Paul's Story

Paul Hilton is CEO of market leading property website, ESPC. Based in Edinburgh, the firm’s unique solicitor and estate agents’ member-ownership model provides buyers, sellers, renters, letters and investors with the local knowledge and expertise to make the right property moves. Here Paul tells us why joining Vistage was a good business move.

“I joined ESPC as sales and marketing director and was promoted to CEO in 2014. I remember feeling pleased on my first day but also a little overwhelmed. I wanted to do my best and I didn’t want to let anyone down. Although I’d read lots of self-development books over the years, I knew I was going to need more continuous support and inspiration than a paperback, breakfast networking club or occasional development course, to do my job well.

I first met Edinburgh Vistage Chair, George Hall, soon after becoming CEO, who enlightened me on the benefits of peer-mentoring and coaching. Up to this point, the only experience I had with coaches was while playing footy, with a man shouting at you from the sidelines."

I thought if that’s what coaching is about, I’m not sure it’s going to work for me! Finding out George would act as more of a sounding board, someone who would push me and challenge me on my thinking, was exactly what I need, and in fact what every CEO needs. The longer you’re in the game, the more challenge you need.

Going along to my first meeting also challenged my thinking. I imagined I was joining an exclusive club where everyone had the answers but that certainly wasn’t the case. I found everyone has their own challenges, many of which were similar to my own. There was also a humility and an openness about the other members that immediately made me relax.

Realising they weren’t know-it-alls also taught me that, contrary to what I thought, a CEO doesn’t have all the answers, and that it’s actually not possible. As a CEO you’re actually trying to make yourself ultimately redundant by empowering your team’s development so you’re not the individual driving everything.

‘you may have been to Cambridge, but I’ve been to Vistage!’

A happy accident

Joining Vistage shortly after becoming CEO was perfect timing. ESPC was going through a period of change and we needed to define the company’s direction for the next 3-5 years. As luck would have it, the very first Vistage speaker I got to watch was Jim Alampi who introduced me to the Execution Maximiser (EM).

The EM focuses on developing a clear vision and breaking everything down to help you achieve easily actionable results. I took that blueprint and worked through it to put my first plan together which put us in fantastic stead. Right from the start we had a plan we worked to, and then went back and checked every quarter. It’s been fantastically useful, and we still use it today. We accelerated the plan we intended to roll out over three years in just three months during Covid, helping us pivot the business to improve our revenue and services.

Importantly, Vistage also encourages you to think beyond profit, and to integrate the triple bottom line of people, planet and profit within your business. Collectively, these have helped us create a culture of workplace happiness, and build a stronger business that’s held in higher regard.

Since that first Vistage speaker event, I’ve seen lots of speakers who’ve influenced me in some shape or form, including Marcus Child who is so inspirational he can bring tears to people’s eyes, and Glen Daley, who really fires you up to think about your life purpose. We also recently had a talk by Celynn Morin on health and wellbeing - Vistage is as much about looking after yourself as personal and professional development.

I’ve learnt a lot from Vistage, but what really summed it up was giving my brother, who also runs a business, free business advice. He asked me ‘how do you know all this stuff,’ to which I replied, ‘you may have been to Cambridge, but I’ve been to Vistage!’ Vistage has given me the confidence of knowing that if I were parachuted into another business tomorrow, I’d have enough knowledge in my toolkit to add value quickly.