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The Peering Podcast

The Peering Podcast

Written by: Mike Richardson
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Peers chatting about the demand upon leaders these days, peering into the challenges of collective intelligence and agility to remain future proofed in the face of accelerating disruptive change. With your hosts Mike Richardson and colleagues, we will be peering into how the peer power fuels leaders powered by collective intelligence and wisdom. The Best Way to see the Future is to Peer into it Together.© 2026 Mike Richardson Economics Leadership Management & Leadership
Episodes
  • Why a REF CEO Peer Forum with Scott Thornton

    Why a REF CEO Peer Forum with Scott Thornton
    Sep 28 2026
    Running a company can be lonely, especially for mid-market leaders who feel too big to be small and too small to be big. That isolation is the problem peer forums solve. In Temecula Valley, a second CEO peer group is launching, facilitated by a current member who has lived the struggle. The group offers confidential, no-competitor support where leaders can process real-time cases and get perspective without judgment.The new facilitator built Temecula Nelson, a plumbing wholesale company, from $3 million to $13 million in sales over a decade. He also wrote two poetry books, You're okay. and Love, A Many Splintered, and created The Men's Den, a confidential circle of trust for men, plus A Stepping Stone, which helps people find the right coach or therapist. His journey shows why peer support matters.Peer forums work through monthly half-day meetings and Tiger Team Scrums that spin out for urgent situations. The broader CXO Exchange Temecula Valley serves mid-market CEOs and C-suite leaders with an invitation-only, free annual summit on November 17 at Wilson Creek Winery, featuring Olympian Michelle Cameron-Coulter. Members stay for years because the relationships become irreplaceable. The goal is collective intelligence and fewer lonely decisions.HighlightsSecond CEO peer group launching in Temecula Valley, facilitated by a current member.Temecula Nelson grew from $3 million to $13 million in sales over a decade.The Men's Den gives men a confidential space to share without fixing or labeling.A Stepping Stone connects stuck people to the right coach or therapist.Tiger Team Scrums rally the group between monthly meetings for urgent cases.CXO Summit is invitation-only, free, and targets mid-market CEOs and C-suite.Important Concepts and FrameworksCEO Peer Group — A confidential, non-competing group of CEOs who process high-stakes decisions together.Case Processing — A structured hour where peers focus on one member's real-time business challenge.Tiger Team Scrum — A spin-out meeting between monthly forums to rally around an urgent member situation.Forum Leader — A trained facilitator who runs a peer group and guides members through cases.Big Small Companies — Mid-market firms too small to be big and too big to be small.CXO Exchange Temecula Valley — A regional community for mid-market CEOs and C-suite leaders.Tools & Resources MentionedREF — Peer forum organization Mike joined as an equity partner in San Diego.CXO Exchange Temecula Valley — Regional community and event series for mid-market CEOs and C-suite leaders.The Men's Den — Confidential peer circle for men to share struggles without labels or fixes.A Stepping Stone — Mentoring service that connects stuck people to the right coach or therapist.Wilson Creek Winery — Vineyard and event venue hosting the poetry launch and CXO Summit. | https://www.wilsoncreekwinery.com/CXO Summit — Invitation-only, free annual conference for mid-market CEOs and C-suite leaders.Calls to ActionIf you lead a mid-market company, seek out a true peer forum rather than another networking mixer.Attend the invitation-only CXO Summit on November 17 at Wilson Creek Winery.Start a confidential circle of trust if you lack a place to be honest about leadership struggles.Ask a potential forum leader whether they have been a member and a CEO themselves.Key Quotes"So it's very lonely at the top. But as you said, it doesn't have to be" — Mike Richardson"And to band together and support each other, it just blew my mind." — Scott Thornton"I call it The Men's Den, and it's, it's like Vegas." — Scott Thornton"I can't even do that with my spouse, partner, significant other, 'cause I'll freak them out." — Mike Richardson"I figured out my passion in this life. The reason I was put here is to help people." — Scott Thornton"You just gotta learn how to navigate those and eventually lean into who you are as a person" — Scott ThorntonChapters00:00 — A Second CEO Peer Group Comes to Temecula Valley04:21 — Why Running a Business Feels So Hard07:29 — From $3 Million to $13 Million in Plumbing Wholesale09:11 — The CEO Who Secretly Writes Poetry13:55 — Creating a Confidential Space for Men17:23 — From IT Help Desk to Company President20:05 — The Loneliness of the CEO Seat27:39 — How a Real-Time Case Gets Processed31:28 — From Peer Group Member to Forum Leader41:05 — Inside the Invitation-Only CXO SummitThis Episode's Guest:Scott ThorntonLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottwthornton/Website: https://scott-thornton.com/Your Host, Mike Richardson – Agility, Peer Power & Collective IntelligenceWebsite: https://mikerichardson.live/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/agilityexpertmikerichardson/
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    46 mins
  • Why a REF NextGen Peer Forum with Bill & Cassidy Wilson of Wilson Creek Winery

