Jay Holstine podcast discussing the SigmaFlow liquidity event

Jay Holstine - Providing Personalized CEO Consultations for Executives Jay Holstine has brought together 16+ high-performing CEOs, from non-competing businesses who benefit greatly from the diversified and shared wisdom of this group. The group receives immediate value by Jay Holstine's experience: Start-up CEO, Seasoned growth CEO, successful Private Equity exit, management consultant specializing in operations improvement and manufacturing plant manager. The CEO Peer Advisory Group members have in common a growth mindset, a wiliness to bring vulnerabilities to the meetings, and boldness to incorporate needed improvements. 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. The members are on a mission to create and build the best company, environment, and mindset that they can…. To make a difference in our community.

August 24th, Steve Heroux is speaking with Jay Holstine's CEO peer group

Steve Heroux will be speaking with our CEO peer group in an engaging workshop that will provide actionable items, solid takeaways, and effective strategies to start implementing in their business right away. They’ll learn: Three specific motivation styles that inspire salespeople to achieve excellence. Why having quotas is antiquated and will decrease sales results. Compensation & incentive plans to drive higher performance. How detaching from outcomes will lead to massive amounts of success. The four factors inside our Sales DNA responsible for our success or failure in sales. How to consistently find, recruit, hire, and retain top-level sales talent. Exactly how to get people to change by revealing the true cost of inaction. 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!

Inclusion Improves Productivity and Job Satisfaction - Jay Holstine workshop

Inclusion builds success -- Workplace culture was the topic of Jay Holstine’s CEO peer group discussion, as members shared their insights in creating an atmosphere of inclusion. “Navigating the pandemic’s effects on the workplace has been a major leadership challenge,” Holstine noted. “While each of our CEOs have a unique workforce, office structure, and specific interaction with the marketplace and larger supply chain, there are many common challenges and insights to share at our meetings,” Holstine said. “The evolving communications technologies were prominent topics at our most recent discussion, as well as new recruiting resources, meeting practices, and employee engagement and retention in a new landscape,” Holstine added. “One CEO member shared advice and resource options on bringing workers safely back to the physical offices, along with valuable tips and lessons learned,” Holstine mentioned. Helping business leaders navigate the pandemic’s effects on the workplace has been a major focus of Jay Holstine’s Dallas-based CEO peer group. Eighteen leaders from non-competing industries, gather regularly to hear expert speakers, share ideas and strategize with each other. A new work culture and climate “Leaders are more aware of a wider variety of societal issues that influence employee effectiveness, teamwork and retention,” Holstine said. “Strategies to improve employee inclusion, and work-life balance are more important now. Our industry experts are providing new data, resulting in lively discussions among our group,” Holstine added. “CEO members discussed ways to advance collaboration, emphasizing the right resources and support to enhance engagement and efficiency,” Holstine noted. “The way in which employee support is provided has shifted, and continues to evolve, just as we are communicating and supporting our customers in more updated and advanced ways,” Holstine said. Don’t over-engage “One of our members pointed out that the new hybrid workplace can sometimes produce a hyper-connectivity that leads to burnout,” Holstine said. “For many employees, the workplace has encroached into the home, the car, and sometimes all hours of life,” Holstine said. “Fine-tuning the right pace, and the right level of inclusion, (such as the number of teams employees are part of, and the size of each team,) is important to maintaining a successful mix of collaboration, individual productivity, and good work-life balance,” Holstine noted. “Another member shared an important point about the hybrid work environment: Be aware that ‘Access’ should not be the critical determinant in acquiring roles and responsibilities. Leaders will get better long term results from reviewing all potential candidates to assess who brings the right mix of skills and experience to the role under consideration, as opposed to who currently has more access the opportunity,” Holstine shared. “While discussing vital developments in work culture and identifying the best practices, is what we focused on in this workshop, in every meeting, our CEOs depend on the shared wisdom, expert research, practical experience and ideas, that help their companies succeed,” Holstine shared.

