Randy Fields: Transitioning From Success to Significance as an Executive Coach

Vistage is where my skill set and my passion have converged.

Editor’s Note: This profile is part of a series highlighting Vistage Chairs — executive coaches who help guide CEOs and leaders of small and midsize businesses to make better decisions for their companies, families and communities.

For 30 years, Randy Fields built a thriving career in medical implant distribution, leading Fields Medical and Spine Solutions. After selling Spine Solutions in 1999, he joined Vistage, eager for his next challenge.

By 2007, with his second company up for sale, he faced a new question: what now? His group recommended “Halftime” by Bob Buford. One idea hit home — shifting from success to significance. For Fields, that message marked the beginning of a new purpose beyond business.

Five years later, Fields discussed the book during a one-on-one meeting with his Chair, mentor and friend, Bill Houston.

“Why don’t you become a Vistage Chair?” asked Houston.

“The scales fell from my eyes, and it was like, ‘Well, that’s a great idea,’” Fields says. “I told [Bill] he was fired because it took him 5 years to come up with that! But that was the start of my Vistage Chair journey.”

Since 2013, Fields has been helping other CEOs experience their own exit transitions. Since 2017, 8 member companies in Fields’ groups have sold for more than $470 million.

“It is exciting to be at dinner with the owner and spouse of the business and celebrate that milestone,” he says.

Seeing the ‘Lightbulb’ Moment

One of the reasons Fields became a Chair was to give back to all the people who helped him on his journey as a business leader. Today, he Chairs 8 groups out of Louisville, Kentucky, and guides 180 members.

“It’s thrilling to have the ability to impact people’s lives,” he says. “I most appreciate seeing the lightbulb go off for people, whether that’s a frontline worker who wants to become a manager or that CEO who makes a decision they have struggled with for four to five years and says, ‘Wow, I should have done that sooner.’”

When Fields started as a Chair, he saw the need for a year-long leadership program and approached the University of Louisville. Together, they developed a 12-month leadership program for members of Fields’ Emerging Leader Program. The first cohort consisted of 30 people, and the program continues to this day, with 2 members now serving in CEO groups.

“We just graduated our third group of AL and EL leaders and have had 90+ people from different companies, my personal members, who go through the program,” he says. “Our success rate graduating people from Emerging Leader to Advancing Leader is about 96%.”

Fostering learning and education is a priority for Fields, a 2-time Top Chair and Robert Nourse Chair of the Year recipient, among many other accolades. He strives to encourage members to explore new and more effective ways to accomplish tasks. Attending ChairWorld provides access to top-notch speakers, allowing him to book speakers for educational programs. By the time he leaves the annual conference, Fields has booked speakers 12 to 18 months in advance.

Where Skill and Passion Converge

According to Fields, prioritizing learning and finding members who are equally committed to professional and personal growth is essential to success as a Chair. Early in his tenure, he focused on filling spots.

“That was my biggest mistake early on — just bringing them on if I could see they were breathing,” he says.

Now, Fields is committed to finding learners, and he works closely with other Chairs in Louisville to ensure they all work together without diluting the Vistage name.

“Vistage is where my skill set and my passion have converged,” he says. “God has placed me to do this work. I love what I do and don’t consider it to be work.”

Beyond moving from success to significance, becoming a Vistage Chair has granted him more family time. Fields’ son, Carson, now co-leads the Emerging Leaders program as part of his leadership development, which is sponsored by his employer.

“I work really hard 3 weeks a month, and my lovely wife and I travel one week every month to see our grandbabies, and we pick up an extra week every quarter,” he says. “So, I have 16 weeks of vacation. That’s pretty cool.”

Explore more coaching journeys

If this coaching story interests you and you’d like to see more, learn more about Chairing and how it could lead to the next chapter of your life.

0 views