The Curriculum
For those who value candor, context, and hard-earned perspective.
The Executives’ Club curriculum is intentionally simple—and deliberately demanding. It isn’t built around guest speakers or slide decks. It’s built around disciplined conversations and shared standards.
Throughout the year, Members engage through three distinct formats. Each serves a different purpose, but all are grounded in the same belief: leaders grow faster when they think together, challenge one another, and build from the fundamentals.
This curriculum isn’t something you consume, you participate.
Show up prepared. Speak plainly. Listen carefully. Contribute honestly. That’s the work.
8:30 to 2:30, Friday, May 15, 2026, at Bell Bank Tower, Fargo
Growth isn’t about trends. It’s about timing — knowing when to sell, merge, expand, or step aside. At The Next Chapter, local executives will sit down and talk honestly about those moments — the deals made, the lessons learned, and the direction ahead.
Every business leader eventually faces the same moment — the point where what’s next is no longer a someday question. That moment might look like an opportunity to acquire a competitor. It might be a transition to new leadership. Or it might simply be the realization that the company you’ve built deserves a plan beyond you.
Throughout the day, you’ll hear from executives who’ve bought, sold, merged, and passed on what they’ve built — openly and without pretense. You’ll learn what worked, what didn’t, and what they wish they’d known sooner.
12:00-1:30, the first Wednesday of each month at Porter Creek Hardwood Grill, Fargo
These lunches are not presentations. The topics are simply conversation starters…nudges.
There is no stage, no slides, and no expert at the front of the room. Each gathering is an open forum built around one foundational business topic—led by the Executives’ Club Members in the room.
This is where executives speak candidly, tell real stories, test assumptions, and ask the questions they don’t get to ask anywhere else. The value comes from shared experience, hard-earned perspective, and the willingness to engage honestly with peers who understand the weight of leadership.
4:00-6:00pm, the third Wednesday of each month at Stone West Village, Fargo
By The Book is the disciplined counterweight to Unscripted. Wednesdays. This is where continuous learning becomes a responsibility, not a slogan.
Each month, this CEO study group will work through The Executives Institute curriculum chapter by chapter—studying a focused set of Rules and the timeless business books behind them.
The room is intentionally small and peer-driven, allowing leaders at different stages to challenge, mentor, and sharpen one another through real experience. You’ll hear how the same Rule holds up across industries, ownership structures, and seasons of leadership—and where it breaks if misapplied. The goal isn’t agreement. It’s clarity, earned through reading, discussion, and thoughtful application—by the book.
The Executives’ Club Fargo-Moorhead is proud to serve as the first CEO Study Group of The Executives’ Institute. Membership is more than local connection—it’s an opportunity to participate in the formation of a national conversation about leadership, business fundamentals, and the disciplined application of timeless principles.
The perspectives you share, the questions you ask, and the practices you model become part of a broader dialogue that reaches executives across the country. This is a chance to shape the conversation, elevate your voice, and promote both your leadership and your organization within a network of peers who respect rigor, results, and judgment above noise.
Participation is intentional. Members are contributors, thought leaders, and standard-bearers in a community that is quietly defining the future of disciplined leadership.
Our 2026 Executives’ Club Fargo-Moorhead 50-week curriculum, provided by The Executives Institute ™, a product of Grindstone Ventures, LLC
Chapter 1: Foundations First
WEEK 1— Rule No. 1: Solve a real problem.
Recommended Reading: The Lean Startup, by Eric Ries
WEEK 2— Rule No. 2: Fall in love with the problem, not the solution.
Recommended Reading: The Mom Test, by Rob Fitzpatrick
WEEK 3— Rule No. 6: Your first idea is rarely your best.
Recommended Reading: Originals, by Adam Grant
WEEK 4— Rule No. 10: Never stop learning.
Recommended Reading: Mindset, by Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D.
WEEK 5— Rule No. 15: Work on the business, not just in it.
Recommended Reading: The E-Myth Revisited, by Michael E. Gerber
Chapter 2: Know Your Customer
WEEK 6— Rule No.11: Your Brand is Your Promise
Recommended Reading: Building Strong Brands, by David A. Aaker
WEEK 7— Rule No.12: Know Your Customer Deeply
Recommended Reading: Know Your Customer, by Robert B. Woodruff and Sarah F. Gardial
WEEK 8— Rule No.18: Your Calendar Reflects Your Priorities
Recommended Reading: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, By Stephen R. Covey
WEEK 9— Rule No.21: Clarity Creates Confidence
Recommended Reading: Made to Stick, by Chip Heath and Dan Heath
Chapter 3: Hiring Without Regret
WEEK 10— Rule No. 22: Hire slow, fire fast.
Recommended Reading: Who, by Geoff Smart and Randy Street
WEEK 11— Rule No. 24: Own your mistakes.
Recommended Reading: Extreme Ownership, by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin
WEEK 12— Rule No. 31: Delegate outcomes, not tasks.
Recommended Reading: Turn the Ship Around!, by L. David Marquet
WEEK 13— Rule No. 49: People over processes.
Recommended Reading: The Human Side of Enterprise, by Douglas McGregor
Chapter 4: Strategy In the Real World
WEEK 14— Rule No. 3: Differentiate or die.
