Chief Outsiders

06/19/2026

Bots passed humans on the web this year. Agent traffic grew 8,000% in a single year, and 60% of searches now end without anyone clicking through to a website.

This means your buyer is already researching inside AI models before your website gets a vote. The "build vs. buy" logic that held for 30 years just broke. And the competitors who will eat your lunch are starting fresh, with no legacy stack to defend.

Doug Bell breaks it down in. the latest AI Growth Pulse👇

06/04/2026

The Growth Gears book turns 10 this year. The methodology behind it is older, and the reason it still holds is that the problem it solves hasn't changed.

Pete Hayes and Art Saxby built this framework around research from UT's McCombs Business School: the best-run companies often have the hardest time growing because they're internally focused.

Insight, Strategy, and Ex*****on have to work in sync, not in sequence.

Watch Pete walk through it.

06/02/2026

The best-run companies and the fastest-growing companies are often not the same companies. Pete Hayes explains why, and what it takes to be both.

Operational excellence drives efficiency. Market orientation drives growth. Getting them to work together is where most mid-market CEOs get stuck. Pete breaks it down from the Growth Gears 10 webinar.

04/15/2026

Over 80% of AI initiatives fail, usually because the strategy behind them is flawed.

Most companies know AI should be part of how they grow. The gap is knowing where it actually creates impact versus where it creates noise. That's an operator problem.

Chief Outsiders' fractional CMOs and CSOs work with you to define the business problem first, then identify where AI moves the needle on efficiency, differentiation, and measurable growth. Human-led decisions, AI-supported ex*****on.

04/14/2026

The CEOs who scale fastest are the ones with the most honest feedback.

There's a difference between an inner circle that cheers you on and one that tells you when you're wrong. Most leaders underinvest in the second kind, and it shows up in the decisions they don't course-correct on until it's too late.

As Leo Bottary puts it: Your inner circle shouldn't be about getting your questions answered, but about getting your answers questioned.

Who in your circle actually pushes back on you?
💬 Tag them here.

https://bit.ly/4t3paz9 via Vistage Worldwide, Inc.

Build a strong CEO inner circle with advisors, peers, and truth-tellers to sharpen decisions, reduce isolation, and accelerate growth.

04/10/2026

Portfolio companies that struggle usually don't have a strategy problem. They have an ex*****on problem, and not enough time to fix it through traditional hiring.

Misaligned go-to-market, leadership gaps, teams that can't scale within the investment window. By the time a full-time hire is onboarded, the window has moved.

Chief Outsiders embeds fractional CMOs, CSOs, and ex*****on teams directly into portfolio companies. Operators who build revenue organizations, not consultants who hand off a deck.

From due diligence to exit, this is how we support value creation across the full lifecycle.

https://bit.ly/41klb4Z

04/09/2026

Many companies that struggle to grow aren't operationally broken. They're internally focused, and that's a different problem entirely.

Ten years ago, Pete Hayes and the Chief Outsiders team built the Growth Gears framework around exactly that distinction. The research, done in partnership with UT's McCombs Business School, identified three gears: Insight, Strategy, and Ex*****on that have to work in alignment to drive real growth.

Not sequentially. Together.

The methodology is still what we bring into client engagements today. Watch Pete walk through it.

04/07/2026

U.S. expansion usually fails because of misalignment.

Many international companies bring strong products into the U.S. and still struggle to gain traction. The issue has nothing to do with capability, but with how value is communicated.

U.S. buyers assume technical quality. They expect to hear clear business impact.

When messaging, positioning, and sales approach don’t match how the market buys, pipeline stalls and growth slows.

That invisible gap is what separates momentum from missed opportunity.

🔗 Have a look:

Discover the hidden challenge of Go-To-Market cultural alignment and its critical impact on international companies expanding into the U.S. market.

04/03/2026

AI keeps coming up in every CEO conversation right now. But not for the reason most people think.

Leaders are not asking for more data. They are asking for clarity they can trust and act on quickly.

AI can help surface patterns and speed up decisions. But if your data is inconsistent or your teams are not aligned on definitions, it will only amplify the confusion.

That is why the real work starts before AI.

👉

CEOs seek AI to accelerate decision-making but must address data governance first. Solid data foundations are crucial for AI to enhance clarity and drive growth effectively.

03/30/2026

Consumer brands are struggling with readiness, not marketing.

Gen Z expectations, retail control of the customer, and AI-driven change are exposing gaps in how companies actually go to market.

To ensure success, you have to build to adapt.

FREE resource to understand what that looks like: https://bit.ly/3PvnLlY

Discover how Gen Z, retail media, AI, and digital disruption are reshaping consumer markets. In this free eBook from Chief Outsiders, learn how to build omnichannel strategies, adapt your team and tech stack, and position your brand for sustainable growth.