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Ed Valdez
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Recent Posts
Outsider Insights | Agentic AI: What CEOs Need to Know Before They Invest
Outsider Insights
Across Chief Outsiders, we talk to hundreds of CEOs every month. In this series, we explore the trends and challenges we’re hearing from these discussions – and what you can do if you’re facing the same issues in your business.
| Executive Takeaways |
| Gen AI assists. Agentic AI acts, and requires a higher level of organizational readiness. |
The AI Revolution: Why SaaS Companies Must Adapt or Become Obsolete
Fri, Mar 7, 2025 — In 2025, AI agents are revolutionizing the SaaS industry, transforming traditional cloud-based applications into dynamic, self-optimizing platforms. For business leaders, this trend represents a seismic shift from FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) to FOBO (Fear of Becoming Obsolete), with the rapid pace of AI adoption and its transformative potential driving noticeable shifts in strategy.
5 Questions Every CEO Needs to Ask About AI
Fri, Apr 26, 2024 — "66% of CEOs and the C-Suite are dissatisfied (or ambivalent) with their organization’s progress on AI..." Whether to employ AI as a business tool is no longer in question. A recent BCGX Radar Report cited that: 89% of CEOs and the C-Suite rank AI and Gen AI as a Top 3 Tech Priority with 51% ranking it as the #1 priority. 66% of CEOs and the C-Suite are dissatisfied (or ambivalent) with their organization’s progress on AI because of: A lack of talent/skills An Unclear AI and Gen AI roadmap and investment priorities No strategy for Gen AI and Responsible AI.
A CEO’s Guide to Growth | Part 2
Tue, Apr 11, 2023 — Part 2: The Go-to-Market Pyramid – Five Steps for Scaling to Success Navigating the complex terrain of modern business can be a difficult path, with roadblocks, detours, and uncharted territory, but with the right guidance, you can reach your destination. As a CEO, you’ve been given an incomplete map for this journey, but often have been told that you have until yesterday (as if you were a time traveler) to reach the destination. It’s little wonder that CEOs like yourself struggle to find a path toward growth.
A CEO’s Guide to Growth | Part 1
Wed, Mar 22, 2023 — Part 1: Introducing the GROW Blueprint In less than 30 years, the lifespan of an S&P 500 company declined from an average of ~ 32 years in 1996 to a projected 19 years in 2023. By 2030, experts predict companies will last a mere 17 years. The trends will be no different for small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs).
Infographic: 5 Social Media Insights from My Viral LinkedIn Post with Over 120,000 Views
Tue, Jan 29, 2019 — How to Create Engaging Content and Gain More Followers When Visual Capitalist republished an updated visual of Jeff Bezos’ Empire on January 11th, I posted the following on LinkedIn: The Jeff Bezos Empire in One Giant Chart (Infographic). Within 2 days, the traffic went viral- achieving over 120,000 views in less than a week. Typically, a viral LinkedIn topic is one that exceeds 100,000 views beyond the normal life cycle of a post (2 days). Viral video content has a much higher bar for the number of views in a 3- to 7-day period. As a reference point, most of my LinkedIn posts get a few hundred views and a handful of likes or comments. For a summary of the 5 social media tips, see Infographic at the end of this article.
How Does Your Brand Positioning Measure Up?
Tue, Jan 15, 2019 — 3 Sales Lessons from Harry Winston vs. Tiffany, Tesla vs. Mercedes Benz The latest issue of Harvard Business Review (Jan.-Feb. 2019) included one of the best Brand Identity methodologies published in the last few years: What Does Your Corporate Brand Stand For? The authors, Stephen Geyser (Professor Emeritus at Harvard Business School) and Mats Urde (Associate Professor at the Lund University School of Economics and Management) contend that developing and enhancing your corporate brand takes a concerted and lengthy effort between the executives and team leaders throughout your company. It is a far more extensive process if your team has international locations. Yet they share a systematic 9-box matrix exercise that your teams can use to examine your core brand identity along four paths: Strategy (Mission & Vision and Position) Communications (Personality and Expression) Competition (Value Propositions and Core Competencies) and Interaction (Relationships and Culture).
![5 Ways Customer Experience can Influence Sales Growth [Infographic]](https://www.chiefoutsiders.com/hs-fs/hubfs/customer-experience-influence-sales-growth.jpg?width=320&name=customer-experience-influence-sales-growth.jpg)
5 Ways Customer Experience can Influence Sales Growth [Infographic]
Fri, Feb 23, 2018 — According to Accenture, the business costs of poor customer experiences can be as much as $1.6 Trillion from U.S. consumers who switch their service to a different brand or service provider. However, CEOs and companies who demonstrate a continuous pursuit of excellence in customer experience reap not only long-term customer loyalty, but also positively impact revenue growth. Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos, enjoys sharing the story in his bestselling book [Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion and Purpose] about a client of his who wanted pizza late at night even though hotel room service was closed. Hsieh challenged his client to call Zappos customer service for his order even though it’s a fashion retailer – and, thanks to his customer service staff, pizza was delivered at 2AM.