Recommended Reading: Blue Ocean Strategy, by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne
WEEK 15— Rule No. 4: Play the long game.
Recommended Reading: The Infinite Game, by Simon Sinek
WEEK 16— Rule No. 5: Make fewer, bolder moves.
Recommended Reading: Playing To Win, by A.G. Lafley and Roger L. Martin
WEEK 17— Rule No. 25: Ask better questions.
Recommended Reading: A More Beautiful Question, by Warren Berger
WEEK 18— Rule No. 26: Define it. Measure it. Achieve it.
Recommended Reading: Measure What Matters, by John Doerr
Chapter 5: Execution Beats Ideas
WEEK 19— Rule No. 7: Momentum beats motivation.
Recommended Reading: The War of Art, by Steven Pressfield
WEEK 20— Rule No. 8: Don’t mistake movement for progress.
Recommended Reading: Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less, By Greg McKeown
WEEK 21— Rule No. 9: Focus beats multitasking.
Recommended Reading: The One Thing, by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan
WEEK 22— Rule No. 27: Do the hard things first.
Recommended Reading: Eat That Frog!, by Brian Tracy
WEEK 23— Rule No. 28: Learn by doing.
Recommended Reading: The Art of Learning, by Josh Waitzkin
Chapter 6: Hard Conversations. Hard Decisions
WEEK 24 — Rule No. 14: Know when to let go.
Recommended Reading: Necessary Endings, by Dr. Henry Cloud
WEEK 25— Rule No. 19: Stop doing what doesn’t work.
Recommended Reading: What Got You Here, Won’t Get You There, by Marshall Goldsmith
WEEK 26— Rule No. 42: Feedback is a gift.
Recommended Reading: Thanks For The Feedback, by Douglas Stone and Sheila Heen
WEEK 27— Rule No. 50: If you’re going to eat shit, don’t nibble.
Recommended Reading: The Hard Thing About Hard Things, by Ben Horowitz
Chapter 7: Systems That Scale
WEEK 28— Rule No. 23: Simplicity scales.
Recommended Reading: Simple Rules, by Donald Sull and Kathleen M. Eisenhardt
WEEK 29— Rule No. 32: Don’t scale chaos.
Recommended Reading: Scaling Up, by Verne Harnish and the team at Gazelles
WEEK 30— Rule No. 36: Build a business that runs without you.
Recommended Reading: Built To Sell, by John Warrillow
WEEK 31— Rule No. 33: Processes protect your time.
Recommended Reading: The Checklist Manifesto, by Atul Gawande
Chapter 8: Sales—the Lifeblood
WEEK 32— Rule No. 13: Know your numbers.
Recommended Reading: Financial Intelligence, by Karen Berman and Joe Knight
WEEK 33— Rule No. 20: Cash flow is king.
Recommended Reading: Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits!, by Greg Crabtree
WEEK 34— Rule No. 38: Build once, sell forever.
Recommended Reading: The Automatic Customer, by John Warrillow
WEEK 35— Rule No. 40: Sell the vision, not just the product.
Recommended Reading: Start With Why, by Simon Sinek
Chapter 9: Culture You Can Count On
WEEK 36— Rule No. 34: Great businesses outlive great products.
Recommended Reading: Built To Last, by Jim Collins and Jerry I. Porras
WEEK 37— Rule No. 35: Raise the bar, then raise it again.
Recommended Reading: Good To Great, by Jim Collins
WEEK 38— Rule No. 46: Don’t outgrow your values.
Recommended Reading: The Advantage, by Patrick Lencioni
Chapter 10: Leadership That Lasts
WEEK 39— Rule No. 16: Time is your most precious asset.
Recommended Reading: The Time Trap, by Alec Mackenzie
WEEK 40— Rule No. 17: Speed Matters.
Recommended Reading: Fail Fast, Fail Often, by Ryan Babineaux, Ph.D. and John Krumboltz, Ph. D.
WEEK 41— Rule No. 29: Protect your downside.
Recommended Reading: Rich Dad’s Guide To Investing, by Robert T. Kiyosaki
WEEK 42— Rule No. 39: Your network is your net worth.
Recommended Reading: Never Eat Alone, by Keith Ferrazzi
Chapter 11: Avoiding the Common Pitfalls
WEEK 43— Rule No. 30: Profit is not a dirty word.
Recommended Reading: Profit First, by Mike Michalowicz
WEEK 44— Rule No. 47: The bottleneck is at the top.
Recommended Reading: The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, by Patrick Lencioni
WEEK 45— Rule No. 41: Reputation compounds.
Recommended Reading: The Reputation Economy, by Michael Fertik and David Thompson
WEEK 46— Rule No. 44: Own your edge.
Recommended Reading: Purple Cow, by Seth Godin
Chapter 12: Reflection and Recommittment
WEEK 47— Rule No. 37: Build trust before selling.
Recommended Reading: The Speed of Trust, by Stephen M. R. Covey
WEEK 48— Rule No. 43: Run your race.
Recommended Reading: Can’t Hurt Me, by David Goggins
WEEK 49— Rule No. 45: Protect your mental bandwidth.
Recommended Reading: Deep Work, by Cal Newport
WEEK 50— Rule No. 48: Give more than you take.
Recommended Reading: The Go-Giver, by Bob Burg and John David Mann