Jay Holstine asks Melanie Shaffer to speak with his CEO peer group

The need to be a step ahead of the pack with a compelling talent strategy has never been more essential. The talent game has changed, and new tools and strategies must be developed and deployed to inspire teams and individuals to execute on their most important work. Melanie Shaffer, President of Talent Suite, provides talent strategy and retention practices that are practical, low-cost, and immediately actionable to make a positive impact on the bottom line. Practical takeaways using your organization's behavioral data: Why people are capable of far more than we think. How your leaders can identify and hire talent based on fit to current role and future potential. What is needed to build and develop agile, high performing teams. How to develop your people and teams so they can flex and adapt to change. VISTAGE WORLDWIDE CEO PEER GROUP ADVISOR, JAY HOLSTINE Jay Holstine is a CEO Peer Group advisor in Dallas, Texas. His passion is building businesses. After growing a software company for 12 years, uncovering new markets, and ultimately selling it, Jay Holstine wanted to develop leaders, enable them make better decisions, and grow their companies. Jay wanted to build a legacy of high-performing leaders who are improving their communities. In an executive peer group, there is a 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. Jay likes working with people who are also on a mission to create and build the best company, environment, and mindset that they can…. To make a difference in our community. In addition to this work, he functions as a managing director of Compass Advisory Consultants. In this position, he provides analytically-driven, profit-focused business advisory services to early-stage companies.

Gair Maxwell speaks May 18th with Jay Holstine's group about Big Little Legends

Big Little Legends - How Everyday Leaders Build Irresistible Brands Endlessly curious about the origin of legends and myths, Gair Maxwell is a global authority in helping organizations create iconic, “larger-than-life” brands that attract legions of customers and top talent – without having to resort to using any “pushy” marketing tactics. The trickle-down impact on any company, community or career can be enormous. Some organizations have achieved 15-20X financial growth while becoming a coveted, desirable “Category of One”. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTbar693st4&t=1s Join internationally recognized author and speaker Gair Maxwell for an inspiring and controversial deeper dive into timeless and universal principles that create BIG LITTLE LEGENDS. You will see with uncommon clarity the invisible forces that entice millions of visitors to take selfies before a single painting at the Louvre in Paris are astonishingly similar to what inspires more than 4,000 people to queue each day at a Las Vegas pawn shop, swarm a New Orleans coffee shop or flock to a Seattle fish market. Exploring how legends are created in the first place, Gair reveals how anyone in any business or non-profit category, can create a brand reputation that makes them so top-of-mind iconic, they become the equivalent to being the “Apple”, “Disney” or “NIKE” of their competitive space. BIG LITTLE LEGENDS challenges conventional marketing truisms and rejects short-sighted, decades-old “spray and pray” practices aimed at short-term results. This program dares to venture on a different path and challenge leaders on key issues such as their Brand Voice and how much it’s actually being heard in a noisy, competitive market. Leaders will also be forced to confront the brutal facts about the relevance and effectiveness of the vehicles currently used to communicate their Brand Story and whether they are thinking far enough forward with their overall business and brand strategy to create Long-Term Impact in a short-term world. JAY HOLSTINE LAUNCHES CHIEF EXECUTIVE GROUP FOR DALLAS/ PLANO, TEXAS Jay Holstine chairs a Vistage CEO peer group with 20 members. The group brings together CEOs from non-competing businesses, to share perspectives, learn from industry leaders, and gain strategic insights, to bring their leadership to new levels. Mr. Holstine’s group helps Dallas businesses accelerate their growth. Vistage is the largest network of CEOs and business owners globally, with over 30,000 members in more than 20 countries across the world. These peers come together every month for confidential meetings where they share insights on leadership and strategies to optimize personal and business performance.

