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. 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

A wise man once told me, “Do what you love, and life (and work) will be much more pleasurable (and likely more effective).” – it’s with these words, through both hard times and good I have seen how in life this rings true. I think back and look around me today and am grateful to be in a business that I love - working with people and organizations with the purpose of advancement, challenging the status quo, creating impact, and making a real difference drives me each and every day. Recently, I stumbled across a new TV show, Rogue Heroes, based on the book by Ben Mcintyre - it tracks the rise of David Stirling, founder of the Special Air Service in North Africa during World War II. I of course knew of the man, the legend, and the story in general terms, but what I didn’t realize was the extent of the pioneering nature of his small group that ultimately created the most elite fighting force in the world. What struck me was that it wasn’t the fight itself that was the driver - it was challenging the status quo, reinventing the norm, and disrupting to create new ways of doing things resulting in change and impact – the ultimate disruptors, and yes, they loved what they did! ”From this context, I realize that what we do today is the same – we’re not just looking at new ways to approach things for the sake of doing so, we’re doing it to make a difference and drive impactful change – that’s what we do in business today, isn’t it?” I look at my friends and colleagues at 4xi. I think about Georgina Miranda, who just this morning I heard from – she was in the far depths of the Amazon rain forest as part of her latest adventure and crusade to understand the people of the world, diversity, inclusion, different cultures, and how we can all take responsibility and protect our planet for future generations to come. It is her passion that has changed so many lives (and organizations), and how she drives and impacts change. Helene York recently returned from Japan, her wedding anniversary didn’t get in the way of progressing her passion for all things sustainability, meeting with folks, visiting businesses, learning from others around the world, using her influence to educate, and facilitate change. ”Pursuing your passions is important in the work context but also personally, work itself doesn’t always accommodate sometime the more artistic sides of our personalities, and it’s critically important for all of us to express ourselves.” Tony Johnson, 4xi’s Chief Experience Officer loves what he does – creating enterprise strategies and execution for organizations seeking to advance their human experience, employee, and customer experience – but he is a man of many passions beyond his profession, his business books, and his keynote speaking, he’s a qualified drone pilot, and a budding mixologist. With his creations (from left to right): Bloody Mary 2.0, White Christmas, Apples & Oranges, The Slimer, Cherry Vodka Limeade, Mcgillicuddy’s Bourbon Fernet, and Dubonnet & Gin. I have always understood the value of creating release opportunities for creativity beyond work and have always encouraged it too. A personal friend and fellow industry professional, Eric Drake found his creative release through music commencing a ten-year journey in chronicling his music through a series of releases called SUIT. I had the great pleasure to collaborate with Eric and pen the lyrics to one of his tracks on SUIT 1, and enjoy listening to SUIT 2 and 3 on Band Camp, one of my favorites, All I Ever Wanted. Clearly, we all have our different passions, from fashion, to gardening, to music, travel, and food, but Ann McNally, 4xi’s operations, coaching, and growth expert turned her passion into a business use case leveraging the 4xi platform in the creation of Criterion Benchmarking about to be launched in early 2023. Criterion is a membership-based survey and insights platform designed to anonymously share data between peers to provide learning outcomes. Then on to my own passion, writing. A decade ago, I first contemplated writing a book of short stories, the subject, unsung heroes, and in 2018 released my first historical fiction novel (under the pen name, Willy Mitchell, my grandfather’s name), Operation ARGUS. Nearly 5 years later, I have just released my latest work, book number 6, SS Indigo, Twelve’s Company, a murder mystery where 12 strangers are invited to a mysterious Caribbean cruise. It's been a journey, a lot of dedication, investment in time, using my free moments on planes, trains, in hotels, airports, and Saturday mornings, but the sense of achievement is great, the sense of the legacy I have created even greater, and the opportunity to memorialize these stories on behalf of others, priceless. So, the moral of the story is, whatever your passion, life (and work) will be much more pleasurable (and effective) if you can apply it in such a way that you can feel purpose, that you’re making a difference, creating memorable moments, impacting the lives of others, and above all, having fun! Never discount the impact fun and distraction can have on your quality of life and your productivity at work. These kinds of activities not only satisfy our need to be creative and stretch ourselves but provide a powerful catalyst for quality work. When you can disconnect, recharge, and engage different skills it recharges your passion and your enthusiasm. Do what you LOVE: Pursue Your Passions Simon Elliot is Managing Partner and co-founder of 4xi Global Consulting & Solutions and is focused on a people-first approach to enable optimum Human Experiences for people away from home: at work, in education, at rest, or at leisure. Simon believes that Experience Matters! applies in many different ways and is the fundamental foundation of a successful business, no matter the business. Simon is a global citizen, having lived, worked, and traveled to over 45 countries and six continents, and believes in the power of human potential. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Directors, a Member of the Institute of Leadership & Management, and the North America Chair of the WORKTECH Academy. Simon lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. 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

