Ocean Stories: See the ocean through my eyes! by Mr. Kai Fish As we celebrate Earth Day, we each have an opportunity to take time to reflect on the gifts we have been given; fresh air, bountiful harvests, mighty mountain ranges, dense forests, sweeping savannahs, and the seemingly perpetual bounty of the seas. The magnificence of our little blue planet perched among the stars lends herself to hope eternal yet at times tears of chagrin as we have not taken care of her well. Perhaps today, we can take a swim as a Fish and see the oceans through the watery peepers of Mr. Kai Fish, our guest speaker today. Mr. Fish and his friends harbor no judgment or ill will toward us, the inhabitants above who do not truly fathom the power of the ocean or her fragility but would love to be given a voice and to take you on a little trip through the sea. See the ocean through my eyes! The powerful East Australian Current sweeps deliciously warm water down the east coast of Australia where marine life like me abounds. With, coral reefs decorating the ocean floors and where we, the fish love to live, play, and sometimes hide. The current is our lifeblood and brings nutrients and food to all of us. Did you know that the East Australia Current is pushed to the western edge of the ocean by the rotation of the Earth – cool huh? I would love to tell you that the oceans are amazing all over the world, but sadly I cannot. You see, I, like many of my friends live in a dirty ocean and life is often so difficult. The water around me can be murky and polluted, with trash and debris floating everywhere. Sometimes it is hard to find clean water to breathe, and even harder to find food that hasn’t been contaminated by pollution. I am a fish, so, I do swim a lot, and I love it but nowadays I am not so much on the move for fun but searching for any safe spots where I can rest and find nourishment. What humans do not understand is that pollution is not just large bits of plastic and junk floating on top of the ocean but are at all depts making it so difficult for me to find my way, and I cannot rely on my instincts and my sense of smell to navigate through the dangerous waters as easily anymore. Polluted murky waters makes swimming so hard! Despite the challenges, I would never give up because we all live in the same ecosystem, and we need each other, right? So, I continue to swim, searching for a better life and a cleaner environment but in that endless search I become weak, and weak makes me susceptible. You see predators are attracted to the polluted waters too by the scent of weak and sick fish like me. Now you have not just one species, but many species in one place, and all are at risk of ‘wipe-out’. Like a magnet to the deep, we all find ourselves losing the battle of life in these oxygen-depleted waters. The other aspect of being me is that as time passes, I grow stronger and more resilient but not in a good way. I learn not to digest but to store the pollution and plastic in my little body which ‘you’ end up eating when I am on the menu. I have learned to adapt to the dirty ocean and find ways to survive but it shortens my life span and how many little fishy children I can have. My family is getting smaller and smaller every year. I don’t want to be alone with no family or friends – that’s no fun! One day, as I swam through the polluted waters, I came across some humans who were working to clean up the ocean. They were using nets to collect the debris and trash that had been littering the ocean, and I watched in amazement as the water around me began to clear. As the water cleared, I could see other fish swimming alongside me, and I realized that I am not alone in my struggle. Together, we can work to create a cleaner, healthier ocean for all creatures to thrive in. I was so happy to see humans. And so, as a fish in a dirty ocean, I have never given up hope and now you can be part of that hope with me. Now that you have seen the oceans through my eyes, can we work together for a better life for all those who share the polluted waters with me? The oceans are so beautiful, so magical, and so full of life. We can heal; we can get better; we can evolve but we need YOU to make that happen. Will you help? We can heal; we can get better; we can evolve. As the great writer and poet Kahlil Gibran quoted: "In one drop of water are found all the secrets of all the oceans." ABOUT THE AUTHOR: DINA O'REILLY Dina is 4xi's growth lead, project management office and ghostwriter in residence all in one. To learn more about 4xi, you can contact Dina directly at dina@4xiconsulting.com or visit our website to learn more about who we are, what we do, and how we inspire a brighter future, together: www.4xiconsulting.com 4xi Global Consulting & Solutions is a team of talented leaders from both the client-side and service provider side, impacting the Human Experience (HX) for people at work, in education, rest, and at leisure. We believe in a people-first, experience-led philosophy. Whether client, employee, or guest – their experience is the fundamental foundation of success. We work with corporations, service providers, and innovators: Strategic Advisory & Special Projects (SPx) Headquarters Fractional Support On-Demand Evolving Experiences© - Employee (EX) & Customer Experience (CX) Design4Life©: Environmental, Physical, and Experiential Design Global Amenities Strategy, Design & Operations TRUE NORTH©: Strategic Partnership & Growth Explorers Innovation Directory: Gateway to Innovation Sustainability Simplified©: Supply Chain & Innovation Market Research Reports & Benchmarking 4xi is proud to be Chair of WORKTECH Academy for North America and a member of its Leadership Advisory Board. 4xi is a Global Ambassador for WORKTECH Academy. San Francisco | New York | Philadelphia | Orlando | North Carolina | Seattle | Silicon Valley | Santiago | London | Tokyo

In my last blog post, I summarized five major themes found across many employee engagement tools and methods. When thoroughly and intentionally addressed, these five themes can be the key to improving employee engagement, reducing turnover, and improving customer experience. As a brief reminder, the five major themes are: 1. Purpose 2. Safety 3. Vulnerability 4. Autonomy 5. Barrier-Free Work Last time, under the topic of “Purpose”, we covered how critical it is that employees understand your company purpose...why is it you exist and do what you do every day? How can employees join best in the pursuit of that goal? How do their daily actions enable or inhibit this outcome, directly or indirectly? In this blog post we will dive into the need for you to truly understand your employees' purpose, and become a Super Hero. Unfortunately, most company executives, managers, or supervisors haven't put much thought into this topic. But I hope by the end of this blog post you feel a passion for diving into understanding your employees at this deep, meaningful level. What are your employees' hopes and dreams? What inspires them? What do they want to accomplish? I don't mean career-wise, although that might play into their answers a bit. I'm referring to personal, deeply important things that are enabled by their careers. Maybe they want to be the first person in their family to graduate college. Perhaps they are saving to purchase a home instead of renting. Some may be saving to finally experience financial stability by eliminating debt. Whatever your employees are trying to accomplish, whatever their dreams may be, have you created the atmosphere where you are a participant, not a bystander, in making those dreams come true? In making a strong, clear connection between your company purpose and the purpose of your employees, you can begin to demonstrate how, in helping the company succeed, the company can help your employees succeed. For example, if you have an employee who is trying to save money for a house down-payment - there are several things you could do to invest yourself in helping your employee make their home-savings dreams come true. While any or all of these may be options, it will require an honest conversation where you offer to help and your employee feels safe to receive your help in order to truly enable them to be successful with any or all of these options: 1. Offer financial planning assistance in the form of classes, resources, or connect them with financial advisors. 2. Offer them a pathway to promotion that would expedite their savings and help them realize their goal more rapidly. 3. Suggest to them money-management apps or website to help them budget effectively. 4. Offer to connect them with trusted realtors who can help them navigate the various loan options and the confusing home-buying process. Perhaps that employee is not familiar with FHA loans, for example, or that conventional loans do not require a full 20% down. Their path to home ownership may actually be closer than they thought! There are many things you could do to partner with your employee who is seeking to make the dream of home ownership come true for them and their family. But it starts with you seeing yourself as a conduit to enable that outcome, investing yourself in the life of your employee as a partner, not as a bystander or merely a "boss". This partnership builds relational value, something that will allow you as a leader and your company as an employer to stand out among the many options in the market. Remember, if employees leave bad bosses, they stick around for great bosses. Growing your relationship in depth and breadth with your employees as a partner to helping them make their dreams come true by helping the company succeed is a great way to do it. Lastly, remember, this is not a one-and-done conversation. In monthly or ongoing dialogue, check in with your employees to see how they are faring in making their dreams come true, what is standing in their way, and how you can further support them if possible. Simply having that conversation is a great way to begin to transform the very culture of your company to becoming an incredible employer of choice in your market. For tools and resources on becoming a partner with your employees