    Why a REF NextGen Peer Forum with Bill & Cassidy Wilson of Wilson Creek Winery
    Aug 4 2026
    Stepping into leadership in a multi-generational company is hard—especially when your last name raises expectations, scrutiny, and complicated reporting lines. This episode breaks down what it really takes to earn credibility in a family business, develop “CEO-level” judgment, and scale a hospitality brand through changing market conditions.You’ll hear how Wilson Creek Winery evolved from a bootstrap, high-risk build (including living onsite in a double-wide with no utilities) into a thriving destination business—and why growth can become a threat if the organization isn’t built to absorb it. The conversation also explores a core next-gen challenge: balancing relationship-driven culture (“treat guests and staff like family”) with real accountability required to run a high-performing operation.A major theme is leadership development through peer forums: confidential, no-competitor rooms where CEOs and rising successors can pressure-test decisions, confront blind spots, and stop “unconscious denial” before it becomes expensive. The episode highlights how peer groups function like a “hall of mirrors”—your advice to others reflects back on you, building better decision-making and courage for hard calls.On the next-gen side, Cassidy shares why outside experience is required before joining the family company (to build competence and peer respect), and how she’s approaching a new operational responsibility: taking over tasting room sales—one of the most critical “axles” of the business. She also introduces the “Next 25” committee, designed to break down silos across departments and surface on-the-floor reality to the executive team—so strategy stays connected to execution.If you’re on a succession path (family business or not), this episode offers a practical look at earning the role, building the skills, and creating the internal systems and support network to lead through the next chapter.HighlightsEarn credibility in a family business through outside experience and measurable ownership of outcomes.Use peer forums to make hard decisions faster and avoid blind spots.Balance “family-style” culture with clear accountability and performance expectations.Treat the tasting room as the operational engine that drives brand, loyalty, and revenue.Build cross-functional alignment by breaking silos with a structured middle-leader committee.Lead through change by becoming a “first-rate version” of your own leadership style.Important Concepts and FrameworksGrowth will kill you (if unprepared) — rapid growth exposes weak systems, roles, and delegation.Delegation inflection point for founders — you do everything early; later it becomes a constraint.Peer forum / personal advisory board — confidential group that accelerates judgment and execution.Hall of mirrors — insights/advice given to others reflects back to improve your own leadership.Threading the needle of accountability — not too hard/soft; especially complex in family firms.Square peg in a square hole — CEOs need sharp edges (strategy/execution/accountability) plus presence.Next 25 committee — ongoing cross-department forum to surface issues, reduce silos, and drive improvement.Tools & Resources MentionedVistage — CEO peer advisory organization Gazelles Group / Scaling Up — coaching and scaling tools referenced for growth readiness Live Nation — national-scale marketing experience that informed next-gen leadership development Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits — distribution partner and training ground for sales operations CXO Exchange — local leadership ecosystem/events referenced (including an AI Incubator event)REF peer forums — CEO and next-gen peer forum structure referenced throughoutCalls to ActionGet two years of outside experience before entering a family business to build credibility and skill.Join a confidential peer forum to pressure-test decisions and reduce CEO isolation.Create a cross-functional “middle leaders” committee to surface frontline realities and remove silos.Spend time on the floor (serve, observe, troubleshoot) when taking over a critical operation.Treat hospitality as an end-to-end system—from parking lot to exit—to build raving fans.Key Quotes"Growth will kill you if you're not prepared for it." — Bill Wilson"I have to work twice as hard to get half the credit." — Cassidy Wilson"A CEO is a lonely job." — Bill Wilson"I don’t want it given to me; I want to earn it." — Cassidy Wilson"There’s no hiding—and that’s the best thing you can do." — Bill WilsonChapters00:36 — Next-gen peer forum launch and why it matters 02:14 — Scaling lessons: coaching, delegation, and growth pressure 04:41 — Outside experience requirement before joining the family business 05:53 — Trial-by-fire leadership: distribution takeover and new tasting room role 10:28 — From vineyard purchase to opening day: building through setbacks 12:21 —...
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    46 mins
  • Why a REF Operations Leadership Peer Forum with Ben Norton

