're expected to not even wanna have to worry about that, and that's a bunch of crap

[00:17:07] Mike Richardson: Yeah. So let's, uh, let's retrace our steps a little bit. Um, so, uh, Chimecklewood-Nelson right now and all these other things, but tell us, Scott, how did you get here? What was your career path before all of this?

[00:17:23] Scott Thornton: Um, well, I, I grew up outside of Chicago. Go Chicago Bears. Um, and I just kinda bounced around from job to job. Um, you know, I'd stay some places for longer and get opportunities. Um, and before I left, I was in the IT help desk, right? Reboot. And

[00:17:47] Mike Richardson: If in doubt, reboot.

[00:17:49] Scott Thornton: yeah. That, that was always my answer. And my stepdad, uh, was a general manager for a local plumbing wholesale company in California, and he's like...

I was getting laid off from a, from where I worked, and he's like, they, they heard, I had men- he- So my mom made the stepdad move back to Chicago, Illinois, a SoCal boy. So he wasn't, wasn't fond of those winters. So they were moving back to California. I mentioned I did a, a job interview in Florida, and they're like, "You would move?

You would move away?" And I was like, "Well, I gotta support my family, so..." Um, and they came to me the next day and they're like, "Hey, this company has a manager trainee program. You've been part of it." And so I said yes, and packed up my family and moved 2,500 miles to, to California to get into a whole new industry that I knew nothing about.

And was driving a truck and doing deliveries and warehouse work. And, you know, after a few different things happening, um, had the opportunity, you know, it was a, a five-year plan to run a, learn how to run a company. Um, and four months in, something happened and I had the opportunity to run Temecha Nelson, and I said yes again.

And, uh, you know, a month in regretted it, and going, "Oh my God, what did I

[00:19:13] Mike Richardson: What did I do?

[00:19:14] Scott Thornton: Yeah, what the... Um, but yeah, now in our, in our 12th year we've grown. I've- we've got a, a terrific group of people there. And, uh, you know, I, I like to say that our give a damn's better. Um, and on, on most days it is. And yeah, it's, it's about the golden rule and just, just wanting to help people

[00:19:35] Mike Richardson: Yeah. So tell us a bit more. So running Temecula Wine &elson and, and growing like you have, you know, without, without sharing more than you want to share, what, what are some of the challenges of being, you know, the, the, the, you know, the CEO, president, general manager, owner of an entity like that? What's been your experience of being the chief decision officer, as it were?

[00:19:59] Scott Thornton: Yeah. Um,

[00:20:02] Mike Richardson: You said earlier it's hard. You said earlier it's hard

[00:20:05] Scott Thornton: it's, it, it can be difficult. It's lonely, um, if you allow it to be, um, un- until you find your people, uh, you know, like Ref. Um, ju- right? Employees are your greatest asset, and they're your greatest liability. Right? Their biggest... Um, so managing people is a challenge, and, uh, just you don't know what you don't know until you know it, and that, that was probably some of my biggest struggles.

I re- you know, the first few years I was working 12, 15-hour days 'cause I just had to be an employee, air quotes, an employee. Um, and then I had to figure out how to do everything else behind the scenes and, um, yeah. I remember sitting in my car some nights at nine o'clock at night just crying 'cause I'm like, "I, I...

What am I doing? I don't know what I'm doing. I'm in over my head." Um, yeah. So y- y- you just... And, and right? The times have been tumultuous, and you just gotta learn how to navigate those and eventually lean into who you are as a person to become that leader a- and align with that. Um, and that helps you

[00:21:23] Mike Richardson: Yeah, and you said something, you know, at the start of that where you said it's lonely and,

[00:21:28] Scott Thornton: Mm-hmm.

[00:21:29] Mike Richardson: you know, everybody-- I've been doing this work for 25 years. I, I obviously had a corporate career. I was in the aerospace business and did, did very well and had a lot of fun, but worked very, very, very hard and traveled like a maniac all over the world, and I was woefully absent as a father and a husband.

And had come to the USA in 1999, and by, by mid-2000, we'd come down to Southern California. And then, you know, the markets crashed and the dot-com bubble burst, and then 9/11 happened and all of that. But we, we got our green cards just before 9/11, so we were very lucky. So I went independent and started, you know, a portfolio of activities rather like Scott has now.