in making their dreams come true, please take a look at the following resources: BOOK: “The Dream Manager” by Matthew Kelly Beginning with his important thought that a company can only become the-best-version-of-itself to the extent that its employees are becoming better-versions-of-themselves, Matthew Kelly explores the connection between the dreams we are chasing personally and the way we all engage at work. Tackling head-on the growing problem of employee disengagement, Kelly explores the dynamic collaboration that is unleashed when people work together to achieve company objectives and personal dreams. CERTIFICATION: The Official Dream Manager Program - Go beyond the book and become a certified dream manager. Join over 400 leaders who are transforming their teams and cultures. PODCAST: “The Dream Manager” with Mary Miller - She’s an author, speaker, and former CEO of JANCOA (a commercial cleaning company started her husband started decades ago and still run by the family today). Through efforts to create an environment to attract the best in the industry, they created The Dream Manager program, popularized by Matthew Kelly's bestselling book by the same title. Lastly, don’t forget to watch and share this little 60-second Coffee and Culture video with your community, explaining the content of this post in under a minute. Joel Onyshuk, Co-founder, Unisyn Your Best Team Everywhere Unisyn, Inc., the Service Industry solution to unlocking frontline leadership consistency and frontline associate engagement, received the award for "Most Innovative or Forward-Thinking Product/Service" from SHFM. Judges were a panel of operators as well as conference attendees who voted on a number of innovations and solutions, including those promoted by PepsiCo, Coca-Cola North America, Ecolab, Impossible Foods, Keurig Dr. Pepper, Panasonic, Red Bull North America, and many other household names. Based in Tampa, FL., Unisyn's mission is to "Put your best team everywhere" by empowering your frontline teams to bring your mission to life everywhere and every day. According to Gallup, 70% of the variance in team engagement is determined solely by the manager, and Unisyn is the first and only solution to address this unique, global challenge for Service Industry companies with distributed teams. Explorers Innovation Directory At 4xi, we've built our Explorers Innovation Directory of carefully curated Innovation Partners, all driving positive impact in the Away from Home market: workplace, education, healthcare, senior living, and leisure. 4xi Global Consulting & Solutions is a team of talented leaders from both the client-side and service provider side, impacting the Human Experience (HX) for people at work, in education, rest, and at leisure. We believe in a people-first, experience-led philosophy. Whether client, employee, or guest – their experience is the fundamental foundation of success. We work with corporations, service providers, and innovators: Strategic Advisory & Special Projects (SPx) Headquarters Fractional Support On-Demand Evolving Experiences© - Employee (EX) & Customer Experience (CX) Design4Life©: Environmental, Physical, and Experiential Design Global Amenities Strategy, Design & Operations TRUE NORTH©: Strategic Partnership & Growth Explorers Innovation Directory: Gateway to Innovation Sustainability Simplified©: Supply Chain & Innovation Market Research Reports & Benchmarking 4xi is proud to be Chair of WORKTECH Academy for North America and a member of its Leadership Advisory Board. 4xi is a Global Ambassador for WORKTECH Academy. San Francisco | New York | Orlando | North Carolina | Seattle | Silicon Valley | Santiago | London | Tokyo

There are many ways to keep a brand sparkling, to engage with customers and clients but one of the gentlest yet most effective of forms is the humble Blog. Blogs when written with the cadence and tempo of a story enables businesses to share value and expertise to their audiences. Blogs can show current and potential customers who they are; what they do; why what they do is important and more importantly how they can bring value to their customer base. Blogs make a company appear more professional by showing leadership within an industry. Build trust with the audience is the modus operandi of the Blog. Blogs in their infancy are short reads, bite sized chunks of information that are easy to digest, bring a smile or thought or at times just a relaxing break from a busy day. This is where the ‘story’ can be of general interest and guide the reader as did the yellow brick road, to Oz. A gentle amble encountering new and perhaps fascinating characters on route but not stepping in the waters that are marketing copy. These blogs are two to four minute reads, interesting, useful with no pressure nor demand on the sales engine living just beneath the surface. Blogs often by their very nature evolve into articles, or better defined as the home of the wisdom keepers, insights, and points of view. It is here where the story becomes stronger, more robust and joins the ranks of the leaders not just the story tellers. Longer reads upwards of five to seven minutes are filled with more facts, guidance, options, and values. It is here, through the written word, we see why a particular company, product or service could solve a problem or be a solution. It is only in their latter stages the humble Blog morphs into strength and becomes more serious. It is here that the intensity, complexity, and depth appear across the page. More focused and more akin to white papers in nature, they are the instruments that take a company into the industry leader category. It is here where the leader carries the vision; the wisdom has grown into presence and your name, your brand, and your product because synonymous with quality, professionalism, and value. All three levels of Blogs are required as this is never a one and done. We are storytellers you and me. We love to tell and read them and while we are now adults, the little child inside each of us likes to hear the story ‘again’. To understand the options, let’s look at some examples of the 5 of the most common types of blogs. Personal: talk about the team; the talent; the company or individuals. Personal Brand: a personal blog or voice of a CEO/Leader. Business: the story of your brand, your company, your products, and services. Affiliate: stories of your suppliers, raw materials, partners. Niche: a specialty story about some rather ‘nerdy’ part of your product or service. Each of these blog types of serves a purpose, fulfills a need to bring your brand to life. To have a reputation of a great storyteller means garnering more posts, re-posts, and shares. To be the one that people both enjoy and begin to look forward to sets the stage for awareness growing into presence and into dominant leadership status. Flogging a product is not a method that works but blogging a product does. There is a technique writing easily, lightly, informatively but without the weight of a sale, a promotion or a preacher’s verse. Blogs are the perfect sweet spot between marketing/sales copy and storytelling. Let’s us tell YOUR story through the scenic and enjoyable path of the Blog! ABOUT THE AUTHOR: DINA O'REILLY Dina is 4xi's growth lead, project management office and ghostwriter in residence all in one. To learn more about 4xi, you can contact Dina directly at dina@4xiconsulting.com or visit our website to learn more about who we are, what we do, and how we inspire a brighter future, together: www.4xiconsulting.com 4xi Global Consulting & Solutions is a team of talented leaders from both the client-side and service provider side, impacting the Human Experience (HX) for people at work, in education, rest, and at leisure. We believe in a people-first, experience-led philosophy. Whether client, employee, or guest – their experience is the fundamental foundation of success. We work with corporations, service providers, and innovators: Strategic Advisory & Special Projects (SPx) Headquarters Fractional Support On-Demand Evolving Experiences© - Employee (EX) & Customer Experience (CX) Design4Life©: Environmental, Physical, and Experiential Design Global Amenities Strategy, Design & Operations TRUE NORTH©: Strategic Partnership & Growth Explorers Innovation Directory: Gateway to Innovation Sustainability Simplified©: Supply Chain & Innovation Market Research Reports & Benchmarking 4xi is proud to be Chair of WORKTECH Academy for North America and a member of its Leadership Advisory Board. 4xi is a Global Ambassador for WORKTECH Academy. San Francisco | New York | Philadelphia | Orlando | North Carolina | Seattle | Silicon Valley | Santiago | London | Tokyo

