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TechCXO implemented its best practice financial reporting and financial modeling tools across the BlueWay ecosystem to enable executive management key insights into the business throughout its growth curve. TechCXO leveraged its extensive M&A experience to help guide BlueWay to and through its successful exit.

Maybe things centered around an undefined strategy, an unclear mission, an unaligned team, a disconnection with customers, an ill-defined market or perhaps some other oversight or stroke of bad luck? Now I buy that sentiment to a point in the context of a one-dimensional business, but most businesses can adapt and change and flex according to their circumstances and there are times when you set out with the best of intentions, based on all of the foresight and research and knowledge you have but due to a fundamental issue (often unforeseen), you may be heading on a trajectory towards failure. The fundamental reason for our failure that we found out was our existing customers preferred to physically visit our stores for their shopping experience and that in trying to get them to go online as well, we risked cannibalising our existing customers experience in the store. The important point here is that there are times, when you give your business the best shot possible, you throw everything that you have and know to try and be successful, but even having done your best, you may not succeed and the skill of great people is to recognise this and make conscious changes.

The importance of active listening for business applications like customer success and customer experience management are clear: successful companies and executives are attuned to the needs and desires of what customers want. But there are simpler, day-to-day things like team meetings and one-on-one conversations through which the quality of the interactions have an enormous overall effect on important things like employee trust, productivity, corporate culture and effectiveness of leadership. Leaders are often the worst among us as listeners as they are so focused on driving growth, meeting numbers and deadlines, and asserting out authority that we often forget that our most valuable resource is our employees. That’s not just a cliché; Our employees usually have the deepest knowledge of our products, services, and customers.

Paul Sansone, TechCXO partner and former CFO of the Boys and Girls Clubs of America and Better World Books, is an expert in social enterprises, social entrepreneurship and B Corps. Learn what impact investors are looking for in their investments, raising capital as a B Corp, and trends he sees in social entrepreneurship. Recently, Paul also conducted a radio interview that included a discussion of issues Non Profits are facing in 2021. Non Profits faced in 2020 and the innovative strategy pivots they need to pursue in 2021 to carry out their mission.