Um, amongst which was facilitating peer groups. And, uh, I've been doing that now for 25 years and really discovered my passion for it, and the-- and therefore have had hundreds of, of members, spoken to many, many hundreds, maybe even a thousand, you know, prospects about possibly wanting to join those kinds of groups.

And the most common phrase that I come across unprompted by me, in some way, shape, or form, whoever I'm talking to will say, "It's lonely at the top," or something close to it. And yes, that's a cliché, but it's also a reality. And I heard... One of the best ways I've heard that described is from one of my ref partners in San Diego, who was a very successful executive and then CEO, and then he had a very successful exit of a private equity-backed firm.

And he said, "You know, when I was sort of climbing the ladder as an executive, I felt like I had siblings up and down the hallway. But when I became a CEO, I felt like I was an only child.

[00:23:34] Scott Thornton: Oh

[00:23:34] Mike Richardson: I had no siblings anymore up and down the hallway. I was, you know... Yes, I, I built my team, I engaged my team, I built a culture, I engaged the whole organization.

Yes, of course, I did all of those good things. But when it comes to, you know, the most complex, high-stakes decisions, you know, roll of the dice, place-- you know, betting the farm, you know, there's no one else to look to apart from in the mirror." So it's very lonely at the top. But as you said, it doesn't have to be, and that's where these peer communities and these peer forums, these peer groups come into play.

You've now been in a CEO peer group for the better part of two years. Um, how's it been for you?

[00:24:28] Scott Thornton: Amazing. Uh, it's astounding. Uh, again, uh, I had no idea there were really groups like that. Um, and just, uh, uh, an example is, uh, I had a situation an employ- with an employee. Um, uh, uh, to me a very valuable employee and, you know, something happened and there had to be dec- some deci- decisions to be made. And you got the, the group together outside of our normal meeting, and, and you supported me.

We talked about it. You, you gave me... You guys gave me some feedback and, gave me some different perspectives that I hadn't really had or thought of. And what more could you ask for really? I mean, support, perspective, and, and no judgment, just, "Hey, this is what we see."

[00:25:19] Mike Richardson: And not least of all, everybody, confidentiality, of course. Absolutely 100%, you know, what happens there stays there, totally confidential. no competitors in the group, of course, i- in, in alignment with that confidentiality. And, and what you've heard is that it's based around a monthly forum meeting, uh, that's half a day.

Uh, and in between times, as the need arises, we spin out what we call a Tiger Team Scrum, and we'll get a quorum of the group together, uh, in person if we can, or at least virtually if we can't, to deal with, you know, a real time, real life, um, you know, high stakes, complex situation like the one that, that Scott just described, and we've done many others, and we've got another one coming up in a, in a couple of weeks where we're rallying around one of our members that's going through a tricky phase.

Um, and, and we then, you know, process what we call the case and, and we call these things cases, not like an academic, you know, business school case like, you know, Harvard or something. No, no. A case is a real life, real time situation, problem, issue, challenge, opportunity that one of our members is facing and, uh, we do those during the regular monthly meetings and when we need to, we, we s- we spin them out.

And, um, it's been a blessing to have you in the group, Scott.

[00:26:58] Scott Thornton: thank you.

[00:26:58] Mike Richardson: You know, these groups work, everybody, because of, number one, the diversity of members in the group, but number two, what everybody can give to the group and of course get from the group. That's why, that's why it all works.

[00:27:14] Scott Thornton: Well, and I would say our group real quick to, to interrupt you because I'm rude. Um,

[00:27:19] Mike Richardson: it's all good.

[00:27:21] Scott Thornton: um, uh, and I would say from what I've seen of our group, the honesty and transparency in there, um, it just makes us all stronger and closer. Um, it's, it's been a, a, a beautiful,

[00:27:36] Mike Richardson: Yeah

[00:27:37] Scott Thornton: uh, thing to be through, so

[00:27:39] Mike Richardson: Yeah. These groups, because it's confidential, because there are no competitors, um, actually much more quickly than you might imagine, these groups get very bonded at a very deep level very quickly, um, over the course of months, of course, but it doesn't take years. Um, and they really become a, a circle of trust, like we talked about earlier, a mastermind group, a personal advisory board like no other, um, that you just can't get in other places.

And in particular, you know, when we're processing a case, um, like we've done for Scott, not just in that tiger team scrum that we spun out, but once or twice or three times over the course of your time in the group, we'll take a whole hour, everybody, and everybody else will put their lives, their businesses, their issues on hold to focus on Scott's for the next hour.