Leveraging Digital Marketing and Sales - Vistage Research

As new competitive realities emerged during the pandemic, many companies embraced digital transformation. Most adopted tools such as Teams, digital payments and marketing automation to improve productivity. However, digital transformation can’t be viewed in an incremental, linear fashion. Siebel founder Thomas Siebel refers to digital transformation — the confluence of cloud computing, big data, artificial intelligence and the internet of things (IoT) — as a “mass extinction event.” Entire industries and businesses will either adopt these technologies, or be eliminated. By reaching critical mass, the interconnectivity of billions of devices will drive the value created through big data and advanced analytics. The bridge we must cross is from levering technology to improve service or reduce cost, to utilizing digital transformation to redefine our core product in a way that creates new demand and drives enterprise value. Consider the case of an orange farmer. His core product has been found in nature for thousands of years and is a commodity. What if the seeds he uses to grow oranges could be selected for ultimate flavor and yield by AI, planted and picked by autonomous vehicles, harvested at the ideal time based on moisture, heat, sunlight detected by IoT sensors, and sold at the highest market price based on advanced analytics? While the product may be ostensibly the same, the grower would be far more competitive and profitable, and would deliver a superior product using tools that are already commercially available today. We must leverage these tools now, or face the consequences. Here are 4 ways digital transformation is taking form: Start fostering success today with the CEO’s Blueprint for World-Class Leadership. Get the Guide 1. Cloud computing is a shared pool of configurable hardware.i In recent years, cloud solutions have become more “virtualized,” enabling greater hardware efficiency. As a result, leading providers such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) have been successful in compartmentalizing their solutions in the form of hybrid clouds (a combination of on-premise infrastructure and public cloud), which offer greater security, agility and speed. Cloud computing costs have dropped over 60% in the last two years. While cloud computing is the host of digital transformation, our understanding of it is only scratching the surface. Metcalfe’s Law dictates that the power of any network is the square of the devices sitting upon it. That is, as IoT devices and networks are combined with other networks, they become infinitely more powerful. For example, the integration of CRM and ERP systems make each of them much more valuable. When Facebook started at Harvard, its value was contained, but when it spread to other schools (network effects), its power was unleashed. 2. Artificial intelligence is the simulation of human intelligence processes by machines.ii Artificial intelligence (AI) will either amplify America’s standing as an economic superpower, or it will allow China to propel ahead of us. As pseudo-government controlled companies operate there, Chinese companies could gain a foothold on AI technologies. Siebel points to the following commercial use cases of AI: Financial services: Fraud detection, credit analysis and scoring, loan application review and processing Healthcare and medicine: Medical image diagnosis, automated drug discovery, disease prediction, genome-specific medical protocols, preventative medicine Manufacturing: 3D customization, inventory optimization, predictive maintenance, quality assurance Oil and gas: Predictive oilfield and well production, well production optimization Public safety: Threat detection Military: Predictive maintenance to improve readiness and streamline operations, logistics optimization, inventory optimization and recruiting. AI has proven remarkably useful in improving predictive maintenance for the U.S. Air Force and improving aircraft readiness. Chart Artificial intelligence projected revenue Source: Tractica Research Machine learning is a subset of artificial intelligence. Machines learn from examples and experience, which are different from hard-coded rules typically found in AI. Machine learning will predict future results instead of just reporting them. 3. Big data is comprised of complexly structured and unstructured data sets that are rapidly generated and transmitted from a wide variety of sources.iii Big data represents the intersection of volume, velocity and variety from both internal and external (extraprise) data sources. For example, our firm did strategy work with a Vistage member who loaded Walmart scan data and Best Buy movement information into their Microsoft Power BI data visualization solution, which augmented their internal data. Their system provided real-time analytics that allow them to predict future events and manage their supply chain with greater precision. This technology is neither expensive nor hard to implement. In our consulting practice, we see a sea change underway, where members are not satisfied with the reporting of static data, they want to convert that data into actionable insights. 4. The Internet of Things (IoT) is the sensoring of the entire value chain though remote access.iv IoT is being framed by the entry of high-volume, low-cost chips. By 2030, it is estimated there will be a staggering 75 billion IoT devices deployed worldwide. Chart Growth of IoT Devices Source: MDPI IoT will provide the greatest value to industries with high asset costs. 50% of IoT investment is projected to be made in manufacturing, transportation/logistics, and utilities. Deep learning will provide richer analysis than previously possible. 5G cellular networking will enable a new generation of IoT devices such as smart grids, smart cities and autonomous vehicles. The combination of these solutions will make us safer, increase accuracy, and save on labor costs and administration. Where do you start? Providers should map their entire value chain and look for opportunities to deploy digital transformation strategies. Below are examples of value chain elements that could be deployed for a manufacturing business: Suppliers: Inventory optimization, supply network optimization Manufacturing: Predictive maintenance, quality assurance, 3D manufacturing, safety Customer: Customer service (chatbots), customer insights and analytics, warranty optimization Distributor: Inventory management, price optimization, quote optimization Logistics: Demand planning and forecasting As noted, our observation is that private companies are acting more like observers of change. Clearly, larger public companies are better equipped to invest in expensive technologies such as AI. Yet, there are many emerging providers offering software-as-a-service, platforms as a service, infrastructure as a service and artificial intelligence as a service. Renting software also eliminates the need for costly cap-ex investment. As digital transformation technologies become more accessible to private companies, it is incumbent upon us to be prepared to take advantage of them. References i Digital Transformation by Thomas Siebel ii TechTarget iii What is Big Data? How Does it Work? [Built In] iv Digital Transformation by Thomas Siebel

