What changes are you making so that your company thrives in 2022?

“In just the first few months of the pandemic, the ways in which we work, and purchase goods, rocketed through decades of evolution. Trends in technology and supply chain were accelerated, with effects that changed our economy significantly,” Jay Holstine said. “Our Vistage research analyzes the economy’s quarterly growth, and the effects of supply chain challenges, talent shortages and inflation. This fuels out workshops where our CEOs and key executives are solving critical challenges in a confidential, supportive group.” “The global supply chain is recovering from a fundamental disruption and significant acceleration. Our group is discussing how to move beyond simply adjusting to vast business disruptions, to really thriving in this new landscape,” Jay Holstine added. “Our discussions on innovation, workforce technology, and economic trends, are enriched by 16 different leadership perspectives, on top of a lot of solid research, and expert speakers,” Jay Holstine said, “Today’s CEOs are navigating these effects as they deal with rising costs from suppliers. Most midsized and small businesses are encountering the higher costs of raw materials, computer chips and the like, at the same time they are dealing with a shortage of labor, and changed expectations from customers, as well as their own workforces. “Most CEOs agree that the corporate workplace catapulted through a few generations of change in the last 2 years. Pre-pandemic paradigms of office-based workdays have evolved, facilitated by improved technology, acceptance of virtual meeting, and evolving employee work styles,” Holstine shared. “The consensus is that, while individual work can be done better remotely, the more collaborative, and culture-building exercises that are suited to office environments, can still be arranged, often in outdoor settings that appeal even more to employees. CEOs are realizing that new ways of communicating with, and rewarding their teams, can become even better than before. Most CEOs are offering hiring incentives and higher wages, and will increase prices in the year ahead. “With technologically-savvy workers in demand, companies are investing in technology that better supports remote work, and thus increases their hiring footprint. This new technology also increases their ability to reach more customers. Likewise, buyers have become much more accustomed to purchasing digitally, at all hours, and without a salesperson. The traditional role of ‘sales’ has decreased, while the role of ‘Marketing’ has increased, and covers more of the entire selling process. This requires companies to redesign their approach, their websites, and their buying options for their customers, in order to optimize the new advantages of a digital marketplace. Today’s group of CEOs are sharing research, practical experience, and ideas in identifying ways to help teams and companies work more effectively and successfully. Moderating a CEO peer group dedicated to raising their businesses to new levels of productivity, is more inspiring now than ever before. Whether it’s the discussion of economic trends or communications with customers and salesforce, the interplay of ideas is crucial to finding solutions that fit each CEO’s company,” Holstine added.

People Analyzer - Great EOS Tool (Jay Holstine Video)

EXPERIENCED CEO, COACH, AND MENTOR, JAY HOLSTINE An accomplished business leader, Jay Holstine serves as a Vistage Chair and CEO Peer Group advisor in Dallas, Texas. As a growth-oriented CEO, Jay brings pragmatic methods and incisive analysis to help CEOs improve their work-life balance, and transition from working-in-the business ,to working-on-the-business more effectively. A deep experience in operations, along with a foundation in consulting, and years of growing companies, is what enables Jay to coach management teams on successful business scaling.

Optimize your organization by getting the Right People in the Right Seat video by Jay Holstine

JAY HOLSTINE - EXPERIENCED OPERATIONS CONSULTANT & BUSINESS EXECUTIVE Drawing on more than 30 years of experience as a software CEO and operations management consultant, Jay Holstine works with business leaders and companies seeking to achieve diverse objectives, such as improving revenues, developing sales strategies, and pursuing other operational goals. Jay Holstine also serves as managing director at Compass Advisory Consultants, where 30 percent of his clients have achieved successful exit outcomes. In addition to assisting with positioning for potential exits, he offers coaching services in the areas of restructuring company segments, building teams, and raising investment capital. Jay Holstine also provides consultations to business leaders at Vistage Worldwide, Inc., where he is the Chair of a CEO Peer Advisory Board. After growing a software company for 12 years, uncovering new markets, and ultimately selling it, Jay wanted to develop Leaders, help them make better decisions, help them grow their companies. Jay's goal is to build a Legacy of amazing people that can positively Impact our communities. In an executive peer group, there is a kind of shared wisdom (from successes as well as mis-steps,) that helps you re-think accepted practices and habits, in order to forge new paths of success. Mr. Holstine has been the CEO of several software companies. For example, he served as CEO and president of FreightFlow, a Transportation Management Software company - headquartered in Reno Nevada, and SigmaFlow, a human-centric business process management software company - headquartered in Dallas Texas, and RigLocker an oil & gas rig maintenance software company - headquartered in Dallas Texas. He prepared for his career by earning a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Kansas and working on software development projects when he worked for Accenture Consulting and Deloitte Consulting.

