"Is this normal?"

This week, I've been in Italy, taking my own medicine.

I came here because I need knowledgeable outside counsel to do my best work, just like the CEOs I work with.

A couple of other authors I respect convened, curated, and facilitated a week of conversations here, for eight of us.

They are all years ahead of me, serving different sectors. There's an architect, someone working with state agencies, another focused on healthcare systems, and another who works with creative agencies. There's enough overlap that we can speak the same language, but the differences surface important new territory for each of us.

I was also looking for ideas about and methods to unlock the collective intelligence of a group of peers.

A couple weeks ago, I shared that perhaps 5% of nonprofit CEOs have the outside connections they need. I didn't say much about what the one CEO in 20 has, and this week has been helpfully filling out my understanding.

I run a business. I set my own budget. You would have to justify a line item like this to a board or a CFO. That may be a harder conversation for you.

But the investment of time and money to be here has been really important in a couple ways.

Calibration: It's tremendously helpful to benchmark against other people. Most nonprofit CEOs are asking:

• "Is this normal?"
• "Can you check my math?"
• "What am I missing here?"
• "Am I taking crazy pills?"

You need perspective from someone outside your board and your team.

Warnings: This week, I've talked to people ahead of me. They can tell me where the potholes are, what they wish they'd done differently, what are the red herrings and shiny objects along the way. In my peer advisory work, it's vital to hear how another CEO structured their executive team, managed growth, or developed a healthy board culture.