Michael Allosso will be speaking with Jay Holstine's CEO group on March 23rd

Interesting Michael Allosso videos: https://www.michaelallosso.com/35secretweapons.html In a presentation that highlights active, hands-on participation, Michael Allosso compares the preparation, performance, and role of an actor with that of the corporate executive. Through their participation, business people reach a more vital and dynamic awareness of the excellence needed not only for presentations, but also in the communications in every moment of every day. Rather than offering a "band-aid" checklist for making an individual speak better, Allosso offers concrete suggestions and exercises designed to modify behavior and help the participant always be "you on your best day." Key issues include: appropriateness and method for demonstrating passion and energy generating enthusiasm, clarity, and persuasiveness while staying true to self charisma - can it be learned? team-leading and building the power of the spoken word and when not to speak tone of voice and body movement relaxation and concentration speed, agility, risk-taking, thinking "outside the box" Participants will be on their feet speaking and doing various exercises including those done by actors, re-structured to maximize relevance in the business world. All will receive immediate feedback so, by the end of the presentation, they will have a new set of tools to make each meeting, planned or spontaneous, with a group or one-on-one, more successful. Morale-boosting and team-building for heightened productivity will be emphasized. Participants will give each other feedback and, in turn, will receive feedback from Allosso regarding their style/delivery/tone. 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!

Leveraging IT for productivity and growth: Jay Holstine

Helping business leaders reach new levels of productivity, in the midst of great change, was the focus of Jay Holstine’s CEO peer group. The Dallas-based Vistage group, from non-competing industries, enables these 18 CEOs to hear expert speakers, and share ideas with each other. “Our workshops feature industry experts, providing new data, resulting in lively discussions among the CEO peer group,” Holstine said. “In our recent workshop members discussed ways to advance efficiency, in order to direct capital to areas where it can provide strategic growth options, and increase enterprise value. “Cross-functional IT integration was a topic that gathered a lot of interest,” Holstine said. “Particular CEOs shared that the digital integration across functions is helping their companies gain productivity far beyond simply improving each department individually. Optimizing all their operations systems is more than just automating routine work. Many of the interactions are simplified, and mistake-proofed, from communications and orders, to incorporating logistics to expediting deliveries,” Holstine said. “Most agree that Integrating areas of IT can help coordinate customer requirements, overall planning and supply chain. And several CEOs discussed the offloading of assets like transportation fleets, warehouses, IT servers, as digitalization optimizes their overall business models.” “Our group sees these improvements in productivity as a better path to growth, than merely cutting costs. The tools for IT integration are now so much more affordable, that companies are investing in it to stay competitive,” Holstine said. “One of the members pointed out that these types of improvements can really enhance enterprise value, to position a company better for funding expansion with outside capital. Providing several quarters of improvement gives potential investors and buyers confidence that these efficiencies are sustainable, and not just short-term measures taken as transaction-related show. “While identifying the best efficiencies that fit each CEO company, is what we focused on in this workshop, in every meeting, our CEOs depend on the shared wisdom, great research, practical experience, and ideas, that help their companies succeed,” Holstine shared. https://linktr.ee/JayHolstine https://www.trepup.com/jayholstine https://jayholstine.mystrikingly.com/ https://jayholstine.blogspot.com/ https://soundcloud.com/jayholstine https://issuu.com/jayholstine https://www.xing.com/profile/Jay_Holstine3/portfolio

