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.