The button doesn’t get pushed; the lever doesn’t get pulled; the hammer doesn’t strike, and the problem does not get sorted until someone, somewhere, knows to act. In a world where speed is king, resolution times are measured in minutes, not hours, and every first impression can change an outcome, the Speed OF Fix is paramount. Notice, it is not ‘Speed TO Fix but Speed OF Fix. Why does a preposition make such a difference? The speed TO fix something is just that – how long does it take you to repair something from the time you know it needs fixing? From mopping up spills, replacing a lightbulb, and using a carpet cleaner on a stain, the speed to fixing something is in the labor and activities it takes to make it happen. The Speed OF Fix is something far more important! It is the value! It is the foundation of the formula that drives an outcome, not the measurement from commencement to the end of the job. In short, you can assign time to a function, but a VALUE remains constant, and it is the difference between guaranteed outcomes and winging it. In business, we focus on maximizing or minimizing time (depending on your point of view), reducing the time it takes to make things happen, or even reducing the number of people it takes to impact ‘how’ much time it takes to ‘fix’ something. By way of example: A single housekeeper in a hotel can handle up to 15 rooms a day (if they are not suites). So, 15 rooms over 8 hours or 32 minutes per room. Five housekeepers working on the same floor, however, can clean those 15 rooms in 1.5 hours – quite the gain in ‘Time’ but with increased cost in manpower. The Speed TO fix lives in the world of time and cost, which is, of course, very important but only when ‘FIX’ is a scheduled event. Let’s consider value and time within the framework of responsiveness, not just the time to fix it. "If we limit our view of the world to the lens of time without value, we lose sight of what really counts. Value arises out of the time it takes to ‘know’ you have to act. It is the ‘knowing’ that makes all the difference." The Speed OF Fix changes everything. A tool that can give you faster response times; a tool that creates value, not just a ‘fix’ opportunity, is the difference between a fix-it and solve-it kinda moment and creating true value across the timeline for all the stakeholders. Auditing, checking, and improving quality in any facility, business or office means being ahead of the curve. Taking note of what needs to get done and sharing it with the correct personnel takes time, but if we invert the process and ensure ‘all’ personnel see it all ‘at’ the same time, we have ignition. No longer are we in a world of time and space but one where we are all owners of the event, the fix, and the solution process. Much like a home alarm system that both scares the intruder, wakes the owners, and calls the police, a tool that allows auditors, technicians, staff, and managers to see at the same time means the distance between finding and commencing a fix is almost immediate. The Speed OF Fix changes everything. Auditing tools are often labor intensive; they require data to be sent or shared and OF ten at end-OF -of the day or in batches that may miss the mark to notify the right person at the right time. MyFieldAudits takes away the constraint of time; it takes the notion of Speed OF Fix to heart and creates a way to bring all stakeholders to the same place at the right time to be on top of the time between notice and start – that space called ‘VALUE.’ The value of time is not in its measurement but in its responsiveness; in its visual acuity; in its nimbleness, and haste to bring resolution, solution, or fix something that might impact customer quality; customer happiness, or put the environment at risk. Compliance is always in the background of business, as without it, we cannot know how we are doing and against what standards. Compliance drives success factors for everyone involved and comes with bragging rights and pride. How do you think about and manage compliance in your company or business? What do you do to stay ahead of the curve, to make time your friend, not your enemy? How do you leverage your teams, staff, and leadership to be part of the solution or part of the fix without delays or struggles? With MyFieldAudits at your fingertips, the Speed OF Fix makes taking care of business almost instantaneous. No matter the audit element, the time to fix makes staying on top of day-to-day operations virtually, physically, or remotely easy and literally in the palm of your hand. MyFieldAudits: See more than ever before. INNOVATION PARTNER SPOTLIGHT 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. Check out MyFieldAudits Would you like to have real-time visibility to your business in your pocket? See data, information, and insights, including images of operations and video - all on your mobile device? Having this level of unprecedented visibility allows for nimble fixes and quick reactions to issues or challenges and also opportunities for recognition when things are going smoothly. MyFieldAudits makes knowing what is going on in your business in real-time a reality and helps you see more than ever before. MyFieldAudits has transformed the audit process into a truly useful tool to drive success at all levels of your organization - a hand-held application that makes keeping on top of the details across multiple locations easy and effective. Now you can ‘see’ each operation in real-time. Knowing what is happening in the moment with the resulting quick-fix options at your fingertips is a key differentiator. Extensive and detailed oversight ensures your clients receive the highest quality of care and service at all times. With this knowledge and insights at your fingertips, you can drive efficiency, compliance, and productivity and consistently deliver upon your commitments to quality and service outcomes across multiple facilities diminishing the challenges and complexity of managing dispersed operations. MFAs work with foodservice partners, businesses, universities, care establishments, and hotels in public places like museums and airports to help leaders and operators have a clear and real-time line of sight to every aspect of their business. MyFieldAudits ensures you can see your business in the palm of your hand. 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 | Orlando | North Carolina | Seattle | Silicon Valley | Santiago | London | Tokyo