New Strategies for Growth Capital: Jay Holstine Workshop

Jay Holstine shared how his Dallas-based Vistage CEO peer group helps business leaders capitalize on change, and attain new levels of productivity. “Our workshops feature expert speakers, followed by discussions among the CEO peer group,” Holstine said. “We’re seeing that, while leaders are a little more risk-averse, they’re still looking for capital for strategic growth. One of our members shared that he sees funding as the primary challenge in these efforts. Even prior to the pandemic, companies were trying not to take on too much debt, or dilute equity. After having accepted federal Payroll Protection Plan support, or drawn on lines of credit, many company leaders are reticent to go to their banks again. But they don’t want to miss out on unique growth opportunities,” Holstine shared. “The focus is in finding ways to advance efficiency, in order to free up capital, so that it can be directed to areas where it will create revenue, provide strategic growth options, and increase enterprise value,” Holstine added. “Most members agreed that major changes in the workforce in 2020 deeply affected the ways in which companies are running. Leaders are seeing more latitude in organizing people and finances, and they are looking for advances in productivity and efficiency,” Holstine said. “One CEO surmised that the budget dollars being lost to inefficiency could be going toward growth,” Holstine said. “Most agreed that instead of depleting the organization by cutting costs across the board, there are better approaches toward strategic efficiency, in order to still maintain growth” Holstine shared. Most feel it’s wiser to find opportunities to maximize outputs, as well as reduce inputs, and to derive more value from all the assets, not just the workforce,” Holstine said. Working Capital Optimization “A highlight of the workshop discussion was that the most practical capital you can access is your own money that’s tied up in the bills you pay too soon, your own receivables you collect too slowly, and your own unnecessary inventory,” Jay Holstine said. “Most of the CEOs said they underestimate how much working capital their companies use. Improving the use of their payables, receivables and inventories, most say, can provide a significant amount of interest-free capital to use in growth efforts,” Holstine shared. “In supplier and trading agreements, many companies have more leverage with their big customers than they used to, especially if they’re providing critical components and materials,” Holstine added. “Some other comments involved financial planning and analysis. It’s important to use real-time analytics for more informed business decisions,” Holstine said. “By linking sophisticated load-planning software with its ledger of customer commitments, companies are able to optimize their service capacity to their more profitable, valuable customers,” Holstine said. “A variety of cost-saving opportunities came from workforce shifts caused by the pandemic. The reduction in travel has given us a much greater use of virtual meetings, new modes of communicating, new expectations in sales and marketing, and reduced travel budgets,” Holstine shared. “Officing is another financial opportunity to consider. With office vacancy rates at an all time high, it’s wise to negotiate lower rents and reevaluate your officing needs as a whole. The new hybrid work culture has benefits that your workforce wants to keep, and it enables companies to hire beyond their traditional geographic footprint,” Holstine said. “Identifying the best finance strategies, and finding solutions in efficiency that fit each CEO’s company, is what we focused on in this workshop, but in every meeting, our CEOs depend on the shared wisdom, great research, practical experience, and ideas, that help their companies succeed,” Holstine shared. https://linktr.ee/JayHolstine https://www.xing.com/profile/Jay_Holstine3/portfolio https://www.trepup.com/jayholstine https://jayholstine.mystrikingly.com/ https://jayholstine.blogspot.com/ https://soundcloud.com/jayholstine https://issuu.com/jayholstine