The notion of being self-taught is nothing new. Learning without guidance and teachers has long been the world of the curious and inventive minds. The likes of Benjamin Franklin, one of our founding fathers, Mark Twain or Albert Einstein come to mind. Intelligence and independence become one as the curious minds so flexible they can navigate the new without instruction and better still turn that learning into creative and wondrous thoughts and inventions. AUTODIDACTIC: Adjective [ɑː.t̬oʊ.daɪˈdæk.t̬ɪk] Relating to someone learning by themselves, rather than being taught by a teacher. SAGACIOUS: Adjective [səˈɡāSHəs] Having or showing keen mental discernment and good judgment; shrewd. The constraint of traditional learning is housed in the very ease by which material is shared; structure, form, and lessons – one bit at a time is digested, and eventually those bits become lumps and lumps turn into cumulative learning. But?? Is this the best way to learn? We, as humans, need to learn and we need to absorb that learning in different ways. From visual learners to auditory, or those that ‘feel’ their way, we sure are a muddle of styles, types, and models. But one cornerstone exists amongst it all - that of self-learning by virtue of curiosity. One cornerstone exists amongst it all - that of self-learning by virtue of curiosity. Business is no different in so many ways. We open our doors and promote our wares. We navigate sales and marketing, international markets, introduce new products, services, or platforms. Yet throughout this journey of steps we are learning, adjusting, growing, improving and in short becoming our own teachers and guides. Business is both genius for its creativity and sagacious in its relentless pursuit of success. It is in our nature to explore and to learn You only have to watch a toddler play endlessly as they investigate, build, and then destroy their creations to figure things out that self-learning is inherent in our DNA. We too, learn more effectively and I would argue more ‘usefully’ when we learn alone. The art of discernment for many is a gift that we yearn for. The ability to distinguish good from bad; useful versus frivolous; effective versus a fools’ errand are talents many of us would love to have in spades. Time is precious and the older we get, the more we realize this finite fact. Choosing wisely therefore, to leverage the time we each have available to us becomes very important. Sagacity it seems encompasses the art of discernment and is both the way we choose to learn but in fact can be developed by the way we learn! The art of discernment and is both the way we choose to learn but in fact can be developed by the way we learn! Corporations and business are no different save that autodidactic learning is on a grander more complex platform. Companies learn by experiencing, processing, and sharing their experiences one unto another. Self-reflection in the form of blue sky and planning sessions; studying quietly via industry trends, reports and analyses give rise to knowing. Perception and judgement allow us to engage with new content in novel and may I say, uniquely personal ways when a teacher or guide is absent. The brain is free to create neural pathways to creativity that are unfettered by translation through lessons, structure, and formalized learning. When we learn something new at the helm of an expert, we may see the wider or perhaps all-encompassing ways in which the subject matter may be useful, but the boundaries are set and limitations by the sheer form around the steps taken to delivering the subject matter prohibit expansion of thought. Autodidactic learning is all your own. Do you want to gain discernment? Do you want to expand your horizons without limits, then consider self-learning! Why is autodidactic important? Simple, the ‘how’ we learn bleeds into ‘how’ we solve problems; ‘how’ we create solutions; ‘how’ we engage with life, people teams and change! Yup, CHANGE! that ever-pervasive word that seems to be our best buddy at the moment. How we adapt to change hinges on our ability to discern information; the neural pathways that let us understand using investigative, exploratory, and maybe just plain ole’ ruminations that create all of us to a new world, a new path and to new ways to lead those around us into a new world! Autodidactic is not just for geniuses but for we the people who are looking to make a difference at a time when we need to! Choose something unusual – choose a subject that leaves you puzzled and delve into it with passion knowing that your brain knows ‘di-exactly’ what to do! Business is not just genius it is wonderfully sagacious too! ABOUT THE AUTHOR: DINA O'REILLY Dina is 4xi's growth lead, project management office and ghostwriter in residence all in one. To learn more about 4xi, you can contact Dina directly at dina@4xiconsulting.com or visit our website to learn more about who we are, what we do, and how we inspire a brighter future, together: www.4xiconsulting.com 4xi Global Consulting & Solutions is a team of talented leaders from both the client-side and service provider side, impacting the Human Experience (HX) for people at work, in education, rest, and at leisure. We believe in a people-first, experience-led philosophy. Whether client, employee, or guest – their experience is the fundamental foundation of success. We work with corporations, service providers, and innovators: Strategic Advisory & Special Projects (SPx) Headquarters Fractional Support On-Demand Evolving Experiences© - Employee (EX) & Customer Experience (CX) Design4Life©: Environmental, Physical, and Experiential Design Global Amenities Strategy, Design & Operations TRUE NORTH©: Strategic Partnership & Growth Explorers Innovation Directory: Gateway to Innovation Sustainability Simplified©: Supply Chain & Innovation Market Research Reports & Benchmarking 4xi is proud to be Chair of WORKTECH Academy for North America and a member of its Leadership Advisory Board. 4xi is a Global Ambassador for WORKTECH Academy. San Francisco | New York | Philadelphia | Orlando | North Carolina | Seattle | Silicon Valley | Santiago | London | Tokyo

CRITERION: Membership Based Survey and Insights Platform At 4xi, we understand the importance of insights. What our peers are experiencing, how they're tackling the issues of the day, what are the topics that are in the spotlight. CRITERION is an exclusive online membership for workplace experience leaders - with access to peer-to-peer insights on various site services. CRITERION provides real-time answers to the often-asked question – how do we compare to others? CRITERION gives you access to insights both inside and outside your network and eliminates the time and effort devoted to gathering answers through limited calls and emails. CRITERION Members agree to participate in the monthly anonymous survey covering relevant workplace topics. Our reporting methodology ensures confidentiality while providing an in-depth actionable report in aggregated format. CRITERION also offers a combination of public and private polls only accessible to members in our password protected membership area. The possibilities and use cases are endless, but here are just some examples: Return to Work Strategies Post COVID Best Practices Amenities Strategies Foodservice Insights Breakrooms & Pantries Policies & Procedures Investments & Subsidies Sustainability & ESG Health & Wellness Key Performance Indicators Technology & Innovation STAY INFORMED AND IN TOUCH WITH HOW YOUR PEERS ARE TACKLING THE ISSUES OF THE DAY. Member Benefits: Access to our Private Member Only Portal Invitation to join our CRITERION LinkedIn Group Complete 1X Monthly Survey and Aggregated Report Regular Pop-up Polls (Public & Private) Quarterly Virtual Briefing Annual Report Ability to commissions additional questions There are three membership options for you to choose from (each are a 12-month commitment): Paid Annually: $199.00 per month Paid Bi-Annually: $249.00 per month Paid Monthly: $299.00 per month FOR OUR LAUNCH, AND FOR OUR FIRST 40 FOUNDING MEMBERS, WE'RE OFFERING A 50% DISCOUNT ON MEMBERSHIPS. JOIN NOW (and use the Discount Code: FOUNDINGMEMBER) or contact us to learn more at: hello@4xiconsulting.com 4xi Global Consulting & Solutions is a team of talented leaders from both the client-side and service provider side, impacting the Human Experience (HX) for people at work, in education, rest, and at leisure. We believe in a people-first, experience-led philosophy. Whether client, employee, or guest – their experience is the fundamental foundation of success. We work with corporations, service providers, and innovators: Strategic Advisory & Special Projects (SPx) Headquarters Fractional Support On-Demand Evolving Experiences© - Employee (EX) & Customer Experience (CX) Design4Life©: Environmental, Physical, and Experiential Design Global Amenities Strategy, Design & Operations TRUE NORTH©: Strategic Partnership & Growth Explorers Innovation Directory: Gateway to Innovation Sustainability Simplified©: Supply Chain & Innovation Market Research Reports & Benchmarking 4xi is proud to be Chair of WORKTECH Academy for North America and a member of its Leadership Advisory Board. 4xi is a Global Ambassador for WORKTECH Academy. San Francisco | New York | Philadelphia | Orlando | North Carolina | Seattle | Silicon Valley | Santiago | London | Tokyo

In its simplest form, a fractal is a never-ending pattern. Fractals are infinitely complex patterns yet constantly self-similar across different scales; think snowflakes, tree branches, lightning, ferns, even agave plants. Occasionally referred to as images of Chaos, fractals are driven by recursion or simply put, defining a problem in terms of itself. Fractal patterns are extremely familiar to us as nature is full of fractals including rivers, coastlines, mountains, clouds, seashells, hurricanes, and, in the case of computer systems, generated by calculating an equation over and over on itself– famous now as the Mandelbrot Set discovered by Benoit Mandelbrot in 1975. So how does complex mathematics drive business, corporations, or success? In a world that has changed significantly in the past few years; where staff is more difficult to find; expertise and experience are less likely to stay within the confines of a traditional business model, the notion of a fractal business structure is appealing. With a past that included silos and departments knitted together with communication protocols and hierarchal leadership, business today is being viewed as a system rather than simply the sum of its functions. We are in essence then systems nested inside larger systems. Consider how your organization meshes with your supply chain partners, clients, software platforms, communities, and even the wider environment. This fractal or “systems” approach has a positive impact on business structure and improves business performance both internally and externally. The fractal business model allows members of the company to take a practical approach to refine the flow of the external systems that affect their business operations. Interesting to note that one of the keys to this framework is the lack of conventional supervisory, management, and administrative roles that typically comprise between 35 to 50% of the labor costs of an organization. What is the fractal advantage to your business? The fractal approach generates more conversations, interactions, and connections. These conversations and interactions generate insights and innovation which are needed to create better solutions for your customer’s needs. If we look at