Gait is essentially a pattern of walking using the coordination of muscles to propel a body forward into a rhythm called a stride. And, goodness knows, we all want to take what happens in our lives in stride – how we do that is in the story! Across the world and in varying disciplines, the terms differ – a trot for an English rider is a jog for a Western rider; a saddle horn on the Western saddle is a pommel on an English saddle, and so it goes. Cadence matters, as does form, function, saddle types, and mindset – reigning versus dressage; team penning versus polo or barrel racing versus point-to-point – all so very different yet still so very much the same. "It seems to ride a horse has a myriad of ways and means as it would seem who we are, how we think, and what we want from our horse drives how we ‘stride’ forward with our mighty steed." When we are in flow – when we are in stride, the movement of horse and rider is poetic, graceful, and smooth. There is nothing more beautiful to watch or to experience than someone being at one with such a magnificent animal and both creatures enjoying themselves as a team. The how to create team is in the Gait. Stabilize your back and post. An interesting learning exercise for any rider is to realize that the inherent bouncing up and down that comes from trotting without posting means the pressure on the horse's back is high and quite painful for the rider atop to boot. When you take a moment to feel the horse, steady your back, drop your heels, and rise softly in unison with the horse, the trot becomes comfortable and easy for both rider and horse. It is in the feeling of one to the other that the ‘gaits’ become one. From the smoothness of the gait arises the rhythm and from rhythm arises the stride. The ease by which a horse and rider can shift from a trot to a canter and into a gallop hinges on the gait, becoming one in the infancy of their first movements together. "Rhythms of life are much like a rider and horse – the more we tune in and adjust, the easier the ride becomes, and perhaps more importantly, the easier it becomes to ‘stride’ through the rocky times, the difficult climbs, and dark rainy nights." Gait is the foundation of riding as it is for life. We must first find our gait – practice our rhythm, and then, only then, can we truly stride. Teams and businesses are no different. Psychologist Bruce Tuckman came up with the memorable phrase "forming, storming, norming, and performing" in his 1965 paper, "Developmental Sequence in Small Groups. This wisdom is as true today as it was in 1965. We must find our gait – we must adjust to our surroundings, be they horse, venue, or people, before we can find our rhythms. Perhaps the ‘forming’ in this regard is the finding of the Gait. They say familiarity breeds contempt, but perhaps it is more about familiarity without adjustment breeds contempt. Partnership and team are all about learning, understanding, accommodating, and acceptance – the foundation of that learning comes from your knowing your GAIT! Business today with the ever-changing landscape, newly coined phrases from Great Resignations, Quiet Quitting, DE-platforming, and fluffernutter (quite partial to peanut butter and marshmallow cream sarnie !) mean we are in constant flux; constant change and constantly under stress to ‘adjust.’ If we have learned to feel, then we now own our GAIT, and as such, we are far more likely to have already exercised our rhythms and learned to adjust. We are, so to speak, already in ‘stride,’ and it is that stride that will support us as we navigate through these times and beyond. A business will survive, and so will you, but appreciating, defining, and understanding your Gait will be instrumental in how quickly you can begin to gallop! Enjoy the RIDE! 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 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

Jennifer Brown’s second edition of ‘How to be an INCLUSIVE Leader’ expands on her first book by including more examples and even more ideas and guidance. The story of diversity, equity, and inclusion is so much deeper, more profound, and more complex than most of us realize, and yet, is equally a story of love, acceptance, recognition, and appreciation for the very diversity that makes us ‘each’ unique. We each have a ‘Voice’ – let us use it for inclusion and love. The book is educational and helps identify that is OK not to have all the answers; that being in stage 1 in one aspect, yet stage 4 in another is all part of the journey. The book makes learning and growing into an inclusive leader non-judgmental and without blame; the book allows everyone, no matter where they came from, to grow into Inclusivity and open their eyes to a wonderful new way of being. "Intersectionality is a word I had not heard before, but its very construct allows for ALL to meet and intersect in understanding, acceptance, and growth no matter how many aspects of them they bring to the table of life." Jennifer’s book is a guide, a tool, a method, and for that very reason, needs to be out and about; it needs to be dog-eared with pages furled as it is used so much as a reference guide, an instrument of learning and of more importantly, of becoming. This is a book that can and perhaps should be given to every new member of staff in their welcome pack. I highly recommend the book for both the neophyte and the experienced diversity leader as both will take away more understanding, wisdom, and, more importantly, how to truly embrace and lead ‘inclusivity. This guide will teach you to always look at how to grow, how to gather, how to tell stories, and how to share – We are ONE – we always were – we always will be – this book provides the pathway to that absolute truth. Dina O'Reilly is 4xi's "Blogger in Residence," strategic growth leader, and head of 4xi's Project Management Office (PMO) practice. About the Author Jennifer Brown is an award-winning entrepreneur, speaker, diversity and inclusion consultant, and author. As the successful founder, president, and CEO of Jennifer Brown Consulting, headquartered in New York City, Jennifer is responsible for designing workplace strategies that have been implemented by some of the biggest companies and nonprofits in the world. She has harnessed more than 14 years of experience as a world-renowned diversity and inclusion expert through consulting work, keynoting, and thought leadership. Jennifer has spoken at many top conferences and events such as the International Diversity Forum, the Global D&I Summit, the Forum for Workplace Inclusion, the NGLCC International Business & Leadership Conference, the Out & Equal Workplace Summit, Emerging Women, as well as at organizations such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the NBA, Google, IBM, and more. She is the bestselling author of; Inclusion: Diversity, The New Workplace and The Will to Change and a new book, How To Be An Inclusive Leader: Your Role in Creating Cultures of Belonging Where Everyone Can Thrive. Jennifer is the host of the popular weekly podcast, The Will to Change, which uncovers true stories of diversity and inclusion. She is also the proud recipient of several accolades, having been named Woman of the Year by Pace University, Social Entrepreneur of the year by the NYC National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO), one of the Top 40 Outstanding Women by Stonewall Community Foundation, and NYC Controller Bill Thompson’s LGBT Business Owner of the Year. She has also been a finalist for both the Wells Fargo Business Owner of the Year Award and for Ernst & Young’s Winning Women Program. As a successful entrepreneur, Jennifer has been featured in media such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review, AdWeek, Bloomberg Businessweek, Forbes, Inc., CBS, and many more. 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

