Nuggets from Behind Closed Doors
Inside every private Alliance meeting, there are hundreds of years of experience. While keeping confidentiality of the member who provided the challenge to their group, we’ve captured (with permission) just some of the insightful comments from a handful of members. Read what these members had to say to get a glimpse of what it is like to be an Alliance member.
To see insights for a certain category, choose one from the following list:
Member Erin Mendez Speaks: Involve (All) Your People in Strategic Decisions
Whenever major changes occur within a company, there is a risk that employees won’t jump on board with the new plan. Erin Mendez, President and CEO of Patelco Credit Union, shares her insights into the benefits of involving every level of the company when executing major strategic changes.
Read MoreInsight categories include: Culture Leadership Strategy & Planning
Member Peter Koshland Speaks: Share Fears, Empathize and Negotiate
Navigating a fifty-fifty percent ownership structure is difficult, and perhaps even impossible. Alliance member Peter Koshland, Founder of Koshland Pharm, describes the inherent difficulties in this arrangement and strategizes approaches to mitigate dysfunction.
Read MoreInsight categories include: Leadership Organizational Design Strategy & Planning
Member Mark Johnsen Speaks: Fulfillment Doesn’t Rest on the Bottom Line
If you weren’t paid for your work, would you still do it? Alliance member Mark Johnsen, Chief Wealth Architect & Executive Officer at Wealth Architects, explores the importance of finding meaning in our work beyond earning money.
Read MoreInsight categories include: Entrepreneurship Ethics
Member Paul White Speaks: Instead of Diving In, Consider Zooming Out
More often than not, CEOs are hyper focused on the here and now. Paul White, Founder and CEO of Muir Services, advises that while it is hard to step outside and look down upon a business holistically, doing so can reveal transformational opportunities.
Read MoreInsight categories include: Entrepreneurship Leadership Operations Sales Strategy & Planning
Member Sheeroy Desai Speaks: Don’t Forget The Troops. They Win The War.
CEOs spend a lot of time in the C-suite and sometimes that warps perspective on strategic priorities. Alliance member Sheeroy Desai, Co-Founder and former CEO of Gild, suggests paying more attention to employees on the ground as the company ramps up for serious growth.
Read MoreInsight categories include: Leadership Operations Organizational Design Sales Strategy & Planning Technology
Member Katy Spink Speaks: Turn the Battleship by Planting Seeds
Proposing a major alteration to strategy is tricky business. Alliance member Katy Spink of Asterias Biotherapeutics suggests a measured and gradual approach to changing minds.
Read MoreInsight categories include: Leadership Strategy & Planning
Member Everett Harper Speaks: Exit Patterned Thinking
Companies inevitably arrive at critical strategic crossroads as they strive to manifest themselves in the business world. Alliance member Everett Harper, CEO and Founder of Truss, elaborates on an inclusive, structured process to identify options and evaluate the optimal path forward.
Read MoreInsight categories include: Leadership Strategy & Planning
Member Raj Raman Speaks: How to Find Superstar Employees in Your Backyard.
Executives often search the firmament to hire superstar employees that can deliver outsized results. Alliance member Raj Raman of Minjar suggests an alternative path to success if your dream team isn’t forthcoming.
Read MoreInsight categories include: Culture Human Resources Leadership Strategy & Planning
Member Jason Petralia Speaks: You’re Sitting on a Gold Mine. Mine It!
CEOs are under constant pressure to increase revenue and profitability. Alliance member Jason Petralia of Raizlabs suggests that an established company could dramatically increase its revenue by prioritizing current accounts rather than finding new ones.
Read MoreInsight categories include: Leadership Sales Strategy & Planning Technology
Member Gil Ben-Dov Speaks: Optimize Yourself Holistically
CEOs can lose touch with the needs and responsibilities beyond work, in areas like family, community and self. Alliance member Gil Ben-Dov, CEO of Total Phase, shares a simple framework in which to holistically evaluate and manage top-line priorities to achieve greater balance and overall effectiveness.
Read MoreInsight categories include: Leadership Work/Life Balance
Member Andy Barrons Speaks: Build on Your Reputation of Independence
No CEO likes lumpy revenue. Alliance member Andy Barrons of Navis offers a cautionary tale and intriguing idea for smoothing out revenue and opening new lines of business.