And we take it through a particular case processing methodology that we use. And for 25 years, by and large, sometimes I don't quite have the time in which to do it or a bit shorter time, but by and large, for 25 years, I've been asking the same question at the end of every case. And that is, and let's suppose Scott had just processed the case.

I would say, "Scott, where else do you have that you can go and do what we just did with you for the last hour?" And your answer would be what, Scott?

[00:29:11] Scott Thornton: Nowhere. Yeah.

[00:29:13] Mike Richardson: "Yeah,

[00:29:14] Scott Thornton: Yeah, and that's been everybody's

[00:29:15] Mike Richardson: Yeah. It's like, are you kidding me? I mean, as transparently and vulnerably with the degree of humility that I just exhibited for the last hour, I, I don't have it anywhere else that I could go and do that.

I mean, I can't-- I certainly can't do that with my board. I can't do that with my management team. I can't even do that with my spouse, partner, significant other, 'cause I'll freak them out. So

[00:29:47] Scott Thornton: Yeah, I, I

[00:29:47] Mike Richardson: really don't,

[00:29:48] Scott Thornton: shut my mouth sometimes.

[00:29:50] Mike Richardson: really don't have anywhere else, certainly not with a group of highly trusted peers that have no hidden agenda.

They're not trying to sell me anything, and they can, they can relate to the kind of situation I'm in at, as a, at a sort of eye level, not the specifics because none of them are in the same business I'm in. But in general terms, the reason these groups work is that 95% of the issues are all the same: strategy, execution, people, process, leadership, culture, core values, AI, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.

Right, Scott?

[00:30:34] Scott Thornton: Yeah, absolutely. Well, I mean, and okay, go out and spend tens and tens of thousands of dollars on some sort of, um, company to come in and examine things, give you, uh, answers. They don't give a shit about you. They just want your money. And here you're in with a group of people that are invested in you, and you're invested in them because of how honest you've been with them.

They're in your community, and you learn what great people they are. Yeah. It's, it's invaluable

[00:31:05] Mike Richardson: So everybody, as part of this bigger engagement that we call CXO Exchange Temecula Valley, where we're engaging the whole mid-tier of big, small companies up and down the valley,

[00:31:18] Scott Thornton: And Mike, real quick, let's be honest, that was your, your baby, your dream child, and you made it come to life. So congratulations

[00:31:28] Mike Richardson: thank you, man. We're getting there. We're getting there. But with, but with all of your help, I really appreciate it. Um, not, not least of all everybody, you know, Scott just being up on stage. Uh, Scott has been a great sponsor with Stepping Stone again this year. He's being another great sponsor and will be there and, um, and, uh, you know, be involved in panels and breakouts and all kinds of things and, and as will, as will all the other members of his CEO group who, who sort of co-host this thing with me.

Um, anyway, as part of the, the bigger sort of engagement that we're, we're brewing up in, in Temecula Valley because we w- we need to fill a void. You see, there's a void of support here. There's no ecosystem like this. Inside of that bigger concept, we are now ready to launch a next phase of new peer groups, and we've got a couple in motion already, and then we've got a couple on deck that we're planning.

And as you heard earlier, we're gonna plan a second CEO group that, that Scott is going to be what we call the forum leader for. He's gonna facilitate it. Because of everything I said earlier, boy, oh boy, oh boy, does he have the skills. Um, just seeing him at the front of the room and some of the, you know, men's den and mentoring and coaching, Stepping Stone kinds of conversations that I get to sort of eavesdrop on, you know, occasionally, um, is he's got real skills.

So tell us a bit more about why, Scott, why are you so in, uh, passionate about adding this into your portfolio as a forum leader of a CEO peer group?

[00:33:10] Scott Thornton: not too long ago, I think I figured out my passion in this life. The reason I was put here is to help people. To, to share m- m- m- m- my missteps, my mistrials, things I've gone through with other people so they don't have to do it as long, and that, that's personally and in business. And I mean, what better way to get people who wanna be in the room, that wanna be able to see other solutions and have different perspectives, and help them do that?

Um, it's, it's a passion of mine, and, and I- I'm excited and grateful for the opportunity

[00:33:49] Mike Richardson: Yeah. And it, it doesn't get any better, everybody, when I can-- when I'm looking for forum leaders, when I can check three out of three boxes. Number one They've got the passion, and this is a continuing evolution of their own personal journey as a leader and as a leadership presence and as a mentor and as a coach, number one.