It’s important, now more than ever, that your associates understand, fully embrace, and support the purpose of your business. Millennials and Gen Z employees have taken over the workforce, and they are incredibly loyal to brands whose purpose resonates with them. Unfortunately, the opposite is also true. If your company's purpose comes across as bland, weak, uninspiring, or irrelevant to your associates, you can be sure you’re leaving a crippling amount of latent potential, productivity, customer satisfaction, and revenue on the table. Hubert Joly, the former CEO of Best Buy, defines purpose as the intersection of four important things: 1) What human needs are you trying to address in the world? 2) What are you uniquely good at? 3) What are you passionate about? 4) How are you going to make money? It’s an unfortunate reality that many companies define their purpose as it relates to a multi-stakeholder landscape. But this abstract, uninspiring, and irrelevant “purpose” (which I submit to you is not a purpose at all) does not relate to a frontline associate. If your frontline associates don’t see your organization as addressing an actual human need in the world if they don’t feel “good at” or passionate about helping accomplish that purpose, and if they don’t see a pathway to financially supporting themselves and their families by addressing that purpose, you can bet you’ll have painful turnover, low employee NPS scores, disengagement, poor productivity, and suffering customer satisfaction. So what do we do about it? Here are some practical steps for you to consider. Explore a more powerful and inspiring company purpose. Communicate that company purpose with your associates directly. Use town halls, corporate communication, and frontline leadership conversations. Daily, repeatedly reinforce that company purpose in your daily team huddles with every employee, everywhere, and every day. That last step is key. Most companies do a reasonably good job of the first three steps but thoroughly drop the ball with the fourth. Horst Schulze, the legendary founder of Ritz Carlton, writes in his book Excellence Wins, “If you intend to be a leader, you need to keep reinforcing what makes your company number one. Otherwise, it will slip.” That’s why Horst calls the ten minutes in the daily (not occasional, weekly, monthly, etc.) team huddle “the most important in the entire shift.” Are you having consistent, daily team huddles? Are your leaders talking about the right things, at the right time, that drive the right behaviors in your organization that drive the right results? How do you know? If you’re like most service industry companies, you don’t, and that leaves a massive gap in current versus potential team member performance at a daily level. So to recap, do you have an inspiring company purpose? Do your frontline associates know what it is? Are you communicating it in such a way that it is reinforced daily by frontline leaders with every frontline employee? This is a major gap for most companies, so if you see an opportunity to improve this critical element of your business, don’t fret. Unisyn has been involved in literally thousands of frontline culture transformation and digital transformation initiatives, driving company purpose to the frontlines of organizations just like yours. We not only understand the challenge but have tangible, pragmatic experience helping mid-market and enterprise companies rapidly improve frontline team culture and performance. We’d love to hear from you. 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

As a Western society, we are steeped in the belief that being a high performer means doing more all at once. We’ve been conditioned to attach enormous value to being endlessly busy, and we conflate being busy with being important. We’re expected to wear the long hours we work and the lack of downtime as a badge of honor. We’re told we have to spend serious money on apps, tools, and software to help us get more done and spend hours of our time researching how to be more productive, how to do more, create more, and produce more. In short: our society has developed an obsession with increasing output. However, it’s a fetish with myriad drawbacks. Because this obsession with outputs isn’t just causing us to miss out on family time, it isn’t just causing us to check emails during vacations and on the weekends; it’s actually reducing the quality of the work we produce, harming our ability to work collaboratively, and leading us towards chronically elevated stress levels and eventual burnout. Our culture may tell us that productivity is about how much we do, but there’s a big difference between output — the amount of work we do — and outcome — the results of the work we do. And if we want to focus our attention and efforts on building effective organizations, high-performing teams, and meaningful results, it’s time to start prioritizing outcomes over outputs. Outputs vs. outcomes: what’s the difference? Outputs are the effort you exert and are entirely within your control to produce. Outcomes, however, are the result of your effort — they represent impact and value to your customers and stakeholders. Let’s look at some examples. Output could be… Building a bridge. Hanging a picture frame on the wall. Paddling hard in a boat. Whereas outcomes would be… People getting to the other side of the river. Smiling every time you see the happy family photo. And the outcome of paddling hard? Well, that depends — and it’s why this is such an important concept to explore. "Outcomes are contextual. They depend on the value you want to create and the requirements you have to meet." In the case of paddling hard, perhaps the value lies in delivering cargo to people waiting downstream. Perhaps the value is to get exercise. It could simply be about enjoying the scenery on a different part of the river. The problem is, when we’re expected to focus on output, we tend to overcomplicate processes, we focus on the wrong solutions, and often, we create outcomes that fall short of the value we planned to deliver. "Too often, we focus on answering the question: How will we do it? Instead of considering the more significant questions: Why does this