conversations and their importance in building relationships, creating trust, and building understanding and appreciation, then just generating more discussions and friendships must improve revenue, reputation, and sales and ignite creativity. More importantly, growing your business, and adjusting what you sell, service, or provide is driven by customer needs and wants. The deeper that knowledge, the nimbler the change can be from within. The fractal approach generates more conversations, interactions, and connections. The how to achieve this fractal model is simpler than it seems. The fractal business model creates a company, out of smaller companies; each smaller company is also made from smaller companies, and so the pattern continues. What is in common with all these companies is they are all subject to the same rules and constraints. So, no boundaries, segmentation, privileges, posturing, or self-importance allowed! An older example would have been when a large corporation gave license to a group of experts to ‘hot-house’ a new idea, product, or tool and in so doing gave them FULL reign to do what they needed to get the job done yet within the construct and support of the mother ship – the corporation. This new group or cell is in fact a ‘virtual’ company’ within the ‘cloak of a lawful company; all the rules that apply to the legal company also apply to a ‘virtual company’. If every cell (virtual company) complies with all the contractual, regulatory, and statutory requirements that constrain the statutory company then, by definition, the statutory company is fully compliant with all requirements. Where a traditional business is built from the top, a fractal business is built from the bottom. This is important as ownership for success rests with everyone; accountability lies with all members of each cell; competition or combativeness cannot exist where each cell is not only fully compliant but also fully committed to the success of the cell, they are in which in turn is simply a cell within a cell – a fractal! Traditional business is built from the top, a fractal business is built from the bottom. Fractals are fascinating in nature and quite captivating – let the fractals that nature has perfected be your guide in business too! ABOUT THE AUTHOR: DINA O'REILLY Dina is 4xi's growth lead, project management office and ghostwriter in residence all in one. To learn more about 4xi, you can contact Dina directly at dina@4xiconsulting.com or visit our website to learn more about who we are, what we do, and how we inspire a brighter future, together: www.4xiconsulting.com 4xi Global Consulting & Solutions is a team of talented leaders from both the client-side and service provider side, impacting the Human Experience (HX) for people at work, in education, rest, and at leisure. We believe in a people-first, experience-led philosophy. Whether client, employee, or guest – their experience is the fundamental foundation of success. We work with corporations, service providers, and innovators: Strategic Advisory & Special Projects (SPx) Headquarters Fractional Support On-Demand Evolving Experiences© - Employee (EX) & Customer Experience (CX) Design4Life©: Environmental, Physical, and Experiential Design Global Amenities Strategy, Design & Operations TRUE NORTH©: Strategic Partnership & Growth Explorers Innovation Directory: Gateway to Innovation Sustainability Simplified©: Supply Chain & Innovation Market Research Reports & Benchmarking 4xi is proud to be Chair of WORKTECH Academy for North America and a member of its Leadership Advisory Board. 4xi is a Global Ambassador for WORKTECH Academy. San Francisco | New York | Philadelphia | Orlando | North Carolina | Seattle | Silicon Valley | Santiago | London | Tokyo

Whether you put a lot of stock into the Gallup Q12 or not, it’s undeniable that the Gallup Q12 and the other reputable employee engagement surveys highlight the critical needs of your employees. For reference, here are the 12 questions that make up the well-researched Gallup Q12 engagement survey: Do you know what is expected of you at work? Do you have the materials and equipment to do your work right? At work, do you have the opportunity to do what you do best every day? In the last seven days, have you received recognition or praise for doing good work? Does your supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about you as a person? Is there someone at work who encourages your development? At work, do your opinions seem to count? Does the mission/purpose of your company make you feel your job is important? Are your associates (fellow employees) committed to doing quality work? Do you have a best friend at work? In the last six months, has someone at work talked to you about your progress? In the last year, have you had opportunities to learn and grow? As you review those key questions, what stands out? As I reflected on them, I noticed two important things that struck me to the core: 1) How deeply relational most of the questions are. In fact, I would submit to you that questions 4-12 are all require authentic, trusted relationships to foster a positive answer to any of them. 2) How impossible it feels to “operationalize” meeting these 12, critical employee needs consistently and at scale for distributed frontline associates in most businesses. So what? Do we throw up our hands into the air and give up? Or is there an actual way to meet those employee needs, building the sort of authentic, trusted relationship foundation required? Great news, friend. There’s a way. Throughout my research and time spent working with hundreds of frontline organizations over many years, I’ve summarized the content of the Gallup Q12 and other engagement tools into five major themes. We will explore these five themes in coming weeks and months together in future blogs, and if you put them into action to create a more engaged and retained workforce, I believe that you will see incredible results in your organization. These five themes are visible in the image below, and each theme has four key conversations or “points” to explore with your frontline associates over the course of five weeks. You might be quick with your math and see that this equals 20 key conversations to have…daunting! When would you have these conversations? What questions would you ask? How long will it take? What outcomes would you be seeking? I think you’ll find, as we explore these themes in the forthcoming posts, that it all comes down to empowering your location managers to lead these transformational conversations with your frontline employees within the context of their existing daily team huddles or “pre-service” meetings. As your managers briefly discuss each one of these themes with your associates, you will improve engagement, unlock discretionary effort, build trust, cultivate stronger relationships, and ultimately improve retention and your business results. And isn’t that what we all want and need in the industry right now? A while back, I wrote a blog about the importance of ensuring that your associates understand, fully embrace, and support the purpose of your business, and three practical steps you should consider in defining, communicating, and reinforcing that purpose. If you haven’t read that blog yet, do so here. It’s actually the first sub-point of the first theme of “Purpose” that you can explore with your frontline teams. A key component missing from that post were the questions to ask as you engage your frontline associates in the pursuit of helping them understand your company purpose. So, I wanted to provide you a one-pager (below) to help spur on your great discussions. To be clear, you don’t need to ask every question here. The point is to unlock authentic, transformational, relationship-building conversation between managers and their teams, and teammates and their peers. As you reflect on the highly relational elements of the Gallup Q12 and other engagement surveys, you will see the supreme relevance of having this sort of dialogue. It’s not just about the questions or the answers…it’s about the process. Simply having the conversation (and it going “well”) can lead to a positive impact in work environment all by itself. If you find this valuable and want to learn more, please check back for future blog posts, or, if you want to “fast forward”, reach out to me at joel@unisyn.io and I’ll send you every leadership guide for free in a snazzy to start making great impacts to your frontline team culture right away. Also, if you’d like to learn how a proven combination of technology enablement and world-class team huddles can transform your service business and provide you key behavioral and employee sentiment insights, I’d love to speak with you and your leadership team about the transformational things Unisyn can do for your organization. Or, if you just want to shoot the breeze and maybe get some more good ideas to set you on your way, I’m happy to do that any time as well. Good luck out there. I’ll talk to you soon in the next post, which will be all about sharing your own, personal purpose with your associates to build depth and trust with them. Joel Onyshuk Co-founder Unisyn: Your Best Team Everywhere Unisyn, Inc., the Service Industry solution to unlocking frontline leadership consistency and frontline associate engagement, received the award for "Most Innovative or Forward-Thinking Product/Service" from SHFM. Judges were a panel of operators as well as conference attendees who voted on a number of innovations and solutions, including those promoted by PepsiCo, Coca-Cola North America, Ecolab, Impossible Foods, Keurig Dr. Pepper, Panasonic, Red Bull North America, and many other household names. Based in Tampa, FL., Unisyn's mission is to "Put your best team everywhere" by empowering your frontline teams to bring your mission to life everywhere and every day. According to Gallup, 70% of the variance in team engagement is determined solely by the manager, and Unisyn is the first and only solution to address this unique, global challenge for Service Industry companies with distributed teams. Explorers Innovation Directory At 4xi, we've built our Explorers Innovation Directory of carefully curated Innovation Partners, all driving positive impact in the Away from Home market: workplace, education, healthcare, senior living, and leisure. 4xi Global Consulting & Solutions is a team of talented leaders from both the client-side and service provider side, impacting the Human Experience (HX) for people at work, in education, rest, and at leisure. We believe in a people-first, experience-led philosophy. Whether client, employee, or guest – their experience is the fundamental foundation of success. We work with corporations, service providers, and innovators: Strategic Advisory & Special Projects (SPx) Headquarters Fractional Support On-Demand Evolving Experiences© - Employee (EX) & Customer Experience (CX) Design4Life©: Environmental, Physical, and Experiential Design Global Amenities Strategy, Design & Operations TRUE NORTH©: Strategic Partnership & Growth Explorers Innovation Directory: Gateway to Innovation Sustainability Simplified©: Supply Chain & Innovation Market Research Reports & Benchmarking 4xi is proud to be Chair of WORKTECH Academy for North America and a member of its Leadership Advisory Board. 4xi is a Global Ambassador for WORKTECH Academy. San Francisco | New York | Orlando | North Carolina | Seattle | Silicon Valley | Santiago | London | Tokyo

