There is no elegant way to make a hard decision hurt less. Ben Horowitz says it plainly in The Hard Thing About Hard Things: stop trying. Own it. Do the work.
When we founded The 100, Inc. in August 2015—what would later become the Executives Club Fargo–Moorhead—we had a bold vision and very little else. No strategy. No blueprint. No curriculum. Just belief and enthusiasm.
That momentum carried us further than it had any right to. It worked—until it didn’t.
The world stopped in 2020. And, honestly, we never fully recovered. Since then, we’ve been throwing darts at a board. Focus drifted. Priorities blurred. The real problem we set out to solve got lost.
That’s on me.
2026 marks the beginning of our second decade—and a reckoning.
Hard decisions have been made. We sold another company to leaders who can give it the attention it deserves. I have cleared space. I take full responsibility. And I am committed to fixing what we let slide.
This isn’t a comeback tour.
It’s a correction.
The Executives Club is being stripped down and rebuilt as what it was always meant to be: a hard-working executive peer group grounded in fundamentals, discipline, and real leadership work.
What worked for the first ten years will not carry us forward.
The bar has been raised.
Expectations clarified.
The focus narrowed to where it actually matters.
For the past decade, the Executives Club proved something important: when you put capable leaders in the same room, candid conversations and real connections happen—even with very little structure.
But time dulls sharp edges. Standards soften. The work gets lighter. Leadership loses focus. Groups drift.
The drift stops here.
The Executives Club Fargo–Moorhead is being rebuilt for leaders who want less distraction and more clarity. For owners and executives who don’t need motivation—they want perspective, challenge, and accountability from peers who carry real responsibility.
We are returning to fundamentals.
How businesses actually work.
How leaders fail.
How momentum is built and lost.
How decisions compound over years—not quarters.
If you’re looking for a social networking club, this isn’t it.
If you’re looking for real progress, read on.
Beginning January 5, the Club’s curriculum will align with the 50 Business Rules of The Executives’ Institute—one rule at a time, over time. These are proven principles grounded in classic business thinking and battle-tested in real companies.
Members will work through these Rules together—applying them inside their own organizations and pressure-testing them in the room.
The goal is simple: momentum, shared language, and continuity—three things most executive groups never achieve.
We are keeping what mattered.
We are discarding what didn’t.
Claim your seat at the table – join The Club today.
Kurt McSparron
Founder