Five key elements how Executives Association of San Francisco provides value to its members: 1) Trusted Relationships, 2) Qualified Referrals, 3) Shared Knowledge, 4) Public Speaking, 5) Social Events
Who are we? Why are we unique? What is our brand?
The Executives Association of San Francisco (EASF) is the oldest continuous business league in the world, founded in San Francisco in 1916. Executives Association chapters currently exist in more than 100 cities across four continents, predominantly across the United States and Canada. EASF is the founding and charter member of the International Executives Association. We are a networking group. We also have exclusive business categories. Unlike a BNI where there can be hundreds of these chapters in the same city, there can be only one Executives Association chapter per city.
Trusted Relationships. People Do Business With People They Know. This is our motto. A philosophy which goes back to our founding fathers, three men who would meet for lunch in a San Francisco park and who came up with an idea of banding together to assist one another. They conceived of forming a group that met at a restaurant for lunch once a week to exchange ideas in order to help further their individual business ventures. This concept, we believe, was influenced by the Junto Club, founded in 1727, where a group of friends, including Benjamin Franklin, met regularly to share knowledge, increase friendships, and gain influence.
Qualified Referrals are an essential aspect of our organization. We value our clients and friends, therefore the business leads and referrals we give to other member businesses develop organically by building trusted relationships at our lunch meetings and outside events.
Collective Wisdom is a term coined by one of our members. It refers to the direct access members have to the wealth of resources and knowledge within our organization – the expertise of business professionals representing corporations and institutions in a variety of industries.
Public Speaking is a subtle underrated value. Public speaking is the Number One fear in America. Death comes in Number Two. The ability to speak in public is power: to persuade, to convert, to compel. As a member, you have the opportunity to gradually hone your public speaking skills within a comfortable setting among supportive colleagues. It starts with short introductions about yourself and your products and services. And once a year (though encouraged but not required), each member presents a twenty-five minute talk about their expertise and business category.
Social Events are an extension of who we are. These quarterly diversions (e.g., Giants baseball game, music venues, wine tasting, holiday parties, etc.) serve not only as entertainment but a means to strengthen relationships between our member firms.