    Why a REF Operations Leadership Peer Forum with Ben Norton
    Jul 20 2026
    If you’re the person expected to “make it all work” (COO, VP Ops, chief of staff, GM, or EOS-style Integrator), you’re likely carrying execution pressure that’s hard to share inside your company. You’re accountable for outcomes, pulled into cross-functional conflict, and asked to scale results without losing quality—often while managing the gap between a leader’s vision and the organization’s day-to-day reality. This episode explains how an operations-focused leadership peer forum is designed to solve that exact problem: giving operators a confidential, structured space to process real issues, make better decisions faster, and build repeatable execution muscle.The conversation traces Ben Norton’s path from aerospace/defense work at Lockheed Martin to leading and turning around tech businesses—then shifting into helping leadership teams run healthier, more disciplined companies using EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System). Ben breaks down EOS’s core outcomes: Vision (leadership alignment on where you’re going), Traction (discipline and accountability), and Healthy (cohesive teams). The episode also clarifies the “Visionary + Integrator” partnership popularized in Rocket Fuel when strategic direction and operational execution align, growth becomes far less chaotic.You’ll also hear a concrete breakdown of how the Temecula Valley Operations Leadership Peer Forum is structured: a monthly half-day meeting with (1) a focused expert talk, (2) a facilitated roundtable for leadership development and shared learning, and (3) a deep “case” process where one member brings a real, time-sensitive challenge and receives structured peer input and accountability follow-through. The goal: help operators move from disorganized chaos and burnout to organized chaos—fast-moving, but controlled, sustainable, and scalable.HighlightsTurn vision into execution with clearer roles, stronger accountability, and better meeting rhythms.Reduce operational firefighting by learning proven systems from peers facing similar constraints.Navigate sales-to-ops tension and cross-department conflict without damaging alignment.Prioritize the right work when everything feels urgent and competing.Get confidential, high-quality input on real decisions you can’t safely workshop internally.Important Concepts and FrameworksEOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System) — operating framework to strengthen Vision, Traction, and Healthy.Vision / Traction / Healthy — EOS outcomes for aligned direction, disciplined execution, and cohesive leadership.Visionary + Integrator (Rocket Fuel) — complementary leadership roles that accelerate growth when aligned."Vision without traction is a hallucination” — execution as the bridge between ideas and results.Organized vs. disorganized chaos — creating operational flow instead of frenetic burnout.Case Issue Processing — facilitated peer method: clarify, listen, synthesize, commit, and follow through.Tools & Resources MentionedTraction (book) — introduces EOS and the operating principles behind disciplined execution.Rocket Fuel (book) — framework for Visionary/Integrator role clarity and alignment.Google Analytics — web analytics platform (origin story referenced through acquisition).Calls to ActionIdentify whbether your role is effectively the “Integrator” seat—and where authority/accountability are misaligned.List your top recurring operational breakdowns (people, process, priorities, cross-functional conflict).Find (or build) a confidential peer setting to workshop real issues you can’t process internally.Practice structured case-processing: clarify the issue, gather peer input, decide next actions, set accountability.If Temecula-based, explore joining the founding cohort planned for September 2026.Key Quotes"Vision, traction, and healthy." — Ben Norton"Vision without traction is a hallucination." — Ben Norton"When your visionary and integrator are in perfect alignment… rocket fuel." — Ben Norton"Where else do you have that you can go and do what we just did?" — Mike Richardson"I can't overemphasize the power of a peer group." — Ben NortonChapters00:00 — Why operations leaders need a trusted peer room 02:25 — First-time CEO pressure and the value of peer groups 03:51 — From aerospace programs to tech leadership and acquisitions 06:50 — EOS explained: Vision, Traction, Healthy 08:17 — Traction vs. wheelspin: execution that actually sticks 11:33 — Why an operations leadership forum now 14:33 — Visionary vs. Integrator roles and “rocket fuel” alignment 19:40 — Common operator pain points: scaling, conflict, authority gaps 22:52 — Monthly forum structure: speaker, roundtable, deep case processing 27:35 — The “no other place to say this” problem peer forums solveThis episode's guestBen NortonLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nortonben/Website: https://implementer.eosworldwide.com/ben-norton/About ...
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    38 mins
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