Ask Steve Zuckerman, CEO of GTI Industries, what value he gets from his Vistage group and he’ll quickly go through the top 10 benefits of working with his peers and chair Newell Holt. 

1. He’s a better CEO.

2. His personal/work life balance has improved. 

3. He has personal relationships with other CEOs.

4. Group problem-solving and interactions are enhanced in both his work and personal life.

5. Guest speakers are tremendously valuable.

6. He’s accountable to his peers and his chair, a rare but important advantage for CEOs.

7. Formal assessment profiling for both his long-term employees and potential new hires has made his teams more effective.

8. He benchmarks Key Performance Indicators to measure goals on an ongoing basis.

9. One-on-one coaching from Holt helps make him a better coach for other GTI team members.

10. Improved leadership skills have improved performance across his teams. 

“It’s an ongoing process,” he says. “We’re building a company culture that’s obsessed with quality.” 

Established in 1972 as Gummed Tape Inc. by Zuckerman’s parents in a rented station wagon, GTI now is a major player in the packaging industry with 7,000 items in stock, including both standard and custom supplies for industries ranging from vitamins and refrigerated foods to packaging solutions to meet the needs of rapidly growing e-commerce clients. 

“Our goal is to be a one-source supplier for packaging materials with custom-designed solutions that are cost-effective and efficient for our customers,” he said. 

Building a corporate culture that embraces those goals has been a huge part of GTI’s success, adds Holt, his Vistage chair. “When Steve says he has a family of employees, he really means that. He knows the value of a great corporate culture and how to nurture it.”