In 2010 in London, I had lunch with a good friend who I consider to be a mentor. We ended up reflecting on some of the daunting challenges and resulting insights we had about the past year. As we were chatting, he observed that I was developing a very interesting and unique perspective from coaching and consulting with senior executives from 10 or so top global companies on any given day across many industries and continents.
He came up with an intriguing idea. He said, “You should figure out a forum for sharing and discussing some of your insights and learning with a very select audience – CEO’s and their senior teams.”
As I thought about it, I remembered what Teddy Roosevelt described in a speech over 100 years ago, which is the inspiration for The Arena.