matter? and How will we recognize success?" Let me show you what I mean. Crossing the river: why we need to stop focusing on the bridge. Take the building a bridge example from above. I first started considering what bridges can teach us about outcomes when I saw Henrik Kniberg teach the world about alignment and autonomy at Spotify. Imagine you and your team are on the banks of a deep, fast-moving river, and you’ve been tasked with leading your team safely to the other side. With a mindset that’s fixated on output, you’ll likely adopt the first strategy that seems both logical and doable; namely, you’ll decide to build a bridge. What if you shift your focus to the desired outcome instead? Are there other easier, cheaper, more efficient ways to cross the river? Perhaps a boat or even finding a natural crossing where the river narrows and a small leap is all it will take to safely reach the other side. It might well be that building a bridge is the best option, but when you focus on outcome vs. output, you’ll be 100% certain that you’re spending your energy and your efforts in the most effective way. However, there’s another layer to this shift of focus, returning to the question: what is the actual problem we are trying to solve? Why does your team need to reach the other side of the river? Is there a danger they need to escape or a valuable resource they want to collect, like food or precious minerals? Could it be that the desired outcome has nothing to do with crossing the river and everything to do with seeking safety, food, or riches? And if so, how will that change your approach to the nature of your outputs and the requisite resources and energy expenditure? "Productivity and outcomes depend on knowing why you’re doing the work — and knowing why and what the outcome needs to be is entirely a leadership responsibility." A useful outcome will also answer the question, How will we know when to celebrate? In other words, it will pass the Champagne Test —the success criteria will be clear enough that everyone will know exactly when it’s time to pop the bottle open to celebrate. It doesn’t matter how many bridges are built if no one is able to cross safely to the other side. Equally, it doesn’t matter how many bridges are built if there’s no food, no riches, and no safety to be found on the other side. With ever-increasing demands on our time, ideas to pursue, and problems to solve, organizations cannot afford to spend all of their time, money, and people on being busy, on logging more hours just for the sake of it, on producing more because more simply feels better. Organizations cannot remain loyal to a status quo created and defined by a societal obsession with outputs. After all, if all anyone is doing is churning out more work, you may have profitable quarters, but you undoubtedly run the risk of mistaking being busy for being productive and settling for mediocre outcomes. So let’s change the narrative. Let’s explore what happens when we shift focus from what we’re doing to why we’re doing it. And let's all center our efforts on true productivity, Champagne-worthy outcomes, and designing organizations that positively impact the world, quarter after quarter, year after year. Real Flow: Break the Burnout Cycle and Unlock High Performance in the New World of Work: Your organization is capable of higher performance than you imagined possible when you shift to Real Flow. Business leaders have seen it before. Teams that should be achieving great work with ease are caught in a wild frenzy of competing priorities. Gradually their people suffer burnout, innovation evaporates, and time and energy are wasted on the wrong problems. Thanks to this organizational multitasking, their organization is flooding from the pressure to do it all. But there is an unexpected solution to achieve high performance once again. Organizational agility expert Brandi Olson brings front and center what happens when an organization chases too many priorities simultaneously. Featuring extensive interviews with organizational leaders, Real Flow demonstrates the principles of flow that will create the environment teams need to achieve and sustain high performance. Integrating cognitive science, organizational agility, and lean principles, this is your guide to delivering exceptional value and enabling people to be happy, healthy, and engaged in their work. Discover: The costly link between competing priorities, multitasking, and burnout and why no amount of vacation, self-care, or team-building activities will solve it. How to embrace the ecosystem paradigm and the direct impact it has on an organization’s ability to adapt, change, and thrive. Strategies to remedy the burnout problem that don’t involve doing less, expecting less, or shrinking the to-do list. How to redefine performance to maximize human potential for the long term over the short term and what that will do for your teams. The essential practice of limiting work in progress to improve the flow of value, plus the radical effect it has on solving the challenges your organization is facing. Leaders don’t need to choose between good work and their teams’ well-being. Leading a high-performance organization depends on happy, healthy people. Read Real Flow and cultivate an evidence-driven approach to design a high-performing, agile organization, improve employee retention, and stop burnout for good. "Insightful and pragmatic about the realities that companies face every day.... This book helps you put simple but effective strategies in place: outcomes over outputs, less is more, happy and healthy employees, dedicated working time, leaders actually leading by example and creating space to learn and innovate. A must read for all leaders." - Amanda Finney, Senior Vice President, Product Management and User Experience Design at Wells Fargo "Brandi Olson's book explores the business impact and consequence of...misalignment (working on the wrong things), disengagement (and a lack of innovation), to burnout. Brandi reminds us of the reality of business systems and gives us ways to unlearn and rethink how we should be working. A timely book for all leaders of today (and tomorrow)." - Evan Leybourn, CEO and cofounder, Business Agility Institute About the Author Brandi Olson believes that you shouldn’t have to choose between doing good, important work and your own humanity. An expert in organizational design and agility, she teaches leaders how to solve problems and adapt fast to high-performing teams. Brandi is a best-selling author of Real Flow: Break the Burnout Cycle and Unlock High Performance in the New World of Work. She is the founder of Real Work Done and lives in Minnesota with her kids, dog, chickens, and garden.

