I Recently Decided to Change My Business Support Group

I couldn’t sleep the night before I made the switch, but I’m confident it was the right decision.

I am a huge proponent of peer groups. Over the last decade, I have been in two different Vistage groups and am now in my second Entrepreneurs’ Organization forum. I found my home when I joined EO seven years ago, and next month I will wrap up my term as president of the EO Philadelphia chapter.

Recently, though, I decided to switch forums after being in one group for more than six years. This was a difficult decision, and I struggled with it for a long time. I thought it might be helpful to others if I wrote about it.

For those who don’t know, an EO Forum is a small group (typically about eight members) that gets together once a month for a few hours to help each other work through challenges. These groups typically also travel once a year to a retreat. Along the way, healthy friendships and deep bonds are established. Everything that happens in a forum stays in the forum, and we are taught methodologies to create safe, no-judgment zones.

A few months ago, friends from EO around the world decided to start an international forum. I worked closely on EO global initiatives with these friends, and their offer to join the group was intriguing. I had learned so much from them, and I was impressed by the diversity of their experiences and international perspectives. Yet I was struck with guilt about leaving the forum that had been my home for six years. How would they feel about my leaving? Was I chasing a shiny object? How would it look for a chapter president to switch forums?

One solution I considered was to participate in two forums at once. A few years ago, I tried to be in a Vistage group and an EO forum at the same time, and I found the experience to be too much. I committed to myself to only participate in one group at a time. In fact, I have committed to adding things to my life only if I take something away.

Could I bring myself to change forums? I loved the members in my previous group. We had been through a lot together, and I didn’t want to leave them. This group had helped me through my Dad’s passing and many tough business issues. Yet I craved being in a forum with this new set of friends and thought that their perspectives would be extremely helpful. I consulted several friends who have been around the forum block more times than I have—and almost universally, I was encouraged to make the change.

I finally decided to make the change about two months ago. The night before I told my forum that I had decided to leave, I didn’t sleep. And as I walked into the room to share the news, I felt like vomiting. Ultimately, they were completely supportive and understanding.

I’ve wished my prior forum mates the best of luck, and we stay in touch. Our new forum has met, and I am thrilled with my choice. I believe I have set a good example as president of my chapter, showing that changing forums can be healthy. In fact, change can often be healthy.