Number two, when they've been a member themselves and they've therefore been on the inside of the process of these peer groups, they've brought cases, they've, they've helped other members process their cases. They've been in these spin-out tiger team scrums. They've experienced the evolutionary journey of a group and how it bonds and sort of the arc of the relationships that take shape.

They've, they've seen the speakers that we bring in and some of the exercises that we do and some of the sort of extracurricular things we do with socials and getting to know the extended families and those kinds of things. So number two, when I can check that box because somebody's already been on the inside of that, phenomenal.

And number three, when they've been a CEO and, uh, for some considerable period of time, and in particular when, as you've heard from Scott, you know, he had to figure it out from, from, from nothing, from a, from pretty much a blank sheet of paper. And he had to figure out how to evolve himself as an effective CEO, general manager, owner, whatever, the title doesn't matter.

Um, and, and figure out not only, uh, how to be profitable, but how to grow and how to scale and how to develop a brand and a presence and, you know, an at- an attractive proposition that, you know, brings people coming knocking to the door. So that's what, that's what

[00:35:55] Scott Thornton: you were talking about me there for a second,

[00:35:57] Mike Richardson: Plus, by the way, everybody, if you're watching the video, if you're watching the, the, the video, you'll be able to see that, that Scott also moonlights as Santa Claus during holiday, during the holiday season 'cause he's got a, a beautiful white beard.

Uh, and, and, uh, o- once he gets that Santa suit on, he just looks, he looks the part. I'm joking, of course. Um, so yeah, everybody, we're really excited that in, in sort of Q1 next year, we're gonna launch the second CEO group in Temecula Valley. Uh, we've already got some new groups in motion. Um, we've got a next gen forum, uh, for sons and daughters and rising leaders.

Uh, we've got an operations leadership forum for, you know, second in command kinds of people, whether they're called COO or VP of operations or program director, whatever they're called. They're kind of, you know, that right-hand person. Um, uh, we're gonna be launching an HR forum Uh, uh, quite soon as well, we're gonna be launching a, a nonprofit forum

for nonprofit leaders.

And I don't even know if you know this yet, uh, Scott, but we're gonna be launching an AI forum.

[00:37:08] Scott Thornton: No

[00:37:09] Mike Richardson: that's, that's fresh off the, off, hot off the press.

Uh, and then, uh, sort of in parallel and, and, and right after that, Scott is gonna launch his, his CE- his second C- the second CEO forum. So, you know, before too long everybody, we're gonna have, you know, f- more than 50 members in Temecula Valley, and we'll be well on our way to 60, 70 members.

And, uh, I, I can easily imagine that we will have 100-plus members in Temecula Valley. Uh, and then the CXO Exchange, you know, bigger vision can be engaging 300, 500, 1,000 people up and down, uh, Temecula Valley because it's such a rich business community, much more so than people realize in Temecula Valley, Scott, isn't it?

[00:38:00] Scott Thornton: Oh my gosh, there's, I mean, how much you, I've been here, what, 18 years? And it's grown unbelievably. Um, and there's just so many great businesses in town that you don't even realize that are, are there. Um, yeah, it's, it's, uh, it's a great place to live and great opportunities. And I, and I would say as part of the whole Ruff community, you, you help me, um- redefine what it means for support and for, um, being there for each other i- in groups like that.

And so I, I thank you for that because wow. B- before it was just like, "Oh, how do I do this? Da, da, da." And now I have a, a resource

[00:38:56] Mike Richardson: Well, thanks for saying that. And y- it takes me back. I mean, I was a serial CEO. I'm English, as you can tell. I, I, I came to the States in 1999. I'd been a serial CEO, you know, out of, out of the UK, and then continued here in the USA. And then as you heard, I went independent in the spring of 2002, and I ran into my first, um, peer group organization, and I'd never, ever heard of the concept of a peer group before, um, for CEOs in particular.

And I, I said like, "Where, where have you guys been all my life?" And, and I'd never come across the concept. And now I've been doing this work for 25 years, and I still come across people, not surprisingly, who've never come across the concept or certainly never had an experience of a true peer group. Now, they may, they may have had experience of something that calls itself a peer group in some way, shape, or form, or a peer community.