Boutique advisory and consulting firm 4xi Consulting expand global hospitality, operations, and amenities team and capability with the appointment of industry veteran Rob Gordon. Robert joins 4xi Global Consulting after successful stints in building and rebuilding hospitality programs. Working throughout the non-commercial hospitality sector, he has also helped retail establishments find operational efficiencies with a hospitality mindset. Most recently, Robert led the opening team of a biotech incubator startup as it purchased a NYC landmark building and created collaborative spaces for residents of the building while marketing the event space to external clients. Prior to that, Robert developed a global team to deliver strong operational and hospitality-focused services to American Express employees around the world. Leading a team of professionals, Robert recreated the colleague experience for the entire organization. With over 30 years in the retail, corporate real estate, and noncommercial foodservice sectors, Robert brings expertise and experience to the 4xi consulting team helping clients drive positive change with a hospitality mindset. “We’re delighted to welcome Rob to the 4xi family. His background and pedigree add further expertise and credibility to our stellar team of client-side and operator-side senior executives, global experience, and our focus on the away-from-home markets.” - Simon Elliot, Managing Partner, 4xi Robert has held many positions with both contractors and corporate occupiers that offer him a unique perspective on the landscape of the business. Robert has developed, designed, and delivered solutions for all areas of hospitality. From Reception and Audio-Visual Services to Food and Beverage operations and is a leader in the industry. Robert has helped positively transform corporations with Organizational Development and Talent Management to culture and transformation initiatives within real estate and workplace strategy. With global experience in designing spaces, along with his keen eye for cost-effective operations, Robert has led projects of both design and improvement across the world. Additionally, Robert has curated amenity programs for large organizations (including membership programs) that bring out their own culture through the amenities and services provided on-site and virtually. Robert has spent a great deal of time working on engagement models for the virtual employee as he feels that all employees, no matter where they sit, should have similar access to the offerings in each and every group. “Rob compliments 4xi’s philosophy and commitment to a people-first approach at the very heart of what we do. How through the lens of hospitality we use this to advance the human experience whether people at work, in education, at rest, or at leisure.” – Barbara Boden, Managing Partner, 4xi Robert’s areas of expertise are many, including: Corporate Hospitality functions Facility Management operations and analytics 3rd Party management oversight (Vendor Performance Management) Real Estate management companies Self-Operated Food Service Programs Retail Restaurants Private clubs Organizational Development/ Talent Management Robert is a graduate of Towson University (formerly Towson State) and is an active member and past president of the Society for Hospitality and Foodservice Management (SHFM). A big welcome to Rob – Our Strength is in the Power of Our Collective. For more information on 4xi and how we can help your organization, visit our website at: www.4xiconsulting.com, email us at hello@4xiconsulting.com, or contact Rob directly at robgordon@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 | Orlando | North Carolina | Seattle | Silicon Valley | Santiago | London | Tokyo

Customers love proof. Nothing cements a potential relationship more effectively than being able to demonstrate value and a return on investment. We all remember when Tom Cruise was shouting “Show me the money” in the movie Jerry McGuire. It was that quintessential moment of proof rather than promises that every business has had to overcome. Zan Compute is a great example of harnessing the power of case studies and storytelling to highlight their value in the marketplace. Anyone can make claims, but businesses that can utilize social proof, testimonials, and real-world examples are a powerful force in this competitive marketplace. "92% of customers trust positive recommendations from others." (Nielson) Think about the last time you were on an airplane. Travel has become more difficult with more friction points for customers than ever before – and couple that with the labor and product shortages that we are all working through, it adds another layer of complexity. Friction points are anything that can impede an outstanding customer experience, and they are typically small moments that are neglected by businesses. A small dose of intentionality – fueled by practical technology – can go a long way toward removing hassles for customers and clients. Going back to our airline example, there are key moments that can help smooth out the passenger journey. Imagine you are trying to make a tight connection and as you visit a bathroom on the way to your next flight you find empty paper towels and soap – along with full trash receptacles and unhygienic facilities? It isn’t a pleasant thought, but we’ve all been there. It can make a stressful situation even worse. This was exactly the situation that Zan encountered with a client when they implemented their Zanitor solution. Occupant Feedback Displays were installed at the exit of restrooms and allowed passengers to provide feedback for cleaning and maintenance conditions. The feedback was combined with sensor data collected from the paper dispensers and trash bins and processed in real-time. The results tell the story of success (in this example): 11,000+ alerts each month that otherwise would have gone unnoticed 45 minutes of custodian time saved per employee each shift $200,000 in labor savings annually $70,000 in reduced consumable costs each year Let’s look at another example. Healthcare met unprecedented challenges over the past 2 years and was on the front line of the Covid-19 pandemic as it unfolded. This is a space where the stakes continue to increase and where consumer demands are higher than ever before. Imagine you were visiting a hospital or doctor’s office and found that the bathrooms were neglected and dirty – how would that impact your confidence in the care you were about to receive? Customers look at the small things when they make decisions on the overall trust they put in a company (or healthcare provider). The reason is that if the little details that you can see are well in hand, then the big stuff you can’t see likely is under control as well. Zan also helps you ensure that you deliver on your sanitation, safety, and hygiene promises by ensuring that your customers never run out of the consumables that enable safety at a base level. Deploying smart restroom sensors