Fog or heavy mist can turn any vista into a haunting, mystical, and slightly unnerving occasion. Nothing can beat standing on the Golden Gate Bridge in the wee hours of the morning with the marine layer underneath you, the sky above casting a soft lavender, peach glow in the sunrise with this majestic bridge seemingly floating in midair. There is many an image out on the internet caught by a devoted photographer that brings life to this scene. I was most fortunate to experience it in person. No matter how well we think we know our environment, we do not. Unable to see clearly, we become noticeably more cautious as our memory no longer serves us. We are not sure precisely where anything is anymore, and we run the risk of accident, misstep or heaven forbid unable to find our way home. Our ability to gauge distance, judge the shapes and forms moving within the fog becomes hampered by these new conditions. Accessing our new surroundings in meaningful ways means narrowing our eyes to see shadows and forms that might guide us in hopes we can outwit these nebulous conditions. Stepping, driving, or moving carefully forward; more vigilant and prudent as we try against the odds to make decisions on what to do. It is here we find ourselves wrestling the power of the fog into submission. Unnerving yes! Unsure how long it will last – for sure! Seeing it as an opportunity? Not so much…. How many times have businesses, organizations and groups found themselves in a fog? How many times have we wondered how we got there; what do we have to do; how much harder must we work, focus, muster resources to slip out of the grip of the invisibility cloak surrounding our world? We may, at times quietly resort to a bit of panic and confusion as the tools we use to live our lives do not fit this murky, unseen cloud that blots out our view and removes are steady guideposts and markers. Yet, it would seem the very cloud of confusion provides an opportunity to stop, slow down, turn inwards for guidance and become more circumspect. Organizations spend money on retreats and experiences that remove themselves from the known and familiar to drive opportunity for new, innovative, and creative ideas, plans and strategies. The goal of these extractions is to change the scenery to allow something else to grow; to get away from same old same old. When we are in the LIGHT we don’t panic, we function well even if a bit predictably, but when the light changes or the views dim, we feel angst, uncertainty, and fear. It is here in the intersection of confusion, fog, and missing markers that we can step back and allow the vision to come into view and take shape a different way. The opportunity to look at the fog and the unseen and see possibility and options is one not to be missed. Meditation is one of the ways many choose to ‘blot’ out light and spend time in the blackness both for calm but also for wisdom. Meditation for business takes on a different shape. Instead of finding our seat, a business assembles the team; instead of closing our eyes, we reach for the writing instruments; instead of silence we share stories, ideas, with no objective in mind save the gratitude of simply being together and allowing the fog to be the interlude in the life of the organization. There is a tremendous value for organizations to take stock in times when fog, uncertainty and challenges arise, as inspiration can often flourish against this backdrop. Taking the time to document, white board or vision board what has been achieved to date is a great taking stock moment; remembering the how, the what, the where and when allows a map to materialize that can become a next step guide. Martin Luther King’s quote ‘You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step’ is a perfect analogy to finding yourself or your organization in a fog; not being able to see the whole staircase yet taking the time to step back and choosing one sure footed step forward. The Shedding of Light brings about Fog, yet it is in the fog that the light hides until the sun warms up the moisture allowing it to clear resulting in such beautiful bright, sunny day. Fog is a gift of circumspection and foresightedness, so, if you, your business, or your organization finds yourself in a fog, take advantage of it. Slow down, ponder, reflect, and document. One sure foot slowly put forth from these deep reflections will bring innovation, growth and if nothing else a notch on your belt called ‘resilience’. Grab a jacket, the fog can be chilly but oh so exciting. Dina O'Reilly is 4xi's Strategic Partnership & Growth lead; she is also our Project Management Office lead and Ghostwriter in Residence, providing BLOGS+ services to clients. To learn more, contact Dina at dina@4xiconsulting.com 4xi Global Consulting & Solutions is a team of talented leaders from both the client-side and service provider side, impacting the Human Experience (HX) for people at work, in education, rest, and at leisure. We believe in a people-first, experience-led philosophy. Whether client, employee, or guest – their experience is the fundamental foundation of success. We work with corporations, service providers, and innovators: Strategic Advisory & Special Projects (SPx) Headquarters Fractional Support On-Demand Evolving Experiences©: Employee (EX) & Customer Experience (CX) Design4Life©: Environmental, Physical, and Experiential Design Global Amenities Strategy: Design & Operations TRUE NORTH©: Strategic Partnership & Growth Explorers Innovation Directory: Gateway to Innovation Sustainability Simplified©: Supply Chain & Innovation Market Research Reports & Benchmarking DATAxi: Data Ingestion & Visualization Platform 4xi is proud to be Chair of WORKTECH Academy for North America and a member of its Leadership Advisory Board. 4xi is a Global Ambassador for WORKTECH Academy. San Francisco | New York | Philadelphia | Orlando | North Carolina | Seattle | Silicon Valley | Santiago | London | Lisbon | Tokyo

When it comes to driving success in the coming decade, Employee and Customer Experience will take center stage. But what drives those pillars? What foundationally mobilizes a team to deliver? It is about motivation, enablement, and recognition – foundational elements of building a community where everyone knows what is going on and feels connected to one another. Now is the time to double down on employee enablement and empowerment – through training, coaching, and development. Throughout the pandemic, most organizations skinnied back their training and development groups – a decision that seemed fiscally prudent while remaining strategically short sighted. That said, we are seeing a marketplace that is continuing to explore how they will train their teams into the future. I have been a professional speaker and trainer for 15 years and I have easily had over 50,000 in my audiences over the years. I have spoken to executives, front line retail employees, housekeepers, cooks, sports teams, travel professionals, universities, hoteliers, and even the federal government. I learned through practical application what works with audiences and what doesn’t – and I have transformed my style over the past 3 years based on the global pandemic and the flex from in-person to virtual to hybrid and then back to in-person events. I share this because if you are a speaker, trainer, or employee development professional reading this I want you to know that I’ve been where you are now, and I understand the demands you face. Everyone wants bite-size learning that is easy to understand, interactive, engaging, fun, highly educational, results driven, and delivered in no more than a 20 minute session. Here a 6 ways you can improve your employee coaching and development this year: 1. Think Coaching and Teaching Versus Training Training has this stigma of boring, check-the-box, mandatory classroom activities. Well executed training has the ability to motivate, inspire, teach, and impart skills. To achieve long-term success and retention with training, it must go beyond just sharing information. Those who take to the stage to train must embrace the spirit of teaching and sharing information. They must take pride in helping those in their classes or sessions learn something new and improve their skills. They must understand that there is much to be done following the sessions. If there is no post training follow up, and the teams never hear about what they learned from their leaders, then it will slowly fade from their memories. That is where coaching comes in. Leaders must coach teams in the moment to use the new skills they have acquired and challenge them to move from novice to mastery. As a trainer, creating job aids to supplement video or live training will help leaders keep information relevant and consistent, as well as hold their teams accountable. Examples of storytelling content from 4xis TRUE NORTH© Learning Academy. 