Commentary

Art Saxby's wisdom resonates with CEOs seeking transformative growth. His insights crystallized his journey from Frito Lay's marketing to turning around bankrupt entities. Saxby delineates the disparity between small and big M marketing, advocating for a holistic approach that combines tactical execution with strategic vision. He spotlights Imperial Sugar's shift from a sugar manufacturer to a supply chain leader, illustrating the impact of aligning with customer needs.Saxby's core tenet is a market-rooted business plan. He underscores dissecting customer behavior, competitor dynamics, and internal strengths to fuel strategy. Incorporating external viewpoints enhances the strategy's innovation. His philosophy transcends marketing and sales barriers, emphasizing adaptive solutions over fixed ratios. His approach champions tailored strategies that stimulate growth on multiple fronts.Art Saxby equips CEOs with a growth roadmap that shuns convention. By melding change, market insight alignment, and holistic sales-marketing synergy, he empowers CEOs to steer dynamic expansion. Listen to this commentary, "Elevating CEOs: Art Saxby's Blueprint for Strategic Growth."
 
To hear the full interview, listen here.
 
Links from this episode:
Art Saxby on LinkedIn
Deborah Fell on LinkedIn
Chief Outsiders

Last week, we delved into the world of customer knowledge on Success Beneath the Surface, and what an eye-opening journey it was! As Susan Finch and I explored the importance of truly understanding our customers, we uncovered a game-changing insight that separates successful businesses from the rest.
We often claim to know our customers, but do we really grasp their desires and needs beyond the surface level? Let me share a personal experience that perfectly illustrates this point. My husband and I recently purchased outdoor furniture, but what we truly sought were not just chairs, but unforgettable moments with loved ones in our courtyard.
The key is to look beneath the obvious and ask the right questions. That's precisely what the perceptive sales representative did, earning our business and future loyalty.  I challenge you to question if your company truly comprehends your customers' deepest needs. Join me in this commentary as we uncover the untapped potential of gaining deeper customer insights for the growth and prosperity of your business. Don't miss last week's full episode, "Navigating Change: CEO's Playbook for Profitable Adaptation."
 
Links from this episode:
Deborah Fell on LinkedInChief Outsiders
Susan Finch on LinkedInFunnel Media Group, LLC

Deborah unpacks last week's episode featuring Ed Valdez, a partner, and Chief Marketing Officer at Chief Outsiders, where they discussed the importance of leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) in business processes. He emphasized that companies not utilizing AI are falling behind. Real-time customer insights, such as their responses to website content and search behavior, are crucial for optimizing results and expenses. Traditional methods like focus groups are no longer efficient, as AI enables real-time learning, adjustments, and improvements.
Valdez explains that businesses not leveraging AI in marketing or customer service will eventually be left behind. The average lifespan of businesses has decreased due to advancing technologies, and adapting to AI is crucial for survival. 
Businesses that remain stagnant are moving backward, while those embracing AI can enhance their operations, serve clients better, and achieve improved business results.
Links from this episode:
Ed Valdez on LI Ed Valdez on Chief Outsiders
Deborah Fell on LinkedInChief Outsiders
The complete episode is here.

In our previous episode, we had the privilege of hearing from Xena Urgrinsky, an expert in the field of transformation and data science. Xena shared invaluable insights on the crucial link between building a future-ready business and upskilling and transforming your team. Today, we'll focus on key takeaways from that conversation. Xena emphasized the need for human evolution within organizations, highlighting the challenge of transforming people and creating a culture of experimentation and learning. She stressed the importance of developing a strategic vision and tackling cultural hurdles to achieve transformative success. Additionally, Xena discussed the role of applied data science, cautioning against using every new technology for every problem and emphasizing the necessity of continuously monitoring and adapting machine learning models. As we navigate this ever-changing landscape, let's harness the power of these tools effectively and prioritize critical thinking skills to drive our workforce forward.
For CEOs who are in the process of building a future-ready business, let's take a few minutes here to emphasize a central point that transforming your company for the future must also involve upskilling and transforming your team. 
About Xena Ugrinsky
Xena Ugrinsky - CTO, Co-Founder and Senior Transformation Executive at Pilot Wave Holdings Management, LLC, and Principal, Founder and Data Science Evangelist at Genre-X, Inc. She is an AI expert, author, and previous Partner at KPMG as well as Booz Allen Hamilton.  She believes that data-driven competency will be the main source of competitive advantage over the next few years and that if leaders of mid-sized and large enterprise companies are not actively exploring how applied data science can be propagated through their organizations based on clear business objectives and measures of success, they risk being left behind.  
Links from this episode:
Pilotwave HoldingsXena Ugrinsky on LinkedInXena Ugrinsky on Twitter
Deborah Fell on LinkedInChief Outsiders

Last week my guest was Xena Urgrinsky, CTO, and Founding Partner at Pilotwave Holdings Management and CEO and Founder at Genre X. She's an artificial intelligence expert and author, and data science evangelist, and she's been both partner and principal at KPMG, as well as a partner at Booz Allen Hamilton. Xena immigrated with her parents from Germany and became an American citizen at eight, which was transformational for her family and an example of living the American Dream. A truly amazing journey and I want to encourage you to listen to all of episode 17 today.  In this commentary, I want to dig into a key question. She shared that she asked her companies to help them unlock important change in growth, and the question is this, if you could get anything, what would you want that would make you wildly surpass your peers? Listen to EP18: The One Thing They Asked for Was Drone Inspection. 
 
