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Does Your Contracting Pipeline Live in the Owner’s Head?
Relationships matter in construction, and most subcontractors have good ones. The owner or president carries the key customer relationships, and the project managers carry everything else. That arrangement can work well. It is also fragile. In our last post, we asked whether you know by name who owns each strategic account. This one looks at what happens when the answer is the owner.
The CEO Dashboard Should Show Direction, Not Just Activity
Thu, Oct 15, 2026 — If your dashboard only tells you what happened, it’s reporting history. A CEO needs direction. Steps Taken Aren’t the Same as Direction I've spent a fair amount of time backpacking, and one thing becomes obvious when you've been walking for several hours: knowing how far you've walked isn't the same thing as knowing whether you're headed in the right direction. Your watch can tell you that you've taken 22,000 steps.
Vistage Chairs: The Most Dangerous Sales Answer a CEO Can Accept: “We Lost on Price”
Tue, Oct 13, 2026 — Executive Takeaways When a buyer says “too expensive,” research shows price is rarely the real reason, especially as deal size grows. Your CRM loss-reason field reflects your sales team’s view of the decision, not the buyer’s. “Price” is often a stand-in for unclear value, implementation risk, or low confidence in the outcome. A few points of win-rate improvement can unlock real revenue from the pipeline you already have.
You Can't See Growth Looking Only Inside the Business
Wed, Sep 30, 2026 — You can run a company from inside the four walls. You can't grow it well from inside the four walls alone. Strong operators tend to know their businesses exceptionally well. They understand their people, processes, customers, financials, sales performance and operational constraints.
The Augmented Revenue Engine
Tue, Aug 18, 2026 — Executive Takeaways Sellers who partner with AI are 3.7x more likely to hit quota. AI doesn't replace sellers. It removes the 75% of work that isn't selling. Win rates climb 30%+ when AI improves every funnel stage, not just one. Waiting doesn't preserve the status quo. It widens the gap to AI-enabled competitors.
Vistage Chairs: Is Your Member’s Marketing Really Working? Ask These 5 Questions.
Tue, Aug 11, 2026 — Executive Takeaways Most CEOs challenge every capital investment but can't say with confidence whether their marketing is working. More leads isn't better marketing. Better customers are. If sales and marketing are blaming each other, the CEO hasn't asked the right question. The real measure isn't what marketing produced. It's what it changed about the future economics of the business.
When the Numbers Still Look Fine, Look Harder
Mon, Jul 6, 2026 — Revenue Can Be Late to Tell the Truth Without a compass, course correction isn't really an adjustment. Too often, a company can drift while the scorecard still looks respectable. But underneath the dashboard, buying behavior may already be changing. Customers take longer to decide. Procurement gets more involved. Good prospects ask harder questions. Deals that used to move cleanly now need another approval, discount, or proof point. Early warning signs rarely show up with a siren attached.
Where Is Growth Coming From? A Playbook for Mid-Market CEOs
Thu, Jul 2, 2026 — The headlines say one thing. The data says something more nuanced. Here's what mid-market CEOs should actually be paying attention to right now. This two-part series from Chief Outsiders Founder & CEO Art Saxby explores what the data actually shows about CEO confidence, why this moment is different from past disruptions, and where mid-market companies are finding real growth opportunities right now.
Uncertainty Is Real. Opportunity Is Too.
Mon, Jun 15, 2026 — The headlines say one thing. The data says something more nuanced. Here's what mid-market CEOs should actually be paying attention to right now. This two-part series from Chief Outsiders Founder & CEO Art Saxby explores what the data actually shows about CEO confidence, why this moment is different from past disruptions, and where mid-market companies are finding real growth opportunities right now.
Building a Cohesive C-Suite: How to Align Your Executive Team for Success
Fri, Jun 12, 2026 — Executive Takeaways A high-performing C-suite that doesn't function as a team is a hidden growth tax. If your executives describe the strategy differently, that gap shows up in your results. Alignment comes from operating rhythm, not offsites. Better-aligned executives. Same team. Very different results. When CEOs talk about growth, they usually focus on markets, products, and funding. What derails them more often is something closer to home: a strong group of executives that never quite functions as a true team. You feel it in slow decisions, mixed messages to the organization, and initiatives that lose momentum once they leave the last executive meeting.