2. The Content Must Be Relevant and Engaging Yes, we are going to talk about story telling now. Think back to a lackluster training session you had during your career – painful, wasn’t it? There is an obligation that a speaker has with his or her audience to not only share content that is relatable and digestible, but interesting as well. That means crafting personal stories that connects back to your content in a way that engages your audience’s emotional centers, while also being relevant to the matter at hand. It also means being prepared for your sessions by honing your presentation, knowing your content, and bringing a certain level of panache and showmanship. Also remember, your training isn’t a sermon, it’s a conversation. Sure, you have to share information, but don’t forget to let your audience interact through questions and activities about every 20 minutes. And before you lament that you deliver the same training session over and over again, remember: Celine Dion, Elton John, and Barry Manilow had Las Vegas residencies that lasted over 1,700 days (for the most part executing the same show) and received rave reviews up to the last performance. 3. The Power of Fractional Work I may be a bit biased here, as on-demand training is a big part of my role. Even when I was leading CX for large organizations, I saw the value here. Your organization doesn’t necessarily need the same number of resources for training every day, week, or month. This means you need a couple of strategies in play to meet the demand. First, you need a team of professional trainers who are available to deliver content and train others to do the same. Second, you need those you can call upon to help within the organization when there is a need (think champions or train-the-trainer models). These are usually high-performing operations personnel who have a knack for communication. Finally, you need an exterior partner you can call on when things really kick up. When I was running corporate training departments, that often meant having contractors that I could call in for a daily rate as needed or even partnering with a consulting company who had a stable of professional trainers that I could use on demand. This is, of course, contingent on finding the right support you can count on for long term, fractional work. 4. Shorter Sessions and Content, More Often We can’t ignore the changing attention spans of learners, which is why Tik Tok and YouTube Shorts have become so very popular. That means a shift in how training is delivered to teams. It used to be commonplace to sit teams down for hours or days of training at a time, but that model has changed, particularly for front line teams and those who have active work routines. There is still a place for longer sessions and workshops, especially if you are breaking up content delivery with activities and interactions throughout the session. But the 20-minute training session and the 2-minute video are the sweet spot for engagement and retention, so take advantage of those numbers. Those in restaurants have valued the 10-minute pre-service huddle for decades, understanding that micro training can be powerful. That is also your answer to shrinking training budgets; you may not have funding for an hour of training, but what can you accomplish with the cumulative effect of 5 minutes of micro training per day? 5. Virtual Reality Training Continues to Evolve The advances in the Metaverse and more affordable technology such as the Oculus headset make Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) a potentially powerful club in the bag of a training organization. When you think about the ability to simulate surgery for a medical professional, repairing a car for a mechanic, customer interactions for a front line employee, or even preparing a dish for a cook, it becomes a low risk, low cost way to start the learning journey for on-the-job training moments. Even if true VR is too costly (and in some cases the software development can top $10,000), AR can be a cost-effective solution. Superimposing virtual elements into the real world via a smart phone or tablet can also aid in learning. Think about virtual labels outlining how to use a piece of equipment or scanning a QR code to learn more about a particular job task? 94% of employees say that they would stay at a company longer if there is investment in their learning and development. 6. Curate On-Demand Content Self-paced learning is very attractive to learners and online learning brings scale for large and dispersed organizations. The answer between live, in person, and LMS based training is not an either/or proposition – both are a necessary part of a learning strategy. Being able to access training on their schedule and perhaps even in asynchronous ways creates a sense of freedom that appeals to employees. Think about how you can house your content in a way that allows for easy access and accountability, while giving learners the freedom to use on their terms. This also means cataloging the content in a way that is easy to find, which allows employees to find the content they want as well as revisit topics on which they need a refresher. As a part of curating this content, engage the employee base to understand how they want to learn and what would bring the most value for them. Here is one bonus thought to consider around learning styles – don’t’ be held hostage by those who say they learn better one way or another (or need reports created in one way or another). To be sure, a blend of audio, visual, and kinesthetic learning is definitely more interesting and makes everyone feel more included, but our brains are capable of processing information in many different ways. We all have preferred styles, but that doesn’t mean we can’t learn in other ways. It is also important that learning and development professionals set coherent expectations. As mentioned in the opening, everyone wants a one-page comprehensive guide to a topic that can be read and digested in 60 seconds. Remember, it is okay for something to take 5 minutes to read or watch. It is okay to ask teams to read an email more than 2 lines long. And it is okay to create content that is longer than a Tik Tok video. That isn’t to say that you should write pages and pages of content to digest at one time or create videos that drone on for 20 minutes, but if a topic takes more than 2 minutes every now and again, that’s okay – a three-minute video isn’t the end of the world. You could also create a series of shorter videos, such as they do on LinkedIn Learning, to dive deeper into a topic. 2023 will be the year of development – as employees at all levels of the organization are looking for skills to make them better, faster, and more valuable to organizations. In some cases, you will spend money on training employees only to have them port those skills to other organizations – that is a part of the game. Better to have that problem that an undertrained workforce you can’t get rid of. Ultimately, growing a reputation as an organization that trains, develops, coaches, and upskills employees will create a buzz out there that will attract the best talent to your organization. Check out 4xi's Evolving Experiences© and learn how we can help you and your business. Tony Johnson is 4xi’s Chief Experience Officer and leader of the Evolving Experiences© practice. Before joining 4xi, he was the Customer Service Officer for Aramark, a global food and facilities organization. Tony is a Certified Customer Experience Professional (CCXP), award-winning speaker, and globally recognized employee and customer experience expert. Tony is the author of 3 books on leadership, employee engagement, and customer experience and hosts an industry-leading weekly podcast, Customer Service Academy. 4xi: Inspiring a brighter future, together. 4xi Global Consulting & Solutions is a team of talented leaders from both the client-side and service provider side, creating an impact on the Human Experience (HX) for people at work, in education, rest, and at leisure. We believe in a people-first, experience-led philosophy; whether client, employee, or guest – their experience is the fundamental foundation of success. We work with corporations, service providers, and innovators: Strategic Advisory & Special Projects (SPx) Headquarters Fractional Support On-Demand Evolving Experiences© - Employee (EX) & Customer Experience (CX) Design4Life©: Environmental, Physical, and Experiential Design Global Amenities Strategy, Design & Operations TRUE NORTH©: Strategic Partnership & Growth Explorers Innovation Directory: Gateway to Innovation Sustainability Simplified©: Supply Chain & Innovation Market Research Reports & Benchmarking 4xi is proud to be Chair of WORKTECH Academy for North America and a member of its Leadership Advisory Board. 4xi is a Global Ambassador for WORKTECH Academy. San Francisco | New York | Orlando | North Carolina | Philadelphia | Seattle | Silicon Valley | Dallas | Santiago | London | Tokyo

As we head into the holidays and look towards 2023, our thoughts and good wishes are with our colleagues, our team, our friends, and our clients - thank you for a wonderful year, and to many more to come. This time of year is one for reflection, and we think about all those in the world who are less fortunate - the sick, the homeless, the starving, the lonely. We also think about the brave men and women who are on duty - in our hospitals, keeping our streets safe, and those around the world who are upholding the freedoms that our parents and grandparents gave up so much for. We think about those who have lost loved ones. We think about the people in conflict. We think about those brave people in Ukraine standing up to the tyranny of an illegal and senseless war. We think about all people - we are all brothers and sisters, no matter who, where they come from, or where they are. We live in eternal hope, and this is our Christmas Wish: for Peace and Goodwill to All Humankind. From all of us to all of you - Have a very Happy Holidays. Simon, Barbara, and all the team at 4xi.