Growth capital strategies: Jay Holstine

Leading their companies through an unstable business landscape, CEOs of mid-market companies are poised for growth and watching for new opportunities, ready to respond to pent-up demand and potential new opportunities. “It takes agility and good business sense to shift to new strategies. Our CEOs are enriched by the research and shared experience that they glean in our workshops and discussions” Jay Holstine said, in sharing how his Dallas-based Vistage CEO peer group helps business leaders capitalize on change, and attain new levels of productivity. “Whether it’s: identifying the best finance strategies, or the right markets to expand, the interplay of smart ideas is vital to finding solutions that fit each CEO’s company,” Holstine added. “Our CEOs depend on the shared wisdom, the shared research, practical experience, and ideas, that help identify new ways that teams and companies can work more successfully,” Holstine shared. “In our new, altered economy, many companies are positioning themselves to grow their market share, acquire a competitor, or redesign their own offerings. With predictions of U.S. economic growth at over 6%, companies are identifying ways to ride this wave,” Holstine said. The consensus may be a little more risk-averse, but it’s still looking for capital and poised for growth One of our members shared that, in this environment, he sees funding as the primary challenge in these efforts. Even prior to the pandemic, companies were careful not to take on too much debt, or dilute equity. Having drawn on lines of credit or received federal Payroll Protection Plan support, many company leaders would rather not go to their banks again. But without capital, they risk missing out on unique growth opportunities. “Members agreed that the challenge is developing alternative ways to fund growth. While previous discussions often involved cost reduction with the aim of greater efficiency, the top priority is growth. The focus is in finding ways to advance efficiency in order to free up capital so that it can be directed to areas where it will create revenue, generate strategic growth options, and increase enterprise value,” Holstine added. Some of the key take-aways were: that although they had strong demand and adequate capital, it was human capital that they were lacking in 2021, a dilemma affecting their whole industry and exacerbated by regulation. He said his company was not going to reach its growth and financial goals without major strides in productivity and efficiency. Essentially, the budget dollars they were losing to inefficiency could have been better directed and used for growth,” Holstine relayed. Instead of searching for efficiency by cutting costs in ways that ultimately defund growth and leave an enterprise depleted, there are better approaches toward strategic efficiency and growth at the same time. Productivity is basically outputs divided by inputs, (such as investments in technology, inventory and capital equipment.) Instead of letting the quest for productivity turn into a cost-cutting effort, it’s better to find opportunities to maximize outputs, as well as reduce inputs, and to derive more value from all the assets, not just the workforce. Focusing on profitable customers is one way to get more value from less effort. Marginal customers tend to take a larger amount of time, energy, and assets, yet deliver less to the top line. By prioritizing the more valuable customers and linking sophisticated load-planning software with its ledger of customer commitments, companies are able to optimize their service capacity. Working Capital Optimization A highlight of the workshop discussion was that the most sure and easy capital you can access is your own money that’s tied up in bills you pay too soon, your own receivables you collect too slowly, and your own unnecessary inventory: Most of the CEOs said they underestimate how much working capital their companies use. Improving the use of their payables, receivables and inventories can provide on average $10-$20 M in interest-free capital to use in growth efforts. In trading agreements, mid-market companies have more leverage with big customers than they think, especially if they’re providing critical components or raw materials. Financial planning and analysis is often an untapped area for finding revenue. If the finance team lacks the right capabilities and tools, it can waste time simply fixing data issues and explaining variances in routine reports, instead of driving real-time analytics for more informed business decisions. A variety of cost-management opportunities stemmed from changes caused by the pandemic. Ultimately, the reduction in travel spawned a new era of virtual meetings, new modes of communicating, sales and customer expectations, in place of significant travel budgets. Reconsider your actual real estate needs and act. Office vacancy rates in major cities are at an all time high. Now is the time to negotiate lower rents. The new hybrid work culture has benefits that your workforce wants to keep, and it enables companies to hire beyond their traditional geographic footprint. Cross-functional IT integration is one of the more important opportunities. Beyond just automating routine work, there are advantages in digital integration across functions, enabling companies to optimize operations, logistics, marketing, and other systems as a whole. Tools to do this are now so much more affordable, they are becoming detrimental not to have. For example, transportation companies are bringing together IT areas, to coordinate customer commitments, load planning, and route optimization. Optimizing the whole system generates productivity gains well beyond what can be attained by improving each element alone. The general thought is that if leaders can offload assets like transportation fleets, warehouses, IT servers, they can glean significant gains in productivity through digitalization’s transformation of their business models and balance sheets. These improvements in productivity can fund growth more effectively than mere cost cutting. And they can greatly enhance enterprise value, to position the company better for funding expansion with outside capital. Demonstrating several quarters of improvement gives potential investors and buyers confidence that these efficiencies are sustainable and not short-term measures taken as a transaction-related show. The success of these major implementations depends on leaders building buy-in across their organizations and engineering the growth. They must communicate the value of changes, and the phases and the expected outcomes. The resulting enhancements will facilitate a culture of cost management, with long-term growth and profitability.