Read MoreInsight categories include: Sales Strategy & Planning Technology
Member Rob Stump Speaks: Falling Behind? Disrupt Back!
For market leaders, disruption can lurk on the periphery and threaten company profits and market share. Alliance member Rob Stump, CEO of ANI, advocates an honest approach to “disrupting back” and retaining dominance in the market.
Read MoreInsight categories include: Leadership Strategy & Planning
Member Jeff Cleland Speaks: How About a Win-Win-Win Situation?
Clever corporate actions of spin-off and licensing can create optimized arrangements where all parties win and future value is maximized. Jeff Cleland, President and CEO of Graybug Vision, suggests a tried-and-true maneuver that eschews acquisition in favor of equity swaps and licensing deals.
Read MoreInsight categories include: Finance Leadership Organizational Design Strategy & Planning
Member Jorge Titinger Speaks: You are the CEO. Time to Turn up the Heat.
Boardroom pressures can derail a CEO’s agenda to the detriment of the company’s ultimate performance. Jorge Titinger, former CEO of SGI, walks through a few strategies to regain control and deliver shareholder value, rather than appease problematic board members.
Read MoreInsight categories include: Boards Finance Leadership M&A Strategy & Planning
Member Jeff Antrim Speaks: Double Down on Quality and Accountability
It can’t always be the best of times. So how can a CEO manage revenue when cash flow is tight and profitability has declined? Jeff Antrim, President of Proforma Construction, shares a few battle-tested approaches to weathering the storm while keeping the dollars flowing.
Read MoreInsight categories include: Operations Sales Strategy & Planning
Member Peter Koshland Speaks: Go. To. Bed.
A CEO may have impeccable business strategy and execution. Yet without the sound physiologic underpinnings of a healthy body, all bets are off. Peter Koshland, Founder of Koshland Pharm, sheds light on the dangers of chronic stress and suggests one simple solution that busy CEOs often overlook.
Read MoreInsight categories include: Health Work/Life Balance
Member Harmeet Bhatia Speaks: Don’t Just Report. Involve.
Many management teams are spread over great distances and among diverse cultures. Harmeet Bhatia of Jade Global emphasizes the importance of substantive dialogue and collaboration to forge a path to success.
Read MoreInsight categories include: Culture Executive Development Sales Strategy & Planning
Member Bryan O’Connell Speaks: In Hurricane Winds, Remember a Compass
The startup CEO commonly experiences stress and pressure from all angles. Bryan O'Connell, CEO of Meras Engineering, describes his philosophy for not losing sight of long-term goals in the heat of the moment.
Read MoreInsight categories include: Finance Strategy & Planning
Member Craig Sardella Speaks: You’ve Been Promoted to Chief Dreaming Officer
Regardless of a company’s niche, primary competitive advantage is gained by ceaseless innovation. Craig Sardella of Guild Mortgage Company lays out his vision of how a CEO can make all the difference — by dreaming.
Read MoreInsight categories include: Entrepreneurship Executive Development Leadership Strategy & Planning
Member Xiaodong Yang Speaks: Build Vertical and Horizontal Channels
Growing at breakneck speed? Xiaodong Yang, President & CEO of Apexigen, Inc., recommends implementing a matrix structure of project managers to maintain productivity and reinforce desirable company culture.
Read MoreInsight categories include: Culture Operations Sales Strategy & Planning
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The Alliance of Chief Executives is an active community of business leaders that focuses on deep strategic exchanges, challenging existing assumptions and generating fresh ideas.
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2185 N. California Blvd.,
Suite 590
Walnut Creek, CA 94596
- 925-942-2400 Office
- 925-956-4424 Fax
- Email: info@allianceofCEOs.com
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About
The Alliance of Chief Executives is an active community of business leaders that focuses on deep strategic exchanges, challenging existing assumptions and generating fresh ideas.
Newsletter
Subscribe to our newsletter and stay up to date with the latest Alliance news!
Member Resources
Contact Us
2185 N. California Blvd., Suite 590
Walnut Creek, CA 94596
925-942-2400 Office
925-956-4424 Fax
Email: info@allianceofCEOs.com
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