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Becoming the Issachar CEO: Leading with Foresight in a Time of Uncertainty
Tue, Sep 30, 2025 — It’s not every day that a C-suite leader turns to 1 Chronicles for advice, but there’s something here for us. 1 Chronicles chapter 12 describes each of the tribes of the nation of Israel as they moved their allegiance from the house of Saul to the newly crowned King David. The scripture recounts an impressive array of warrior clans ready to fight for their new king, until it reaches the tribe of Issachar, described in verse 32 as “men who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do.”
5 AI Trends Every CEO Must Act On
Mon, Sep 15, 2025 — 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 Report 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:
From Recovery to Recession: A CEO’s Guide to Thriving Through Economic Shifts
Tue, Sep 9, 2025 — When markets shift—and they always do—the winners are those who don’t wait to react. They move first, and fast. No matter which of the four cycles you’re currently experiencing, one constant remains true: waiting for things to be more favorable is a bad strategy. Additionally, doing nothing is not an option. Companies that anticipate, plan, and act in alignment with their current business phase can maintain resilience, capture opportunities, and outperform competitors who simply “wait it out.”
From Economic Insight to Growth Strategy: What CEOs Should Do Now
Tue, Aug 26, 2025 — At our most recent CEO Growth Talks, I spoke with Taylor St. Germaine, Senior Economist at ITR Economics. The timing couldn’t have been better — the latest GDP numbers had just been released, and Taylor broke down what they mean for CEOs planning growth. As always, ITR brought a clear and fact-based perspective. The economy is growing. Consumer spending is strong. And while some industries are facing headwinds, opportunities abound for leaders who are ready to act. But the real question for CEOs isn’t just what the economy looks like. It’s: how do you prepare your business to grow in this environment — and the one coming next?
Think Like Your Customer: 8 Cognitive Biases Every CEO Should Know
Mon, Aug 25, 2025 — Human beings like to think we make decisions logically. But research in behavioral science and neuroscience tells a different story: up to 95% of decisions are made unconsciously, then justified rationally. Cognitive biases shape every decision, often before logic enters the picture. These shortcuts drive customer responses to marketing, pricing, and branding, sometimes in ways that defy prediction.
Why Your Messaging Isn’t Converting (and How to Fix It)
Thu, Aug 14, 2025 — After working with organizations of all sizes— from small businesses to Fortune 500 giants—one difference stands out: large, successful companies consistently invest in clear, concise, and emotionally compelling messaging that motivates their customers to act. Small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) often start executing marketing and sales tactics — SEO, SEM, email campaigns, publicity, trade shows — before they have compelling messaging. Their messaging is often focused on what the company does, rather than what motivates the customer.
Beating Industry Benchmarks
Fri, Jul 18, 2025 — In my previous blog, I discussed a fast way to assess relative marketing performance, and covered proven approaches to improving six industry benchmark-based Key Performance Indicators (reach, share, engagement, loyalty, pipeline, and progression) that can boost overall marketing effectiveness. Today, I’m going to review some of the key findings from recent research around Marketing benchmarks. I’ll select key metrics from each of these three benchmarks and their implications for optimizing marketing performance.
When the Founder Is the Rainmaker: How to Scale Without Losing the Spark
Mon, Jul 7, 2025 — In many founder-led businesses, the founder isn’t just the leader—they’re also the best (and often only) rainmaker. They land the big deals. They have the trusted relationships. They know the pitch inside and out because they are the pitch. It works—until it doesn’t. As the business grows, this model creates a bottleneck. Every new opportunity depends on one and only person. And it’s the same person every time. But there’s a downside. When that person is also responsible for running the business, mentoring the team, and shaping the vision, something eventually gives.
Go Time? Or Just Another Head Fake? How Mid-Market CEOs Should Move Forward Now
Wed, Jun 25, 2025 — Six months ago, we diagnosed a condition gripping mid-market companies across the country: Waitflation. Leaders were holding back—not because of financial hardship, but because of economic ambiguity. Interest rates were high, forecasts were fuzzy, and confidence was low. The result? A national game of “wait and see.” Now, as we enter a volatile summer, it’s time to ask: Is it go time?