About Xena Ugrinsky
Xena Ugrinsky - CTO, Co-Founder and Senior Transformation Executive at Pilot Wave Holdings Management, LLC, and Principal, Founder and Data Science Evangelist at Genre-X, Inc. She is an AI expert, author, and previous Partner at KPMG and Booz Allen Hamilton.  She believes that data-driven competency will be the main source of competitive advantage over the next few years and that if leaders of mid-sized and large enterprise companies are not actively exploring how applied data science can be propagated through their organizations based on clear business objectives and measures of success, they risk being left behind.  
Links from this episode:
Pilotwave HoldingsXena Ugrinsky on LinkedInXena Ugrinsky on Twitter
Deborah Fell on LinkedInChief Outsiders

Welcome to another episode of Success Beneath the Surface, where we uncover the secrets of effective business leadership. In our last episode, we had the pleasure of hosting Peter Schwartz, a seasoned Vistage chair with over 30 years of experience in nurturing early-stage concepts and companies to fruition. Peter's remarkable achievements, having won numerous awards twice over, speak volumes about his expertise.
During our conversation, Peter highlighted a topic close to my heart: the profound impact of a leader's presence and the essentiality of mastering inner and outer game skills in today's complex work environment. He emphasized that as leaders, we have full control over how we show up and shape the weather for our teams. Peter's fascination with leadership development began in the mid-90s and has since evolved into a passion.
Peter introduced the concept of the inner game, a term coined by Timothy Gallwey, which focuses on expanding the complexity of the mind to effectively navigate the increasing intricacies of the world. He discussed the importance of evolving our relationships with others, shifting from a focus on likability to respect and performance.
Join us as we continue to explore leadership journeys and the transformative power of personal growth with Peter Schwartz. Let's unlock the secrets to successful business leadership together.

In today's episode of Success Beneath the Surface, we welcome back Herby Duverné, founder and CEO of Rise Development and Construction and principal and CEO of Windwalker Group. In last week's episode, we heard about his journey, starting from the trenches and growing his businesses. But today, I want to focus on one key lesson from our conversation - the importance of finding opportunities in challenges.
When faced with obstacles, it can be easy to feel defeated and give up. But Herby believes that challenges are a natural part of life and business and that there is always an opportunity to be found. Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, when many businesses were struggling to survive, Herby's companies grew and thrived by focusing on internal investments and being prepared for the opportunities that would arise.
The full episode from this commentary is here.
And the previous half of this session with Deborah and Herby can be heard here.
 
Links from this episode:
Herby Duverné on LinkedInWindwalker
Deborah Fell on LinkedInChief Outsiders

In this commentary, Deborah emphasizes a key point that Herby made about his evolution as an entrepreneur, which was shifting from doing everything himself to focusing on company culture. Herby shares his belief that it's not enough just to make money, but you need to make an impact. He emphasizes the importance of creating an environment where employees can be themselves and enjoy what they do, which he believes results in unbreakable bonds and exponential growth for the business.
Herby's story of invention, disruption, and reinvention is truly remarkable, and next week's episode will delve deeper into his journey. Through his story, listeners can gain valuable insights into entrepreneurship, leadership, and the power of culture.
Herby Duverné is the founder and CEO of Rise Development and Construction and the principal and CEO of Windwalker Group. Herby shares his inspiring journey from being a young immigrant who didn't speak the language and was homeless to CEO of two companies and recently named as one of the 150 Most Influential Bostonians.
Listen to the full episode here.
Links from this episode:
Herby Duverné on LinkedInWindwalker
Deborah Fell on LinkedInChief Outsiders

In this episode, Deborah gives commentary on our last episode's interview with Brian Williamson, the Brand and Video Leader, and Chief Story Seller at Google and YouTube. Brian shares his insights on modernizing brand strategies and the importance of a full-funnel data-driven approach in today's market. He emphasizes the need for companies to have a clear mission, vision, and values that are current and relevant to the current ecosystem, and to tell an authentic story that connects with customers across channels.
Brian also discusses the challenges of measuring the effectiveness of marketing campaigns and the importance of identifying signals and health indicators to track progress. He stresses the need for companies to focus on the top of the funnel, not just the bottom, to fuel growth and build a strong customer base.
Deborah highlights the importance of supporting prospects and customers throughout their research and buying process, even at the problem identification phase, to become their trusted advisor and gain a competitive edge. Join her for this episode of Success Beneath the Surface, "Measuring Marketing Effectiveness: Tips from a Google Expert.
Listen to the full episode here.
Links from this episode:
Brian Williamson on LinkedIn
Chief OutsidersDeborah Fell on LinkedIn

In this episode, Deborah Fell interviews Chris Yeung, co-founder of Vimbley Group. This company acquires profitable but inefficient companies and optimizes them for even greater profitability. Chris shares his insights on seeking profitability, the synergy between business units, and identifying inefficiencies to improve operations. Deborah encourages companies to look for gold bricks that they may be stepping over and to seek out the wisdom of their employees in finding and fixing processes that can drive profitability and improve engagement.
Listen to the full episode here.
About Vimbly Group:
Vimbly Group is a technology-oriented business-growth company. We believe that technology is the key ingredient to better than linear growth. As such, Vimbly Group partners with businesses from an ever-widening range of categories to identify inefficiencies in their operations and then develop unique technologies that resolve them and realize significant sources of new revenue.
About Chris Yeung:
Chris's passion for automation started in asset management, where he was responsible for building portfolio management systems at BlackRock.  His journey ultimately led to Vimbly Group, where he now takes pleasure in applying technology to build businesses across a variety of industries.
 
Links from today's episode:
Vimbly GroupChris Yeung on LinkedIn
Chief OutsidersDeborah Fell on LinkedIn