By Andreas Pettersson, Founder, Leaders ADAPT
An owner leaves the office on a Friday knowing exactly which manager is the problem. Everyone on the team knows too. The owner has prayed about it, read about it and talked around it with a spouse. On Monday the manager is still there.
The problem is not a lack of values. It is a lack of a room that will make the owner act on them.
That is the room the C12 Group sells, and it is why faith based owners search for it. My stake in this, stated up front: at Leaders ADAPT I lead a virtual CEO mastermind with no revenue gate and never more than 14 members, and it has no faith requirement. This is the C12 entry in the CEO Peer Group Index, with the gaps left visible.
Quick answer: The C12 Group is a faith based peer advisory organisation founded in 1992. Owners and CEOs of companies with 10+ employees or $2M+ revenue meet in a C12 Business Forum for a full day each month, plus one hour of monthly coaching from a Chair who owns a C12 franchise. C12 does not publish dues, and local press reports of the cost conflict.
What the C12 Group is, in 12 fields
The C12 Group is a faith based peer forum for business owners and CEOs, run locally by Chairs who buy a C12 franchise and meet their group for a full day every month. C12 publishes more of its rules than most groups and less of its price. All rows were read in October 2026.
| Field | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Faith based monthly peer forums for CEOs and owners, a full day meeting plus monthly Chair coaching | Membership Overview |
| Cost and year one | Not published by C12. Monthly dues that vary by market, paid directly to the Chair. Press reports conflict: $500 to $1,000 a month (Virginia, 2026) versus $1,350 a year for CEOs (Inland Northwest, 2023) | FAQ, Lead a Forum, WTKR, Tri-Cities |
| Gates | "10+ Employees OR $2 M+ Annual Revenue" plus ownership or executive responsibility. By invitation. Application asks about local church attendance. No age gate published | Membership Overview, Apply |
| Group size | Not published by C12. Third party: typically 10 to 12 non competing peers. One 2023 chapter: 19 members from 13 companies | Faith Driven Entrepreneur, Tri-Cities |
| Time commitment | One full day a month in the Business Forum plus one hour a month of coaching. Covenant: attend 10 of 12 meetings | Membership Overview, Covenant |
| Facilitator model | Franchisee Chair. "Independent business owners who purchase a C12 franchise". Over 250 full time Chairs | Lead a Forum, C12 at 30 |
| Contract and cancellation | Renews automatically unless at least one month of notice is given. Leaving members explain the decision to the forum at a final meeting | Apply, Covenant |
| Format and geography | In person. 125 US metros and 13 markets outside the US (third party, 2020) | FAQ, Faith Driven Entrepreneur |
| Industry mix | Non competing, mixed industries. Companies of 10 to 10,000+ employees and $2M to $5B+ revenue. "Not a lead-sharing or networking group" | C12 at 30, Apply |
| What members say | "It's so easy as an entrepreneur or CEO to get tunnel vision." Member opinion. Company claim: 95 percent of members implemented at least one C12 idea in a year | WTKR, C12 Sacramento |
| Founded and size | Founded October 1992 by Buck Jacobs with 32 CEOs. 3,500+ members, 330+ groups | C12 at 30, Faith Driven Entrepreneur |
| Best for and not for | For faith based owners of 10+ employee companies who want their faith and their business in one monthly full day forum. Not for leaders who do not share the faith framing, or who need published pricing | Read of all sources above |
What C12 does well
It writes the rules down. The member covenant sets attendance at 10 of 12 meetings and tells a leaving member to explain why to the group in person. Most groups in the Index publish nothing of the kind. A covenant like that turns attendance from a hope into a promise.
It is clear about what it is not. The application page says it is not a lead sharing or networking group. That one sentence removes the pitch from the room before anyone sits down.
It joins the forum to individual coaching. C12 Business Forums meet for a full day, and members also get a monthly hour with the Chair, so what surfaces in the group has somewhere to go between meetings.
It has a long record. More than 30 years, by C12's own account, and a structure with over 250 full time Chairs. For an owner who wants faith and the business discussed in the same room, few alternatives have that depth.
What C12 does not publish
The C12 cost. C12 says dues are monthly, vary by market and are paid directly to the Chair. It does not print the amount.
The press does, and the press disagrees. A 2026 Virginia report gave $500 to $1,000 a month. A 2023 Inland Northwest report gave $1,350 a year for CEOs and $675 a year for key leaders.
Those figures cannot both describe the same product. Ask your local Chair for the number in writing.
Group size. C12 does not state one. The third party figure is 10 to 12, and one real chapter had 19.
A joining fee or a refund policy. Neither appears on the pages I read.
The franchise economics. Chairs buy a franchise and are paid member dues directly. That is a structure, not a criticism, and it is the same broad model the Alternative Board cost page describes for TAB. It does mean the person leading your forum also runs it as a business, which is worth knowing when you compare options.
Who C12 membership is not for
The owner who does not share the faith. The application asks about church attendance, and the forum is built to integrate faith and business. An owner outside that framing would be a guest in someone else's conversation.
The founder below the line. Under 10 employees and under $2 million in revenue, you do not meet the published gate. The CEO peer group requirements page shows which groups admit earlier stage owners.
The CEO who cannot give a full day. One full day a month, 10 of 12 meetings, in person. If that calendar is not realistic, the covenant makes it a promise you will break.