But until you've experienced a true peer group and some of the aspects that Scott has been speaking to here, everybody, it's very hard to sort of fully intellectualize what it is, how it works, and why people love it so much. I mean, you know this, Scott, you know, we're just getting started here in, in Temecula Valley, but in San Diego, I've had members in my groups for as long as 15 years.

[00:40:35] Scott Thornton: Wow

[00:40:36] Mike Richardson: Because it becomes such an irreplaceable, invaluable, um, experience unlike anything else they can find anywhere else, and that's why they, they stay for a long, long, long, long time because they just love it so much. So that's what we got cooking there. What-- Any final thoughts for our listeners there, Scott?

[00:40:58] Scott Thornton: Uh, I would love you to tell me a little about the upcoming, uh, CXO Summit that's, that's happening and what, what you got on board for

[00:41:05] Mike Richardson: Yeah, thanks for that. Yeah, so, uh, this will be our second annual, CXO Exchange Temecula Valley annual CEO C-Suite Summit. Uh, last year it was on November the 19th. This year it's on November the 17th. Um, uh, we're gonna be at Wilson Creek Winery again. We're gonna fill the ballroom. We had 100 people last year.

Highly filtered everybody, invitation only, uh, so that it is peers of those mid-market, um, big small companies as we call them. Um, the only way that anybody else gets in the room is as a sponsor, and we have a very limited number of sponsorships who we love because they fund the whole thing. There's no entry fee.

It's free of charge, and it's really just our give back to the community of CEOs and C-suite executives and senior leaders of those kinds of companies who have nowhere else to go where they can show up confident that they will be rubbing shoulders with the peers they wanna rub shoulders with. Yeah, there are plenty of other places they can go in town and in the valley, but typically it's gonna be a mixed bag of people, and they're not gonna find the peers they really wanna find.

And so, you know, like myself in, in my day, and perhaps you as well, you know, occasionally they, they tend not to go. They don't turn out. You know, we might see the same 10, 20, 30 people around town, and yet by my estimate, there's certainly hundreds if not thousands of, of peers, um, who, you know, would be curious and interested to come out to some events where they could have confidence that they are gonna be rubbing shoulders with the peers they wanna rub shoulders with.

[00:43:00] Scott Thornton: Well, this is not a mixer, right? This is an, this is a tailored

[00:43:05] Mike Richardson: Correct. This is not a networking, this is not a networking mixer. This is, this is a, a room full-- We, we had 100 last year. We're targeting 200 this year. Highly filtered, invitation only, um, uh, for a, a 10:00 AM till 5:00 PM happy hour, you know, finished by 6:00 PM. Day of a headline speaker, um, some TED-style speakers, some breakouts, some panels, where it is all, um, for peers, with peers, by peers.

So this is going to be a peer community, a peer experience, uh, the power of peers, um, and we like to talk about collective intelligence and how do we leverage the collective intelligence in that room. And, uh, yeah, thanks for asking, Scott, and, uh, having you there and the other, the other CEO group members there.

And then,

[00:44:08] Scott Thornton: We're gonna have an Olympian

[00:44:10] Mike Richardson: And we've got-- We-- And thank you to you.

We have Michelle Cameron-Coulter, who is a gold medal Olympian, who is our headline speaker, and, uh, thanks to your sponsorship. Uh, what a, what a coup it was to get her. Um, uh, she's gonna come into town and, and give a keynote on unlocking potential,

and, uh, it's gonna be, it's gonna be phenomenal.

So yeah, it's gonna be a great event. Uh, so there we have it, everybody. Uh, you've got to have some experience here of Scott Thornton. You got to meet him a little bit. I'm really, really, really excited to have him becoming the forum leader of our second CEO group in REFF Temecula Valley. I think, uh, any member, Scott, who is gonna end up in that group doesn't know how blessed they are to have you as their forum leader.

Of course, you know, I'll, I'll be, you know, hovering around and, and helping out and, um, and, uh, you know, helping move things along. But it's-- it'll be your group. You'll be the forum leader, and it's gonna be a great experience. So, um, thanks for being here, Scott. Thanks for being here, listeners.

[00:45:28] Scott Thornton: Thanks for having me

[00:45:29] Mike Richardson: there we have it.

We have another episode of the "Peering" podcast. If you wanna see the future, the best way is to peer into it together. Bye everybody. See you next time.