and monitoring systems is key to delivering on this promise of dependability. “The more detail oriented an organization, the quicker they can build trust with their customers.” One of the most common touchpoints within any business is the bathrooms, and healthcare is no exception. Zan installed sensors within 2 hospitals to monitor garbage bins, toilet paper dispensers, paper towels, and soap. They also installed feedback displays and traffic sensors for occupancy monitoring. The information that was collected and analyzed helped allocate resources and decrease operational costs. They found that one hospital had 38% more traffic than the other and that their traffic flow was concentrated within an 8-hour window. This is another benefit of space utilization tracking – the ability to understand your traffic flow in real-time. "By capturing this data, and acting on the findings, there was the potential to increase labor efficiency by up to 83% and decrease paper waste by 24%." These are the kinds of statistics that bring value to businesses and the end user – reduced labor expense, improved sustainability practices, higher productivity, and lower customer friction. The office real estate space has seen dramatic evolution as the pandemic has stretched on. It has forced organizations to look at work in new ways and find innovative ideas to utilize their office space. "Facilities management within a large commercial office space is expensive, complex, and often inefficient." The square footage, consumables, and cost of labor make it a significant source of overhead to those in the real estate space. Zan partnered with a large commercial office building to implement consumable monitoring, smart washroom sensors, and privacy-enabled traffic flow sensors within their spaces. This smart restroom monitoring system captured traffic patterns, created predictive maintenance schedules, and measured personal hygiene by correlating faucet and flush activations. Not only was the company able to redeploy labor where it was needed and when it was needed, but they were also able to reduce their labor spend by 35% annually. Couple that with a 15% reduction in consumables and that led to over $900,000 in annualized savings. This is all possible because not only does Zan Compute have the technology and capabilities to capture this data, but the tools and expertise to use it to make decisions "Without context and the ability to layer in customer feedback in real-time, all the data in the world is meaningless." This combination of world-class A.I., a predictive approach, and a team that can support you along the way is a true game-changer when it comes to implementing and sustaining a great experience for your clients and customers. To learn more about Zan Compute and their Smart Bathroom Technology, contact us today to set up an introductory conversation. We believe this can add significant value to your business and your customer experience. Connect and discuss how smart restroom technology, occupancy monitoring, or any of our technology-enabled solutions are designed to improve the lives of your customers, clients, and building occupants. Zan Compute: Safety | Efficiency | Visibility DOWNLOAD information on Zan Compute set up a DEMO, or you can email us today to set up an introductory exploration at-hello@4xiconsulting.com At 4xi Global Consulting & Solutions, we’re dedicated to the quest of driving a better Human Experience (Hx) and exploring alternative ways to operate better, be more efficient, and drive better experiences. To that end, we believe Zan Compute is the perfect solution to deliver an elevated occupant and visitor experience by driving efficiency and at the same time reducing cost. 4xi: Inspiring the future, together. 4xi Global Consulting & Solutions is a team of talented leaders from both the client-side and service provider side creating an impact in 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 Design4Life©: Environmental, Physical, and Experiential Design Global Amenities Strategy, Design & Operations Human Experience: Customer (CX) & Employee (EX) Training & Development 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

Listen to the Customer Service Academy hosted by Tony Johnson with guests, Simon Elliot and Ed Snowden from 4xi Global Consulting talk about customer success and strategic partnerships. Winning better and retaining better business is driven by a changed mindset. The first step in changing behaviors is to change that mindset. TRUE NORTH© Strategic Partnerships & Growth Academy is a set of learning modules designed to actively engage participants and enable them to see themselves and your business differently. TRUE NORTH© is the first step on your journey toward winning better and retaining better business. Simon Elliot is Managing Partner and co-founder of 4xi Global Consulting and has a world of experience across 6 continents working with organizations to improve business and growth performance. Ed Snowden has 40+ years of experience leading strategic partnerships, retention, and growth with FORTUNE 500 companies. Ed is also the co-author of 4xi's TRUE NORTH© Strategic Partnerships and Growth Academy. TRUE NORTH© Strategic Partnerships & Growth Academy has been created on the foundation of decades of experience working with large organizations globally, winning better and retaining better business. TRUE NORTH© is focused on helping sales and retention teams and is divided into 6 modules of in-person or virtual training and coaching, including: 1. TRUST: The foundation of Strategic Partnerships 2. PORTFOLIO: Assessing your current portfolio of business and/or opportunities 3. STRATEGIC ACCOUNT PLANS: Critical information into an actionable framework 4. COLLABORATIVE SOLUTIONING: The principles of solving client challenges 5. ARCHITECTURE OF PARTNERSHIP: How to set the stage for Strategic Partnership 6. GROWTH LEADERSHIP: Personal development for growth leaders The 4xi team has decades of experience designing and implementing Strategic Partnership frameworks and strategies to help businesses win better, retain better business. To learn more about TRUE NORTH©, email us at: hello@4xiconsulting.com 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 in 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 Design4Life©: Environmental, Physical, and Experiential Design Global Amenities Strategy, Design & Operations Human Experience: Customer (CX) & Employee (EX) Training & Development TRUE NORTH©: Strategic Partnership & Growth Explorers Innovation Directory: Gateway to Innovation Sustainability Simplified©: Supply Chain & Innovation Market Research Reports & Benchmarking Our Strength is in the Power of Our Collective. 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

