Call it one-stop shopping for frazzled executives. C.E.O.Spa, based in Dallas, Tex., works with its clients to craft personalized time-outs that combine old-fashioned pampering with physical, emotional and intellectual coaching--anywhere in the world that a client wants to go. "You can take a vacation or go to an analyst or get exercise, but it can be hard for time-pressed CEOs to combine all of these things together," argues Angela McCrovitz, who co-founded the firm with partner Denise Blessing. And as any stressed-out executive can tell you, there aren't always a lot of places to turn when professional and personal pressures bear down at the same time. You can't walk into most board meetings, after all, and say, "Give me some space on this merger, I'm having a few marital problems these days."
The company's Quest Program pairs up clients with coaches from a worldwide database that includes medical professionals, motivational speakers and even professional athletes. It then sends executive and coach, for a minimum of four days, to a destination that fits the client's profile and makes sense geographically. The idea is to relax--and work. "We tell them to prepare to spar," says McCrovitz. "They may golf, go for massages, sit and talk, but the idea is to get to the core of what the CEO needs." The company also offers what it calls an Executive Circle program that arranges getaways for executives and their immediate circle of confidants, and focuses on team solutions to problems. Of course, such help comes with a price tag: Most retreats start at $5,000 (U.S.)-- or more, as McCrovitz puts it, "if you want Tom Peters to play golf and talk about leadership." For more information, call (877) 465-8362.