Growth Insights for CEOs
The Chief Outsider
Recent Posts

5 AI Trends Every CEO Must Act On
Earlier this year, I shared takeaways from Mary Meeker’s Internet Trends Report, which showed how AI is reshaping business at a macro level. Building on that, Google Cloud’s 2025 AI Trends highlights five forces that will directly impact companies in the year ahead.
AI is no longer experimental. It is restructuring markets, reshaping customer expectations, and redrawing competitive boundaries. Here are five AI trends CEOs are preparing for now:
Recent Posts

Whole Brain Brand Positioning
Fri, May 10, 2013 — There are innumerable articles, books and classes devoted to aspects of developing a distinctive brand positioning. And, why not? Your brand positioning should drive all communication, and, as a wise man once told me — EVERYTHING communicates. However, the elements of brand positioning have become disjointed and disconnected over time, as focus shifts form one aspect to another. Also, it feels like brand positioning has become unnecessarily over-complicated by the scholarly focus, causing the project of sitting down to develop a new brand position to end up on the “someday, maybe” pile for many busy CEOs. Developing a differentiated brand positioning is nothing more than making sure your brand occupies a unique, distinctive and relevant place in your target customer’s mind (get it? Brain, Mind…), so they consistently choose your brand in preference to that of your competition. It allows for consistency of message and experience across time and across management. It articulates your brand’s DNA across all aspects of the brand — from your brand identity/logo to packaging, from creative and media to distribution strategies, and from promotional offers to new product development plans.

The Difference between CEOs That Manage vs. Lead
Fri, May 3, 2013 — Today's blog is by guest blogger Kevin Dincher.

The Perfect Storm – Why Sales and Marketing Are Changing
Wed, Apr 10, 2013 —
Stay up-to-date with the latest from Chief Outsiders

Want to Grow your Company? Let’s Talk!
Sun, Apr 7, 2013 — Today's blog is by guest blogger, Kevin P. Dincher, Crazy Moon Consulting, LLC

Cracking the Code of Organizational Change
Sun, Mar 10, 2013 — It was 1996 when John Kotter first published Leading Change and told us that 70% of all major change efforts by businesses fail. Nearly two decades later there is little evidence that any improvement has occurred, and this 70% failure rate has become axiomatic in business development and change management circles. Despite some individual successes, change remains difficult—and few companies manage change successfully. Organization change is a strategic imperative in today’s fast-paced business environment. Unfortunately, in the pursuit of change and trying to be the best, CEO’s and their executive team frequently chase after the latest and greatest idea. They lose focus and become mesmerized by all the advice available in print and online about why companies should change, what they should try to accomplish, and how they should do it. This proliferation of recommendations often leads to failure. Cracking the Code of Change

Bridging the Gap Between Marketing and Sales
Sat, Mar 9, 2013 — Guest blogger Carlos Nouche from Visualize. Many companies today grapple with a misalignment between marketing, sales, and the executive staff. This can cause a case of the “mis”- missteps and miscommunication, which lead to lower productivity and, ultimately, lower profits. According to a 2010 report by Aberdeen Research, companies who are “best-in-class” at aligning marketing and sales had 20% average growth in annual revenue as opposed to a 4% decline in “laggard” organizations. It is important for CEOs to lead the charge in aligning marketing and sales (critical aspects in any business) to develop momentum that feeds upon itself and moves your organization forward. Marketing Challenge: Marketing teams struggle today to maximize marketing dollars spent on lead generation, product positioning, analyst relations, and sales materials. Often these marketing resources are not targeted to reaching the ultimate buyer nor do they use a common framework that allows for sales to take immediate action in the field.

5 Super Tips for a CEO Faced with a Media Interview
Wed, Mar 6, 2013 —

International growth: A balance of competencies
Sun, Mar 3, 2013 — Our blog today is by guest blogger Mark Buss.

Their Pain, Your Gain
Sat, Feb 23, 2013 — Some of your best customers would probably like you to do business with them in a different manner. Maybe it’s the day you deliver your goods to them? The minimums required? Maybe it’s the day of the month that you do your billing…or the amount of paperwork that you require of them? Instead of making doing business with you easier, do you sometimes make it a bit more challenging? Successful companies seek out their customers’ pain points and eliminate them. Constantly listening to the signals from the marketplace can help you see the storm clouds gathering, and to develop the strategies necessary to meet them. In order to do that, you really need to dig deep and find out what is bothering them, and how you can go about fixing those things. Define the Pain Point