By David McKinley
During a chapter event in Washington, D.C., YPO Mountain State members met with Speaker of the House John Boehner.
When I was acquiring a business six years ago, one of the people involved with the deal suggested I explore a business networking organization called Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO).
I was intrigued. As a business leader in West Virginia’s Northern Panhandle, I have often felt we are perceived as being separate from the rest of the state—something I was eager to change. I wanted to connect, collaborate and exchange ideas with similarly minded business people from around the Mountain State.
This year, I celebrated my five-year anniversary at YPO. The organization enables me to grow professionally and personally, as well as expand my business around West Virginia and beyond. Members have an opportunity to interact with accomplished business people, who have produced substantial results within their company.
YPO Mountain State Chapter
YPO is a nonprofit global network of chief executives connected around a shared mission: “Better Leaders Through Education and Idea Exchange™.” With 21,000 members in more than 125 countries, YPO provides business leaders and their families with access to unique experiences, world-class resources, alliances with top learning institutions and specialized networks to enhance their business, community and personal leadership.
The YPO Mountain State Chapter is one of 413 chapters in the Young Presidents’ Organization network and is a statewide chapter for business leaders in West Virginia. Formed in 1987 by John Mork and his wife, Julie, the chapter was championed by a number of West Virginia leaders, including a former governor and chief executives from well-known West Virginia companies.
The chapter drew members to its initial events by making the commitment to bring world-class speakers and thought leaders to West Virginia, which they continue to do today. Some of the chapter’s events in its first year included a gathering at the home of U.S. Senator John D. Rockefeller, IV, where he detailed his life’s passion to serve West Virginia, as well as a fireside chat with A.C. Nielsen and Robert Galvin, who spoke about how they started their companies. A wonderful culture has developed in this chapter, which strives to deliver top-notch education and idea exchanges to all of its current members and combs the state for new members.
YPO Mountain State hosts up to 15 events throughout the year, combining traditional speakers with boardroom lunches. These events provide members with opportunities to participate in small, intimate group settings with accomplished executives and CEOs in our region who share—through one-on-one conversations with YPO members—the challenges they experienced, what they learned from those challenges and what members can learn from their experiences. Past events have included trips to Washington, D.C., to visit with Speaker of the House John Boehner and tour the Pentagon, the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Capitol; a trip to Cuba to learn more about the country’s economic and political situations and a tour of the new Boy Scouts of America camp in Southern West Virginia, where members learned about the $450 million camp from its architects, designers and fundraisers.
Education through YPO can be more than learning from an executive, though; it can involve learning more about yourself. My first event was a Dr. L. Cameron Mosher™ Firewalk, and the experience itself was about overcoming mental obstacles. In business, we come up with all kinds of reasons as to why we can’t do this or that, and Mosher’s focus was to help us get past preconceived notions of what is right or wrong and overcome obstacles we create for ourselves. This event in particular was an impactful experience for me.
A Personal Board of Directors
An integral part of the YPO experience is Forum, which operates like a personal board of directors. Forums are peer-moderated groups of up to 10 members who meet on a regular basis in an atmosphere of trust and openness to share in each other’s business, family and personal experiences. By participating in Forum, you give yourself space for introspection, a more thoughtful analysis of your situation and an opportunity to find out what is driving the results you are experiencing, positive or negative. You also receive feedback from a trusted group of advisors on anything that comes up in your world, whether it is personal or business.
A World of Opportunities
YPO goes far beyond the chapter experience, providing numerous ways to interact with its vast international network and shared business, personal and social enterprise interests on a global scale. Networks that are popular with members of the YPO Mountain State Chapter include the Deal Network, the first resource members turn to for maximizing success in mergers, acquisitions, financings and new business ventures, and the Family Business Network, which strengthens families, businesses and legacies by connecting members to each other and to the world’s best resources.
YPO events provide opportunities for members to meet in person. YPO’s annual flagship event, Global EDGE, brings together more than 2,500 members from around the globe to interact with world-renowned thought leaders for idea exchange and networking. This event provides the invaluable opportunity of sitting down with members from Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the Americas to discuss the challenges we all face. Despite our different cultural backgrounds, our challenges are the same, and it is a powerful experience to be able to share our different approaches.
Another example of the breadth of YPO and its benefits is the YPO Global Pulse, which is the only CEO economic sentiment survey to span the globe on a quarterly basis. Members get the chance to find out what their peers’ perspectives are on the overall economic climate as well as expected changes in sales, employee counts and fixed investment. Because they are making material decisions on the front lines of the economy, our members’ perspectives are often more accurate than other available economic data.
Membership for the Young Presidents’ Organization is for business leaders under the age of 45 who hold the title of chief operator—CEO, managing director, president or chairman—of companies that fulfill minimum size and complexity criteria. These criteria ensure that YPO maintains a high standard of members who have as much to give as they have to gain while expanding the pool of knowledge and experience from which its members can draw.
For more information about the Young Presidents’ Organization, visit www.ypo.org.