The buyer who needs the price before the conversation. With dues unpublished and the press in conflict, you will only learn the real C12 membership cost from a Chair.
The structural gap: values in the room, numbers on the table
A room built on shared values can make an owner braver. I also learned that values need a number before a leader will act.
At Arcules I had a toxic engineering manager. A high performer, and costing us people.
I did the arithmetic: about $450,000 a year in turnover tied to his leadership. Over three years that was $1.35 million. I took the number to him and confronted him directly.
He changed. Turnover went from 20 percent down to 8 percent.
What moved me was not a principle. I had principles before the conversation. What moved me was seeing the cost in a form nobody could argue with, and then having the nerve to say it to his face.
A forum built on shared faith supplies the why. The gap is the how much. C12 serves companies from 10 to more than 10,000 employees, so one forum may hold a small owner and the head of a large firm, because the shared ground is belief, not stage.
That is a legitimate design. It also means the peer next to you may be solving a problem you will not have for years.
Shared values do not signal shared problems. They signal shared reasons. You need both in the room to make the hard call on Monday. The values based leadership guide covers how to turn values into decisions inside the company.
The Leaders ADAPT room, held to the same 12 fields
The Index holds my room to the same 12 fields. It is not a better room in general, and it is not a faith based room at all. It is built on a different axis.
| Field | Leaders ADAPT CEO Mastermind | Source |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A virtual CEO mastermind for founders and owners, led by the operator who founded it, with no faith requirement | CEO Mastermind |
| Cost and year one | Never listed on a blog page. Explained on a fit call | This page |
| Gates | No revenue gate, no headcount gate, no faith gate. You need to have built something and to want hard feedback | This page |
| Group size | At most 14 members | This page |
| Time commitment | A monthly virtual session plus weekly office hours | This page |
| Facilitator model | An operator, not a franchisee. I scaled an AI company to more than 150 people and exited it to Canon, and I lead every session | This page |
| Contract and cancellation | No multi year contract | This page |
| Format and geography | Virtual. Members come from any city | This page |
| Industry mix | Home care, flooring, title services, aviation services, wellness, logistics, lending | This page |
| What members say | No member is named on this site, so there is nothing to quote | This page |
| Founded and size | Leaders ADAPT, founded by Andreas Pettersson. One room of 14 at most | This page |
| Best for and not for | For owners of $1M to $20M+ companies, with or without a faith, who want the plan challenged by peers at a similar stage. Not for anyone who wants faith at the centre of the forum, an in person day or a gentle room | This page |
Some owners would fit both rooms. The CEO peer group compare tool sets the fields side by side so you can see where they differ.
The room that puts the number on the table
The Leaders ADAPT CEO Mastermind is where an owner brings the decision they keep postponing and leaves with a date. It is virtual and capped at 14 members, has no revenue gate, and is run by an operator who scaled a company to 150+ people and exited to Canon.
Each session has a fixed shape. Members score themselves 1 to 10, one company takes the hot seat with a ten slide deck covering unit economics, leadership and the decisions in front of it, and the room answers five prompts, including what the presenter is not seeing. Every member commits to one action, an owner and a date.
It is not for anyone who wants agreement. The room is direct by design.
C12 Group FAQ
What is C12?
C12, also called the C12 Group, is a faith based peer advisory organisation for business owners and CEOs, founded in 1992. Members meet in a C12 Business Forum for a full day each month with non competing peers and receive a monthly one hour coaching session from their Chair. Chairs are independent business owners who buy a C12 franchise.
How much does C12 membership cost?
C12 does not publish its dues. It says membership is paid monthly and varies by market, with dues paid directly to the Chair. Local press reports conflict. A 2026 Virginia report gave $500 to $1,000 a month, while a 2023 Inland Northwest report gave $1,350 a year for CEOs and $675 a year for key leaders.
What are the C12 membership requirements?
C12 lists 10 or more employees or $2 million or more in annual revenue, plus ownership or executive responsibility. Membership is by invitation. The application asks for corporate title, revenue, a business description and local church attendance, and applicants agree to a member covenant that includes attending 10 of the 12 monthly meetings each year.
How big is a C12 forum?
C12 does not publish a group size. A third party profile describes groups as typically 10 to 12 non competing peers, while a 2023 local report described one chapter of 19 members from 13 companies, including both CEOs and key leaders. Size therefore varies by Chair and market. Members are matched so that competitors do not sit together.
How do you cancel C12 membership?
C12 states that membership renews automatically unless at least one month of notice is given, with dues paid monthly before each meeting. The member covenant also asks a leaving member to explain the decision and the reasons to the forum at a final meeting. No refund policy or joining fee is published.
Is C12 a networking group?
No. C12 states on its application page that it is not a lead sharing or networking group. The format is a monthly peer forum focused on running the business and integrating the faith of members with their leadership, plus individual coaching from the Chair. Members are drawn from non competing companies across many industries.
What will make you act on Monday?
The C12 Group is a well built answer for faith based owners who want their faith and their company in one serious monthly forum, with written rules on attendance and a clear ban on selling. If that is you, meet a local Chair and ask for the dues in writing.
If what you lack is not the reason but the nerve, put a number on the problem you keep avoiding. Then take it to a room that will hold you to it.
If you want that room to be operator led, see the CEO Mastermind.
