The Corner Office

CEO Blog

(Just Ask the CEO Who Did) Strategy isn’t just about vision. It’s about making informed decisions—where to double down, where to expand, and, just as critically, where not to go. One of the most overlooked competitive advantages in business today isn’t technology, talent, or capital. It’s insight. Real, unfiltered insight from your customers, employees, and

You’re well into the third quarter. Urgent priorities are piling up, the year-end is coming fast—and yet, the most powerful thing you can do right now has nothing to do with finishing this year strong. It has everything to do with shaping what’s next. Because 2026 won’t wait, and great CEOs know that the seeds

You’re already planning for 2026—setting growth targets, sharpening your strategy, and aligning the organization to what’s next. But here’s the real question: Do you have the right people in place to get you there? Many CEOs claim that “talent is our #1 priority.” But far fewer are putting in the work to prove it. And

It’s easy to see your Board of Directors as a formality—an oversight group that meets quarterly, reviews the numbers, asks a few questions, and signs off on decisions. But great CEOs know better. They know a high-functioning Board isn’t just a governance requirement—it’s a strategic advantage. And trust is the currency that powers it. According

There’s a moment every CEO eventually faces. You’re staring at a dashboard filled with charts, spreadsheets, and KPIs. Revenue is up. Costs are steady. But something feels…off. Your gut says things aren’t as strong as the numbers suggest. Engagement is waning. Innovation has slowed. Culture feels stagnant. That’s when it hits you: You’re measuring performance—but

If you’re a CEO, there are only a few things only you can do. And shaping, engaging, and elevating your Board of Directors is one of them. Yet, many mid-market CEOs don’t see their boards as strategic allies—they see them as passive, disconnected, or, worse, political. And the data backs this up.  According to PwC:

You’re in the boardroom again. Another meeting. Another round of discussion without decisions. You walk out shaking your head—frustrated that everything still feels stuck. Execution is slow. Politics are creeping in. Teams are misaligned. And deep down, you know why.Your Core Team isn’t acting like a First Team. This is the silent killer of execution

In every organization, there’s noise—and there’s impact.And the best CEOs know the difference. The reality is this: not all roles are created equal.Some are essential. Others are exponential. A small group of roles—often less than 15% of your workforce—have an outsized influence on your strategy, innovation, customer experience, and long-term growth. Ignore them, and you’ll

Somewhere between back-to-back meetings, board prep, and inbox overload, the view narrows. You start making decisions based on reports, secondhand updates, and dashboards. Strategy becomes a spreadsheet. Culture becomes a survey result. Customers become personas. But here’s the truth no one says out loud:The desk is a terrible place to view the world. As CEO,

In a recent closed-door roundtable with a group of high-performing C-suite executives, I asked a simple but telling question: “What’s your biggest challenge with your senior leadership team?” What followed wasn’t surprising—but it was sobering. Beneath the surface of well-crafted strategies, strong balance sheets, and ambitious growth goals, a pattern emerged: breakdowns in accountability and