Safety and sanitation have become the watchwords in the ever-evolving sense of “place.” While always a priority, the pandemic has changed both employee and customer perceptions of cleanliness and safety. Many great organizations such as Disney have long embedded the idea of safety throughout their organization – and giving it more than just cursory lip service. It truly is a part of their everyday work and exists not as a nice-to-have, but as the baseline standard when it comes to the employee, and guest experience. That was the journey organizations embarked upon over a decade ago – how to go beyond platitudes to a true culture of safety where employees went home in the same shape they reported to work and where customers felt comfortable within the walls of a shop, store, or restaurant. Then enter COVID-19 and the global pandemic that will continue to ripple through our collective consciousness for decades to come. This will continue to impact the workplace as employers grapple with team experience and the potential for bringing employees back to physical workspaces in varying forms in the coming year. “We believe COVID will transition to an endemic state, potentially by 2024.” - Nanette Cocero, Global President of Pfizer Vaccines That’s a big change from the elimination strategy that existed early in the pandemic. The expectation was that we would eradicate coronavirus completely, but now we are gearing up to accept it as a part of daily life, much like the annual flu or cold cycles to which we have become accustomed. That shines a spotlight on the idea of sanitation within physical spaces that will be the price of entry when it comes to recruiting talent and retaining customers. After all, if you look at the hierarchy of needs, the ability to protect one’s health and safety is at the top of the heap. If you can’t guarantee that, nothing else really matters. Zan Compute has long understood that clean = safe and reliable in the eyes of customers and employees. When bathrooms, common areas, conference rooms, and workspaces are clean that creates a sense of wellbeing that extends across the entire hospitality and work experience. "Zan Compute pioneered the idea of creating a Cleansparency, available in an easy-to-deploy technology that monitors the cleaning and disinfecting of any given area." SAFETY: is the ability for a customer or employee being able to scan a QR code and see the details of the cleaning and safety standards in place – allowing them to know that they are in good hands when it comes to cleaning and sanitizing. This not only gives peace of mind to enjoy the space they are in, but it builds trust in your brand. That is the building block of every relationship, just as cleaning is the foundation of hygiene. QUALITY: is acheieved by creating an interactive relationship between building and “user.” Whether you are a building occupant such as an employee for a tenant or a customer visiting a retail space or conference facility, you can provide real time feedback as well. That same QR code that allowed you to see the cleaning schedule and validation will also allow you to leave feedback to the building management about the quality of the facilities. PARTNERSHIPS: are created by the use of these types of “safe to enter” indicators, as well as a feedback loop, between building and user, and helps customers to protect their own experience. One of the outcomes of the pandemic was the increased comfort customers have with self-service – and this is an extension of this evolving consumer trend. As a building or facility manager, this creates a situation where all data points are measured in real-time. Not only can you determine the usage of space and tie that back to weather patterns, facility schedule, flight arrivals, and average daily traffic patterns, but you can also overlay the feedback from customers to create a labor and scheduling model that drives value and efficiency. How does this impact the employee, customer, and occupant experience within a building or space? Transparency with the cleaning and sanitizing process builds comfort, confidence, and trust with building occupants, and users. Engaging building occupants in the feedback and monitoring process gives them a perceived sense of ownership in their experience. Building pattern monitoring and space utilization tracking allows for proper people counting, occupancy levels, distancing, and labor scheduling. The best part of all of this is that no matter what kind of data you want to collect, Zan Compute’s proprietary AI platform can integrate it to help you make the best decisions. And if you have holes in your data capture, such as traffic patterns, throughput, or occupancy levels, Zan can install the sensors you need to capture that information. Zan also helps you ensure that you deliver on your sanitation, safety, and hygiene promises by ensuring that your customers never run out of the consumables that enable safety at a base level. Deploying smart restroom sensors and monitoring systems is key to delivering on this promise of dependability. “94% of U.S. adults said they would avoid a business in the future if they experienced a dirty restroom.” - Harris Interactive It is hard to help your building occupants and visitors stay safe if they are out of soap, sanitizer, paper towels, or toilet tissue. Providing these products when needed helps your building occupants protect themselves against the spread of bacteria, disease, COVID-19, the flu, or whatever may come next. You may have already brought your teams back to work or you may have it scheduled for early in the new year. You may be worried about the latest iteration of coronavirus or even looking further down the road to future health challenges. We have entered a time when we must be ready for whatever health and safety obstacles come our way, and the basics such as handwashing and hand sanitizing will continue to be an important part of creating a culture of personal safety. We look forward to discussing smart restroom technology, occupancy monitoring, or any of our technology-enabled solutions to improve the lives of your customers, clients, and building occupants. Zan Compute: Safety | Efficiency | Visibility To learn more about Zan Compute, contact us today and we can set up an introductory exploration and you can learn why we believe this can add significant value to your business and your customer experience. At 4xi Global Consulting & Solutions, we’re dedicated to the quest of driving a better Human Experience (Hx), and exploring alternative ways to, operate better, be more efficient, and drive better experiences. To that end, we believe Zan Compute is the perfect solution to deliver an elevated occupant and visitor experience by driving efficiency and at the same time reducing cost. DOWNLOAD information on Zan Compute set up a DEMO, or you can email us today to set up an introductory exploration at hello@4xiconsulting.com. 4xi: Inspiring the 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 Amenities, Design & Operations Customer Experience (CX) Training & Development Strategic Partnership & Growth Innovation Solutions & Support Our Strength is in the Power of Our Collective. 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