Any school child will happily share their biology lesson with you on how plants magically appear from little seeds into green shoots with water, soil, sun, and love. Long the windowsills of many a classroom lies the loving efforts of classroom children excitedly watching their little seeds poking through the soil towards the light. Complex chemical reactions are taking place that only those with advanced learning in botany and biology truly understand, yet in its simplest form it is just the evolution of how to engage with source, the environment, and locally available resources. In short, how to take what is around you and turn it into life – into creation. Within the chloroplasts of a plant cell, photosynthesis occurs in two main phases: light-dependent and light-independent reactions. Within plant cells, chloroplasts are specialized organelles that serve as the sites of photosynthesis. Sounds complex, but simply put, the little seed has parts that know how to take advantage of their surroundings, work with the collective and grow as they are designed to. These specialized organelles are much like organs in our body. Each has a duty to perform to keep the ‘whole’ in working order. Wouldn’t it be cool if we had little sites that could help us to grow and evolve – to move from dependent into independent? Well, we kinda do and don’t! We go from baby hood to youth to adulthood and there, as adults we stay. The growing, evolving, flourishing, or perhaps stagnating are stages, that we, the grown adults, do not necessarily go through as we do not come with a pre-set bundle of chemicals inside our organelles to guide us. We need environmental stimuli to trigger our adult organelles into action. This one fundamental difference is also one of our greatest gifts. In business, much like a garden, we are a wonderful collection of types, talents, and skills. Learning to grow and evolve from dependency to independency is the secret to a garden not just a single potted plant. Organizations are made up of people and so it would seem, like the plants around us we too need to be reminded that the ongoing dance between dependent and independent needs to be nurtured and measured. When I think of dependent teams and independent teams, I see an evolution of function into form or conversely the opposite, form into function. Processes, policies, and protocols drive dependency with outcomes becoming predictable, a prerequisite for success in many organizations. However, without vision, innovation, the flourishing of new ideas drains the coffers and market share leaving the hard-working dependents to become obsolete. We need both. We need independent thinkers and creators – we need those specialized organelles to blue sky ideas as without them we flounder in the vicissitudes of life. Our evolution is not stagnant but the ways in which we grow depends on our conversion from potential energy into kinetic or from light into sustenance. Plant science encompasses 'Botany' from the Greek word βοτάνη (botanē) meaning pasture or fodder, yet also involves keen observation of plant growth and characteristics plus the ongoing investigation into the relationship between plants and their environment. Notice the key word here! Relationship. It is in in the vein of relationship that the fine balance between roles, collaboration, dependents, and independents that true growth occurs. Relationship is how the value proposition is shared, for without it, creation falls short. The story of photosynthesis is in essence all about transition; it is about leveraging resources; it is about collaboration and unique skills being used to create a ‘whole’ plant. While the complexities of chemistry are the realm of the plant world, the complexities of ‘interactions and relationship’ are the domain of the human world. We must interact well to grow, flourish, profit and contribute to the collective. Organizations, people, and leadership have a lot in common with the humble seedling undergoing photosynthesis. In a sense the seedling is where the light and dark meet – nutrients from above, the sun and from underground (water soil) or where the twain meet is where growth takes place. The dependent and independent reactions, the two key components of the growth behavior are, in essence, the how we too, can become mature enough to enter gracefully into a state where Inter-dependency, the pinnacle of maturity or self-actualization is born. But let’s be real here! The wonders of development be they plant, or organization is not linear nor is it 100% guaranteed. Not all plants or people can transition smoothly or even at all through each category, but with good leadership each ‘phase’ (person) can have a role within the organization and can contribute to the success of the ‘whole’. ‘Grow where you are planted’ is a great expression to highlight that sometimes we need to take stock and use what we have to become more than the sum of our parts. The evolving or homogenizing is part of both the world of the dependent and independent thinkers. How can we take what we have and grow it further? How can we reinvent what we have into a version 2 or release 5? How can we take our IP, products and services and improve upon them to gain more sales, adoption, members, or licenses? Sometimes the key is not looking outside but leveraging the resources already in front of us. Photosynthesis, an internal series of reactions that take place in sequence to trigger growth and evolution. The benefits and tremendous value arising from these transitions feed the planet from the tiny to the enormous; from the warm blooded to cold. The food chain for all of us lies in the power of little organelles to take sunshine from ex-terra (sun) to terra firm (soil+water) and turn it into nourishment. If a tiny seedling can achieve so much, think what we can do when we transition ourselves from dependent to independent and beyond? Enjoy the transition – the journey is so worth it! Dina O'Reilly is 4xi's Strategic Partnership & Growth lead; she is also our Project Management Office lead and Ghostwriter in Residence, providing BLOGS+ services to clients. To learn more, contact Dina at dina@4xiconsulting.com 4xi Global Consulting & Solutions is a team of talented leaders from both the client-side and service provider side, impacting the Human Experience (HX) for people at work, in education, rest, and at leisure. We believe in a people-first, experience-led philosophy. Whether client, employee, or guest – their experience is the fundamental foundation of success. We work with corporations, service providers, and innovators: Strategic Advisory & Special Projects (SPx) Headquarters Fractional Support On-Demand Evolving Experiences©: Employee (EX) & Customer Experience (CX) Design4Life©: Environmental, Physical, and Experiential Design Global Amenities Strategy: Design & Operations TRUE NORTH©: Strategic Partnership & Growth Explorers Innovation Directory: Gateway to Innovation Sustainability Simplified©: Supply Chain & Innovation Market Research Reports & Benchmarking DATAxi: Data Ingestion & Visualization Platform 4xi is proud to be Chair of WORKTECH Academy for North America and a member of its Leadership Advisory Board. 4xi is a Global Ambassador for WORKTECH Academy. San Francisco | New York | Philadelphia | Orlando | North Carolina | Seattle | Silicon Valley | Santiago | London | Lisbon | Tokyo

You Got a Meeting! Are you ready? Where the rubber hits the road... The life of a business development executive is one filled with goals, targets, demands and the constant deterrent to success - distractions. Ponder, if you will, the average week of a professional B2B Business Development Executive (BDE)? Consider how many hours a BDE engages in conversation with a prospective client. Let’s say they have five meetings during a week, each for one hour. In a forty-hour work week this translates to five hours or 12.5% of time devoted to making a connection, having influence, and perhaps forming a partnership. Layer on top of this a close ratio of 35% and it quickly becomes apparent just how important having a successful meeting is. In short, the more effective meetings you have with prospects, the better your chances of finding a good fit and creating a mutually beneficial partnership. For B2B Business Development, networking and prospecting are the essential ingredients to success because they are the pathway to securing meetings and interactions. This cannot be overstated. Be it making phone calls, approaching people at industry associations; researching relevant market information; sending emails; connecting on social media; marketing, it is dogged consistency, discipline, and perseverance that results in getting a meeting on the calendar. Despite the wonder of our virtual world, to ultimately develop a partnership, you must have face time; you must build relationships. When you finally secure a time and a place you must be ready to ‘show-up, ready, willing and able’ - WINGING-IT IS NOT AN OPTION! Let’s get you ready or perhaps just refresh your memory on the cornerstones that will help you reach your goals. 