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.

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.

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 successfully lead your organization through change: Jay Holstine workshop

CEOs at Jay Holstine’s Dallas executive peer group are coming together to discuss the more challenging organizational issues and opportunities they face each month. Sharing experiences in leading change: “This group of trusted leaders, from non-competing companies, bring perspectives from various industries, while sharing the common experience from years in organizational leadership,” Holstine said. “How do you implement changes through an organizational resistance to change?” was the question. One member shared that, often, the work of learning new techniques can lead some to sabotage important progress. “Ultimately, the group identified key factors in resistance to change, and offered their most effective strategies to moving forward to success,” Holstine said. 1. Clarity. If the new changes feel like walking into the dark, many people prefer to remain in the less-optimal scenario that the Know. So, clearly outline the benefits of the change, and inspire a sense of safety by sharing timetables, and clear steps to a better plan. 2. Emphasize the Upside. It’s not just change-for-the-sake-of-change. Highlight the new advantages of the change, and encourage and reward involvement. 3. Maintain what you can. Too many differences at one time is confusing and unsettling. If you can minimize the number of unrelated differences of a corporate-wide change, and retain some of the familiar, people will adapt better to the necessary and important changes. 4. Enable competence. If people doubt their ability to perform well in a changed workplace, they have more reasons to resist it. So, educate, train and support your workforce, provide overlap between the old and new versions, and establish a mentor system to help make the transition successful. 5. Involvement. Change disrupts one’s sense of control over their environment. Successful change involves enabling those affected to make choices in the planning process. Give them a sense of ownership and they’ll help lead the change. 6. “It’s not you, it’s just time.” Defensiveness is natural among those who built the current status. Those who pioneered the previous directives don’t want to be seen as having steered ‘Wrong.’ Help those people maintain dignity by clarifying that the business landscape is what changed. Highlight the strongest aspects of the previous plans, or emphasize the parts that are staying and evolving, to assure those who might feel threatened, that it’s smart, and safe, to move onward and upward. 7. Change is never easy. It’s work. Unanticipated snags can make change appear unsuccessful in the midst of progress. Acknowledge the extra work and the temporary disruptions. Reward those who forged through a tough transition to an important change. 8. Be open and honest. When new technologies displace old ones, positions can change, departments and investments can be cut. The best way to lead is to be honest, fast, and fair. For example, one big layoff, with strong transition assistance, is better than successive waves of cuts. “Everyone agreed that, while leaders can't make change ‘easy,’ there are a lot ways to help the workforce see the upside, acclimate more successfully, and invest in the organization’s future,” Holstine summarized.

How to build effective teams in a disparate workplace: Jay Holstine workshop

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.