Successful Business Teams: Jay Holstine workshop

“What does it take to build a great team? Our discussion is enriched by 16 different leadership perspectives,” Jay Holstine said, as he moderates a CEO peer group dedicated to raising their businesses to new levels of productivity and efficiency. “Whether it’s: more defined rules of engagement, the attributes of a great teammate, or new strategies to build accountability… the interplay of ideas is crucial to finding solutions that fit each CEO’s company,” Holstine added. “I realized that having a team that working well together was as crucial as an excellent product, when I was running my process improvement software company, and employing experts in several countries,” Holstine said. Today’s group of CEOs are sharing research, practical experience, and ideas in identifying ways to help teams and companies work more effectively and successfully. Accountability and Clarity: “One of our leaders shared an experience in which employees in a satellite office perceived that others had not followed through on the plan; yet the expectations had not been clearly articulated, were not mutually understood, and were not measurable. This drove home the importance of clearly articulated measures of accountability, to make sure that everyone’s expectations are in line,” Holstine shared. “Another CEO relayed the importance of credibility and respect. The bottom line is that you need to have consistent application of fair standards in order to build an environment where the project team trusts that everyone is supporting each other and working for the same goal,” Holstine noted. “Critical conclusions included: Teams should have a support structure to enable frank discussion of solution options. Innovation comes from teams that are able to share different perspectives on problem-solving. With some guidelines and guardrails, a healthy disagreement can bring new levels of solutions. Structured Interaction, at a team event outside of work, helps team members see the less obvious strengths and authenticity of their team members. Understanding each other’s growth goals, or hurdles they’ve overcome, builds empathy. This shared experience helps build each other’s trust, respect and loyalty. Help your team understand each other. Build in a group meal, and personal sharing exercises, to highlight team members’ personal strengths and communication styles. The DiSC assessment test helps a team learn about their own disposition, and their colleagues’ preferences. By discussing motivators, work styles and communication habits, you can bridge misunderstandings and build trust. - The Finish Line: An inspiring and compelling goal focuses a team on success. Behavior is most likely to adapt when changes are a matter of survival. Necessity of project success is one of the most effective ways to build trust and involvement. A successful team is focused on a purpose, with an organized timeline and set of responsibilities, deliverables and rewards. This emphasizes the value of the team’s success and its importance to the company. “People are motivated by being a strong part of an important team. After a lot of shared strategies based on experience and research, the group agreed that these points are critical in keeping a team on the same page and working smart,” Holstine noted. “These types of concerns are one of the areas of leadership that this group regularly confers on,” Holstine said. "The Vistage CEO peer group enables a shared wisdom based on experience so that trusted leaders, from non-competing industries, can continue to grow their teams’ skills and capabilities.”

How to maximize Team Cohesion with Dispersed Workforce

Running a software company internationally, and employing experts in various countries, Jay Holstine became very familiar with scheduling conferences in coordination with various time zones. “Our learning curve was gradual, as our team grew steadily over 12 years, but we realized it was critical to communicate effectively and work well together,” he said. Today Jay Holstine is moderating a Dallas CEO peer group discussion on how best to keep their internationally dispersed teams on the same page, and working together successfully. “While our geographically flexible work environment enables teams to span continents, and deliver faster results, it requires even more effective collaboration and better communication to keep a team working together really well. Here are some of the concerns and strategies we discussed,” Holstine shared. 1. CLEAR OBJECTIVES: The project should have a compelling purpose, with an organized timeline and set of roles, responsibilities, and deliverables. There should be clear rewards, as well as an understanding of how the potential lack of this team’s success could affect the company. This emphasizes the value of the team’s success and its importance to the company. In today’s geographically diverse locations, team members from dissimilar backgrounds could have different understandings of the group’s goals. If they are too vague, one location could interpret the priority as: High quality, regardless of cost,’ while another location could interpret speed of delivery over quality and cost. 2. CLEAR LINES: “Eyes on the Prize” Along with defined guidelines and processes, teams need a focus that is kept on the objective, and rules that promote positive collaboration, and reduce destructive tendencies. A balanced mixture of technical skills and cultural understanding is in the diversity in knowledge, languages, and perspectives, that help teams succeed in various markets, and countries with different infrastructures and economies from the home headquarters. You can guard against the potential downside of a large, diverse team becoming fragmented by carefully considering the necessity when adding members and assignments. Reinforce the communication of the team’s goals, and closely monitor performance feedback to maintain alignment. Remember what really motivates people, inclusion in something important, engagement. For example, overseas teams that only receive feedback when something doesn’t work, are not going to feel as involved in a well-functioning team. If you can organize the work to integrate this part of the team more fully in the overall work, it can increase their sense of involvement and the quality of their efforts. Leadership that sets clear expectations – such as, being at meetings on time, actively listening to feedback, and basic rules for respect and fairness, are critical when team members operate across different national, or organizational cultures. In teams whose membership changes, it’s even more important to emphasize these expectations. 3. PART OF AN IMPORTANT TEAM Variations in culture and time-zone can be reduced if team members get to know each other and appreciate the things they have in common with their distantly-located team members. Without being in the same room, some of the non-verbal communication and contextual cues are lost, making it even harder for team members to feel understood. If teams are not able to meet together for a shared meal or meeting, they can organize meetings that enable them to understand each other better. For example, highlighting several things about each team member that the group can relate to, on a positive, human basis. Emphasizing commonalities, (shared sports, types of pets, background skills, similar places visited,) can bridge enormous distances. What makes us human is more important than the cultural idiosyncrasies or current events that can divide us. Being part of a team that needs a successful outcome is an important step in fostering a supportive team culture. Ensure that each group of the team feels known and valued for its contributions toward the goals. 4. GOOD SUPPORT – In addition to a fair and attainable reward system that reinforces good performance, team members need the data to support their work, as well as training, and technical assistance. For teams that are geographically distributed, it is even more important to ensure resources that enable success. 5. TEAM SUCCESS Measure and monitor your team’s effectiveness based on: Results, output, the quality and timeliness of your team’s results, and on your team’s success in working well together. Ask your team members to help identify opportunities for improvement. Help ensure that, regardless of distance, individual team members are able to grow their skills and abilities. Across the distance, always ensure that your project maintains emphasis on its clear goals and rewards. Maintain the strength of accountability, professional conduct and clear expectations. Reinforce the availability of reliable Support and Training. Emphasize the shared Team mindset and common goals of success. “After a lot of shared lessons-learned, the group agreed that these strategies are critical in keeping a team on the same page and working smart,” Holstine noted. “This kinds of concerns are one of the areas of leadership that this group regularly confers on,” Holstine said. The Vistage CEO peer group enables a shared wisdom based on experience so that trusted leaders, from non-competing industries, can continue to grow their teams’ skills and capabilities,” Holstine said.