4 Overarching Objectives for the Initial Meeting: Evaluate if mutual “fit” is evident. Lay the groundwork for rapport and trust. Gain knowledge through meaningful conversation. Agreement to meet again (if “fit” is evident). PREPARE Professionals prepare, FULL STOP. To honor your client or prospect, to show up at a meeting with specific intent, you must be prepared and rehearsed. There is no excuse for not researching the prospect, the organization, and the latest industry trends. Be it in electronic or written note form, document what you learn and refer to it before the meeting. That good ole’ cheat sheet worked when we were students at college, and it works now. List the questions you want to ask. Be ready. The sheer act of preparedness gives confidence and speaks volumes to the prospect as your demeanor shows you have taken the time to get to know ‘them’. Leaders and prospects need to know you care enough to do your homework, to arrive prepared, to honor the time they afford you and respect their time constraints. If you don’t prepare and waste their time, you won’t get any more of it. As an aside, having a plan for how you want the meeting to unfold is also a good idea to have in your back pocket so to speak, but remember that the unexpected will happen – be flexible and nimble enough to go with the flow when it does. Being fully prepared means that the unexpected will not throw you off your game. Lean on your instincts and emotional intelligence to ensure a successful interaction. Finally, take a moment to reflect on your own organizations mission, vision, and values. 'Know thyself' is a profound statement and in this context ensures you know how to recognize a good fit versus just business for your organization and for you. UNDERSTAND YOUR CLIENT’S POINT OF VIEW As you prepare for your meeting, invest time reflecting on the role, title, responsibilities, significance and even the demands of the prospect and how they fit within their organization structure. Consider the day in the life of your prospect, their day-to-day priorities, and how you might be able to support them. This enables you to get a start on how you can connect and build rapport. Most people want to know you’re interested in their role and that you are empathetic with their day-to-day challenges. This is human nature, and part of how we interact. It is smart to understand your prospective client’s point of view. Always remember, the prospect is the STAR of this screenplay, not you. THE MEETING Being prepared helps lessen anxiety and elevates confidence for most of us. Be natural and authentic. Use emotional intelligence to read the situation and empathize with the other person. Avoid coming across as overly anxious, or too eager to talk about your company. Most importantly, relax and enjoy interacting with another person. Remember, you are here to ‘listen’ first and ‘speak’ second. Small Talk: It is fine to begin with non-business small talk but only if the prospect seems receptive. This is how you become “human”, friendly, approachable. It’s a fact that people do business with people they like and trust. However, if your prospect is not immediately receptive, adjust and ask one of your open-ended question to allow the prospect to begin sharing with you. Ask Questions: Move to the professional by asking a question about their organization. Have these prepared in advance. This is all about honest curiosity. Such an approach conveyed with respect, sincerity and humility opens the other person up, and gives them the floor for a minute. It is the foundation for building rapport and trust. Ask questions to help you to gain information that you don’t know about their organization, their challenges, how they behave, what they value, and what is their purpose and mission. This will help you assess if you will be a good “fit”. Good business is more important than a single sale because good business results in advocacy, repeat or growing business and retaining the client for the long term. While the focus on this meeting is not to 'sell’ but to learn, you may be asked questions about your product/service. Responding with knowledge instills confidence - after all, the expert in your product. Also keep in mind, if you don’t know your own organization’s purpose, mission, vision, and values – you’ll have a great deal of difficulty determining “fit”. Listen & Ask More: Use your authentic curiosity to guide the conversation with follow-up questions. This is not an interrogation. Be genuinely interested or trust will not develop, and the meeting will end quickly. Listening actively is essential. Make eye contact, lean in, avoid distractions, ask for clarity. Takes notes – it shows how important what they say is to you! Avoid telling: without being asked. Telling tends to convey power positioning in a conversation. It implies the other person doesn’t know what you know. There are effective ways to make a point without telling – which comes down to how you verbalize what you know. TELLING EXAMPLE “It is proven that employees are more successful if their manager checks in on them daily during their first week of employment.” SHARING EXAMPLE “I recall reading an article where new employees were shown to be more successful when they were interacted with by their manager daily during their first week of employment. I’ll see if I can find it and send it to you if you would find it useful.” Your choice of words and tone matters. Fielding Questions: Hopefully, curiosity will compel them to ask you a question. This is a good sign. Don’t respond excitedly, pounce or oversell by launching into flowery answers. Focus your response on the solutions you deliver, not the features of your service or product. Sharing your experiences can open the door for the other person to ask you questions. Their time: Be respectful of the prospects time. Acknowledge when you’re coming to the end of the meeting. If it was productive, and you believe your organizations are a good fit, ask for another meeting. If not, thank them for their time and ask if they know someone else you should talk with. TAKEAWAY: Most people like to tell their story when asked. They want to be heard and understood. This is a natural human trait. Giving the other person this opportunity through asking genuine questions is a gift of sorts and helps begin a connection. The goal is to develop rapport and trust, the two most essential ingredients of a lasting win-win partnership. Recap immediately: the best time to collect your thoughts, review your notes and recap the discussion in your mind is immediately following the meeting. Sit in a quiet place and think about what was said. Make a list of any follow-up items and act upon them. Jot notes about a follow-up email which is best to be delivered within 48 hours. SUMMARY A meeting is an opportunity to learn about the prospect, their organization, and their situation. You may uncover areas where you can help, or you may not. Not all prospects are a fit, or ready for your solution. Provided you have developed an Ideal Client Profile, seeing the “fit” will be easier. The art of collaborative solutioning in a B2B environment is building rapport, trust, enjoying mutual discovery, filling challenge gaps, and creating a win-win partnership. In short, people buy from people they like, who are authentic and credible. To be authentic and credible just means that you have taken the time to earn the respect of your prospect by exercising genuine curiosity and demonstrating current knowledge of their marketplace. If you build relationships; if you attend meetings with openness and interest; if you don’t sell but offer insights that can help your prospect, you will create lasting partnerships with less stress or strain. In today’s world, B2B Business Development Executives behave as strategic consultants, and problem-solving partners. They are not hard driving “closers”. So, when you’re fortunate enough to secure a meeting, your behavior in the conversation should be one of curiosity, collaboration, listening, and learning. ABOUT THE AUTHOR ED SNOWDEN Strategic Business Consultant Sales Growth and Client Retention Ed has over 45 years of progressive growth in leadership responsibility at two Fortune 500 management services and hospitality companies: ServiceMaster and Aramark. At both organizations he was regularly promoted based on his performance and was awarded several awards in both sales and operational roles. As Vice President of Operations, Ed provided leadership for a hospitality team of over 500 people and an operating budget of over $60MM which he successfully renewed for five years. He has extensive experience in a multitude of business capacities including strategic account management, sales, and growth leadership. As Vice President of Strategic Partnerships, Ed was responsible for cultivating professional relationships for the company’s largest healthcare clients in North America valued at over $350MM annually. In that role he assisted in the writing of a living Strategic Account Management Playbook. At 4xiGlobal Consulting, Ed co-authored the TRUE NORTH© Strategic Learning Academy centered on creating a new mindset for developing and retaining the best business partners, winning better, retaining better business. You can contact Ed directly at edsnowden@4xiconsulting.com or visit our website to learn more about 4xi, who we are, what we do, and how we inspire a better future, together: www.4xiconsulting.com 4xi Global Consulting & Solutions is a team of talented leaders from both the client-side and service provider side, impacting the Human Experience (HX) for people at work, in education, rest, and at leisure. We believe in a people-first, experience-led philosophy. Whether client, employee, or guest – their experience is the fundamental foundation of success. 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