Vistage Master Chair Tom Cuthbert breaks down a simple, repeatable framework for one of the most consequential things a chair does: selecting members. Get selection right and the group gets stronger and everything gets easier; get it wrong and you can spend years managing the consequences. Tom walks through his five "Make Its" and the deliberate, candidate-friendly process behind them. In the second segment, he shares the six-word story that captures his whole philosophy and the Nashville lunch that changed how he chooses the people he works with. Show Notes Member selection has to be an intentional process, not a default. When it is right, groups strengthen; when it is wrong, the costs compound for years. The Five "Make Its": Make it easy, make it fast, make it obvious, make it personal, make it matter. These five remove friction, keep the chair in control of the process, and surface the GLOAT attributes Tom looks for: Give, Listen, Obstacles, Accountability, Thankfulness. Make It Easy: candidates should never have to work to join. Tom's sequence runs from referral, to EA intro, to a Culture Index review, to a 20 minute call that is all about them, to an in-person meeting, to a conversation with two members, to a full-day group meeting and feedback. Nearly 100 percent close once they reach the room. Make It Fast: speed is a feature. Tom's sales cycle never runs more than a month and a half, and referrals get an immediate response. He would rather have a fast no than a slow and painful yes. Make It Obvious: confusion kills action. The process is visible to the candidate at every step, and Tom does his own research up front, using AI profile sheets, LinkedIn, and Culture Index. Clear criteria make a no easier for everyone. Make It Personal: selection is a courtship, not a funnel. It has to be a genuine human match, and the group and team need to feel the fit too. Make It Matter: recruitment fills seats, but selection builds community. One member can change the chemistry of the whole room. Tom calls a strong selection process a "mediocrity defense shield." The key test: would you enthusiastically select every current member again today? Tom's Tips and Tricks: Significant Work With People I Love At a Vistage corporate event, Tom was asked to write a six-word story, and the six words he landed on still define his work today: significant work with people I love. The phrase traces back to a lunch in Nashville early in his chair career, when he asked veteran chair Garth how he chooses members. After Tom's long, rambling answer, Garth set down his tea and said simply, "I have to love them," explaining that working only with people he loves makes him a better coach, mentor, and friend. That moment reframed love not as a soft business word but as a serious selection criterion. Tom offers five practical ways to tell whether you love the work in a business context: the Calendar Test (do tomorrow's names energize you?), the Energy Test (are you energized or drained after a first conversation?), Give and Take (favor givers, and watch how candidates treat your staff and the server), Character Before Category (lead with integrity rather than treating it as a tiebreaker), and the discipline to say no to those you do not believe you can truly care for. The real question is not whether someone is a fit, but whether you will love working with them. He closes with Mother Teresa: we may not all do great things, but we can do small things with great love. Resources Member Selection Playbook: www.tomcuthbert.com/selectionplaybook Give and Take by Adam Grant Culture Index (candidate profile survey) www.tomcuthbert.com www.chairlifepodcast.com https://docs.google.com/document/d/15ultNV_YwRqEWG8Ukb8x3BN1bD_siUZ0fF69MS90zXk/edit?usp=sharing