Jay Holstine CEO workshop on operations and communications

Executives at Jay Holstine’s CEO peer group discussed new technologies in operations as well as in communications, with the focus on growth and revenue growth. Holstine chairs a Dallas, TX group of CEOs committed to leading their organizations to new levels of productivity. “Sharing strategies in increasing efficiency is part of the ways in which the group inspires each other to become the best leaders possible,” Holstine explained. “These executives are analyzing the return-on-investment, and comparing their experiences in operational technologies and in communications. From tracking inventory with robots and drones, to communicating more widely and effectively, there are important new ways to optimize productivity,” Holstine said. “Beyond the new technology in touch-screen kiosks, from self-check-in at airports, to self-check-out at stores, the goal is to help customers buy more, and then make that transaction process quicker and easier,” Holstine shared. “Some of our members are looking at Artificial Intelligence’s ‘real-time’ understanding of the product pipeline. By combining data, factory statuses, and statistics, AI can enhance large production-assembly processes. The more data that is fed into it, the more effective it becomes, helping departments to be more profitable.” Holstine added. “In a changing workplace, leaders are optimizing communications, streamlining email, and honing their team’s focus. Our group shared new technologies and work trends, and discussed the extent to which they were boosting efficiency,” Jay Holstine said. “Traditional email isn’t always the best way for teams to collaborate and communicate: Task management software like Trello helps everyone track progress more efficiently by keeping communication and work progress in one place. “A lot of teams are using Calendy to manage email traffic, scheduling meetings without the repeated emails to narrow in on availability. Some are using Streak to manage multiple email threads. Most feel that changes in workplace location, and expectations require updated ways to manage the increasing onslaught of communications,” Holstine offered. “Sometimes the best intelligence is from within. Leaders are encouraging ideas-for-improvement, and better communication between departments. Employees working with customers, and working within the system, often see what’s working well, and what might be a bottle-neck, a redundancy, or a problem. They can see efficiency gaps that management can’t see. Supporting and encouraging coworkers to offer advice where they see gaps be a big part of the efficiency process. “Some ideas and efforts work better than others. That’s why sharing experiences, and asking questions is important. This group of trusted members from non-competing industries enables breakthrough progress, and ultimately, these CEOs are increasing operational efficiencies, and optimizing company communications, to increase revenues,” Holstine shared.

Jay Holstine CEO peer group workshop focused on growing revenues

Jay Holstine CEO workshop focused on growing revenues

 Which new efficiencies are you incorporating to grow revenues?

CEOs at Jay Holstine’s executive advisory board discussed new technologies in operations as well as in communications, with the focus on growing revenues, by enhancing customer experience and increasing efficiency. Holstine chairs a Dallas, TX group of CEOs committed to leading their organizations to new levels of productivity.

“From tracking warehouse inventory with robots, and using cameras on drones, to communicating more effectively, there are important new ways to optimize productivity. These executives are analyzing the return-on-investment, and comparing their experiences,” Holstine said.

“Drones are also improving operations by enabling delivery drivers to deliver packages. The reduction in driving and emissions can reduce the overall cost of deliveries, as it delivers packages more quickly.

“Amidst the proliferation of technology in touch-screen kiosks, from self-check-in (at the airport, for example,) and self-check-out (at stores,) the goal is to help customers buy more, and then make that transaction process quicker and easier,” Holstine shared.

“Some of our members are looking at Artificial Intelligence’s ‘real-time’ understanding of the product pipeline. By combining data like registration numbers, factory statuses, and statistics from sales, AI can enhance large production-assembly processes. The more data that is fed into it, the more effective it becomes, helping your departments to be more profitable.” Holstine added.

“In a changing workplace, leaders are also optimizing communications, de-cluttering email, and honing their team’s focus. Our group shared new technologies and work trends and discussed the extent to which they were boosting efficiency,” Jay Holstine said.

“A lot of leaders are using Calendy to control email traffic, to schedule meetings without the repeated emails to narrow in common availability. Some are using Streak to manage multiple email threads. Most feel that changes in workplace location, and expectations require new techniques to manage the increasing onslaught of communications, more use of apps, and new practices.” Holstine offered.

“Another app translates language like “Monday at 1:30, manufacturing meeting,” to add calendar events without needing to toggle between windows. And several CEOs are finding that the Slack app helps reduce excess email, via an ‘instant message’ form of communication, which also unifies the distant team members.

“Some ideas and efforts work better than others. That’s why sharing experiences, and asking questions is important. This group of trusted members from non-competing industries enables breakthrough progress, and ultimately, these CEOs are increasing operational efficiencies, and optimizing company communications, to increase revenues,” Holstine shared.