Innovating for the 2022 new normal

“The various unexpected opportunities of the last 6 quarters pose novel challenges to businesses. In this tumult, it takes agility to pivot to new approaches and strategies. Our CEO workshops and discussions are enriched by 16 different leadership perspectives,” Jay Holstine said, as he moderates a Dallas-based Vistage CEO peer group dedicated to enabling businesses to better capitalize on change, and ascend to new levels of productivity. “Whether it’s: identifying new markets, new channels, redefining the rules of engagement and accountability… the interplay of ideas is crucial to finding solutions that fit each CEO’s company,” Holstine added. “One of our CEOs emphasized that it is the shared wisdom, as well as the shared research, practical experience, and ideas, that help identify new ways teams and companies can work more successfully,” Holstine shared. Attention "One of the CEOs built on a recent speaker’s research that gaining the attention of your market is the most critical factor to success. In addition to capturing your customer’s attention, how you allocate your own attention is key,” Holstine shared. “The main theme in this workshop was that, yes, we use technology and information to create, gather, and manage these forms of attention, but in today’s communications-heavy culture, it’s the strategies to break through noise and effectively optimize attention that are the most vital: Focus on the markets in which attention is being bought and sold,” Holstine added. “Another of our CEO workshops featured the growing predominance of online transactions, and the fact that the success of IT business objectives comes from the understanding and involvement of people in the initiative,” Holstine said. One of the CEOs shared that: “Considering that, in a short span of years, larger and larger parts of almost every business transaction are now done over the Internet, it is interesting to find that the volume of business is not yet commensurate. It’s not friction-less commerce, but it is still revolutionary.” “Capturing and maintaining human attention is critical, and keeping the human resource in mind, another of our leaders shared experiences that drove home the importance of clear measures of accountability, 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. “Along these lines, the group concluded that Innovative solutions come from teams that are able to share different perspectives on problem-solving. With some guidelines, a healthy disagreement can bring new levels of solutions. Structured Interaction, at a team event outside of work, helps team members see the 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. “It’s easier to understand how to maintain your team’s attention when you know what motivates your team. Instilling your projects with a strong purpose, an organized timeline and set of responsibilities, deliverables and rewards, emphasizes the value of the team’s success and its importance to the company. “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,” Holstine said.

Jay Holstine video discussing the value of the EOS Accountability Chart

The EOS Accountability Chart enables organizations to first determine the needed structure and then add people to the desired structure. 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. Jay wanted to build a Legacy of amazing people that can positively Impact our communities. An executive peer group is high performing, not an empty seat in the room, high trust in the room, where everyone pulls together with pooled perspectives and shared wisdom to help each other become better leaders, and more successful! Previous in his career, Jay Holstine was an operations consultant for Accenture and Deloitte, plant manager for Taylor Environmental Instruments, Managing Director for Compass Advisory Consultants, President and CEO of SigmaFlow, and President and CEO of Freightflow.

Post pandemic leadership - Jay Holstine

In our post-pandemic business landscape, leaders are meeting a variety of new challenges, and targeting new opportunities for growth. One of the most effective ways for leaders to strategize and troubleshoot is from sharing experiences and discussing new data in a confidential group of fellow business leaders. Jay Holstine’s Dallas-based Vistage group is comprised of 16 CEOs, from non-competing companies, who are committed to bringing their businesses and their leadership skills to new levels of productivity. “The understanding that these members now have of each others’ business concerns and goals really enriches the discussion,” Holstine said. “From redefining the role of technology in their companies, or sharing updated strategies to build profitability in a new economy, the interplay of ideas is crucial to finding solutions that fit each CEO’s company,” Holstine noted. “Our Vistage CEO group is sharing research and practical experience, as they respond to each others’ challenges and identify ways to help teams and companies work more successfully,” Holstine said “In our most recent workshop, several CEOs shared goals and strategies in pinpointing new areas of growth, acquiring and retaining the best talent, and improving project delivery. Some of the highlights included: GROWTH: The disruptions of the last two years have led to unexpected growths in some businesses and reductions in others. With this vast reorganization comes opportunities on myriad levels and aspects. Every business is positioned with a unique disposition toward growth. While high growth targets increase a company’s profile, profitability and future opportunities, it also often presses new challenges into almost every area of the operations. One CEO shared that, in times of growth of 25% per year, when the company’s core group of leaders is tasked with delivering more, while training new professionals, it can often be an additional brick in the wheelbarrow, and that more activity and higher revenue do not always produce more cash flow. However, when growth is managed well, it provides revenue along with market visibility, leadership, and the acknowledgement of success. This helps attract and retain top talent. Strong CEOs encourage a company-wide commitment to long-term success and tells a compelling story for future customers and prospective employees. The CEOs agreed that in the ideal, growth-oriented firm, every department is seeking aspects to improve, asking how areas of product delivery, communications, business development, can be done more effectively. Leadership in these companies prioritizes customer satisfaction, and supports workforce internal development and support, as they identify the most productive paths for improvement —and estimate its implications to the business. And ideally, these strong CEOs know the competitive landscape and are looking for opportunities to provide innovative and compelling new solutions to their market. STRONG FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT Skilled, practical and experienced financial management ensures business stability. Now, as ever, strong, solid, sustainable growth for a business relies on a strong financial base. Likewise, today’s leadership needs confidence in the firm’s financial position to make decisions about pursuing bigger opportunities and expanding capacity. The growth-oriented firm empowers its financial management team by incorporating high-level people who have significant experience with their industry’s business model, and gives them access to timely and reliable information about both individual project status and the business as a whole. With new developments in transportation, workforce activity, and materials, leaders are realigning methods of project delivery. Leaders are making sure that their project teams have the right tools for success. They are asking their teams to redefine the drivers for success, and determine what aspects of the project plan should be updated. From setting the right scope, assigning resources, setting milestones and delivering the final product. Define, document, deliver and repeat. KEEPING THE PLAYERS MOTIVATED “People are inspired to dedication by being a strong part of an important team. A 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. After a lot of shared strategies based on experience and research, the group agreed that it is critical to keep all the parts of their 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,” Holstine said.