Fear Intelligence was not developed in a classroom. It was built in front of people who run companies, and it has been run repeatedly in the hardest room there is: a group of chief executives who have seen every framework going and used almost none of them twice.
The book came first. Every workshop since has been built on it, which means what follows is not feedback on an idea. It is what happened when leaders took a published framework into a live business.
Multiple Vistage Chairs, including Vistage Master Chairs, have brought this session to their CEO and Key groups and have gone on record recommending it for all Vistage groups.
A national HR technology consultancy sponsored this work across multiple teams and modules over eighteen months. Six people connected to that engagement wrote public recommendations without being asked.
Vistage Chairs run these groups for a living and watch dozens of speakers a year. They are not an easy audience and they do not write things they will have to defend later.
“I highly recommend this for all Vistage groups. This session helped members see that fear is universal, living within every CEO and every human in the organization. It is at the root of virtually every dysfunction within business and within the lives of all those humans. Gaining deep knowledge of fear and of how to turn it into an advantage is key to our success. It is foundational on the path to leadership greatness.”
Greg Herrera, Vistage Chair
“Rather than generic EQ, she cuts right to the quick, focusing on fear, which shows up in so many insidious ways in organizations.”
Lance Descourouez, Vistage Master Chair
“We had 25 people there including members, teammates and guests. The response to the topic was uniformly vigorous. I received strong positive comments at the end of the meeting about the value members received. Definitely recommend this program. You will likely be a bit surprised how well it will be received.”
Michael Sipe, Vistage Chair
“Great content and challenge to examine our fears, use them as information and react to them objectively. The question ‘What am I afraid will happen?’ helped me cut through the fear and BS.”
Vistage Member
“Very real world applications. No bullshit. Great stuff. Highly recommend.”
Vistage Member
Marc S. Strauch runs a multi-site fuel, convenience and car wash operation with 250 employees. He heard me speak at a Vistage meeting last October. By December he knew the business had to change and, the harder part, so did he. We started in January and meet every week. Six months in, he signed for another six. Here is what changed, in his words, and what he is still working on.
“I’d built something that worked, and I spent a lot of energy making sure nobody rocked it. I called that being steady. Jacqueline named my biggest fear in our first meeting. Scarcity. Fear of losing what I had. I didn’t love hearing it and I couldn’t argue with it. Once I could see it, I could see how much of my decision-making it had been running.”
“There was a vendor negotiation I’d dragged out for years. I finally closed it, and I didn’t get the terms I wanted. A year ago I wouldn’t have walked away. What I saw instead was the bill for how long I’d held on to something my supplier was never going to give me. Once I could see it there, I could see it on my team. Things I’d been tolerating for years. And I’d be lying if I said it stopped at the office.”
Marc S. Strauch, CEO, Strauch and Co. | Vistage Member
We are still meeting weekly. The scarcity has not gone anywhere and it is not supposed to. He can read it now, which is a different thing entirely.
“Before Fear Intelligence Conversations, I didn’t have a trusted space where personal feeling and professional performance could sit at the same table. Now I do. Four years in, I listen more. I talk about what matters. I’m focused on what really counts, and I let other leaders lead so I can learn from them. That wasn’t me before this room.”
Charles Bernard, CEO, Criteria for Success and Collavia | Vistage Speaker
“Jacqueline helped me see the fears running my decisions. When a ‘white knight’ merger landed on my desk, I walked through it clear-eyed with her counsel and the room behind me. I identified the risks and rewards and moved forward with confidence. What I didn’t expect was how much this work changed my life outside the office. More grounded. More intentional. Better decisions everywhere.”
Brian Califano, CFOSystems
“I can’t believe how quickly I was able to release years of old patterns with Fear Intelligence.”
Janine Solomon, Attorney and Child Advocate, 30+ Years
Workshops · Keynotes · CEO and Key group sessions
Marc heard me speak at a Vistage meeting in October. By December he knew the business had to change. That is usually how this starts. Somebody in an audience recognises their own fear in the room and decides to stop working around it.
Tell me what your people are avoiding. I will tell you whether this is the right session for it, and I will tell you if it is not.
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