How to inspire effective change management: Jay Holstine workshop

You can devote time and budgets to changing strategy and processes, but in order to sustain the new plan, how do you get leaders, employees, and customers to actually change behaviors? Strategies for inspiring effective, lasting change were discussed in Jay Holstine’s Dallas CEO peer group, and the discussion delivered some strong solutions. “Our group of trusted leaders, from non-competing industries, bring perspectives from various industries, while sharing the common experience from years in organizational leadership. We tackle a lot of compelling challenges, and arrive at solutions that come from hard experiences, and are often incisive and new,” Holstine said. 1. Concentrate the effort, Don’t Dilute it. -- One company posted 7 core competencies and 9 objectives for employees to practice. The result: Nothing changed. When you have too many priorities, nothing is an actual priority. Multi-tasking fragments the focus. Concentrate the efforts on one behavior to change at a time. Then build a logical Sequence of more modifications. 2. Clarify Effective goals are concrete and measurable. Telling a team to “work faster” is vague and not measurable. Asking them to increase production by 10%, by 4pm, is concrete and measurable. "Listen actively" is vague and not measurable. Asking them to "listen and restate what was said to confirm understanding" is concrete and measurable. 3. A picture’s worth a thousand words. - A plant manager wanted to drive home the need for changes in the manufacturing process. When scrap and returned goods reports didn’t inspire senior management to approve the changes, the plant manager decided to save and display one week’s worth defect product. Once senior management recognized the mountain of defective product, the process changes were immediately approved. 4. Peer Influence. People are social animals. Evidence abounds that we keenly feel the influence of our colleagues’ expectations and behavior. Our incentives are boosted by the opinion and actions of those in our circle. Peer behavior can inspire us to catch up, or to refrain from counter-productive behavior. When a group’s success depends on all of its members working together in the same direction, peers will help each other accomplish the goals. 5. Reward the Early-Adopters and Influencers. – Those with the most connections are the ones who instigate group change. Embracing a new behavior follows a diffusion curve — early adopters, followers, late-comers. Key influencers are those to whom others listen, and look to for direction, the "bridges" in a company network. If your early adopters and influencers support the change, it has the best chance of succeeding. 6. Make it Convenient. - You could try to educate your workforce about safety or healthy food. Or you could alter the physical flow to make the right way the easier way. In a company lunchroom, people tend to choose what they see first. Relocate the healthier food to make it more convenient, or cheaper. Nudging people, by making it more appealing and convenient is more successful in encouraging change. 7. Re-frame, Re-order your problem-solving. Identify what the most critical part of a process is, trim off the outdated habits, the relics. Work the problem backward – with the important objective as the priority, and you will have a more effective, simplified process. You have removed the parts that didn’t work, without asking for an actual change. 8. Train for change, and support your workforce. Needed change often involves new skills. Many may not feel confident, despite being motivated. Leaders must enable success through opportunities to learn and practice the new behavior, with support. 9. Compose the right team that wants the new status. Hire and fire based on behaviors. Choose people who embody the desired behaviors and help those who do not help the team effort, find a better fit elsewhere. Match strengths to what the job requires. “By sharpening the goals, activating social forces, and modifying the situation, we can accomplish more effective change,” Holstine said.