Strategic Growth – what does it really mean? Power words like strategy, growth, diversification, portfolio and other lofty descriptivism for business are used interchangeably. These global terms are used to discuss how to develop, how to increase revenue, how to create more jobs and in short, there are myriad ways to ‘grow’ in the world of business. Let’s remove the veneer for a moment and deal with what it really takes for a company to BE MORE. "Typically, there are 4 growth strategies: market penetration; product development; market expansion, and diversification." Each strategy has a plan, a set of targets, and some actionable steps. For many companies, the road to growth can be a struggle often requiring a lot of investment, time, and effort. In essence, the eye on the prize of a target or strategy can be all-consuming, to the point of leaving basics to the wayside. Growth Through Care True strategic growth comes from strategic partnership and delivering excellence. The most important aspect of growth is to start at home. Know your current customers intimately and well. Give ‘them’ the highest quality service, support, care, consideration, and attention. Your current customers are the basis of your growth. They have the ability to help you expand into ‘like’ markets with stories of wonder to tell others. Knowing that your customers will be your best advocates, is the foundation to growth and bringing in ‘good’ business. Hunting without a story; knocking on doors without customer accolades turns a growth strategy into an uphill battle, not a smooth sail. With true customer care, customer satisfaction and customer experience par excellence, the journey to growth is often much shorter. "89% of companies now expect to compete mostly on the basis of customer experience.” - Gartner Research Statistics show that businesses can increase revenues between 4% and 8% when they prioritize better customer service experiences. To the Gartner Research data above, 89% of companies with "significantly above average" customer experiences perform better financially than their competitors. The data is clear, with customer excellence you will grow but without it, you are going to struggle with or with a formal strategy. Before tackling a strategy for growth, increasing revenue, or bringing in new customers, start with understanding how you are caring for your customer base now. Identify the key milestones of customer satisfaction and document them; what aspect of your product/service had the biggest impact on customer satisfaction; determine why care fell short and develop solutions to improve. Engage your leadership team to be part of the growth discussion with the following questions: Are you capturing enough detail, data, and story on each customer? Do you have good analytics to draw from? Do you have enough bench to truly engage with your customers regularly Are they indeed happy? Have you asked what you can do for them over and above your current deliverables? Do you have a solid account plan process in place? There is an endless list of questions that need to be asked long before pen is put to paper on a growth strategy. In short, do you have your TRUE NORTH©? Strategic growth means finding your TRUE NORTH©. Take a step back and look at your successes; measure your value proposition and truly understand the difference your products and services make to each of your customers. You may just find that the fastest route to revenue is not moving forward at a high rate of speed but by looking back and understanding where you have been! Dina Wiltshire is 4xi's Strategic Partnerships & Growth lead - she works with clients who are seeking opportunities to improve, grow, and thrive. In addition to growth, Dina has a wealth of experience in a number of areas of business from leading call centers and call center design, to operations, and project management. Dina and the entire team at 4xi are here to help you drive positive change and impact. To learn more about Dina download her BIO, or you can contact her directly at dina@4xiconsulting.com 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 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 | Philadelphia | Seattle | Silicon Valley | Santiago | London | Tokyo

At 4xi, we work with a wide range of clients in business, education, healthcare, and leisure. Everyone is grappling with how to focus their efforts effectively to succeed in their core purposes and be true to the newer imperatives of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) whether they are public or private, a service provider or a producer. The number of platforms and approaches can be dizzying. In the end, everyone has to count their progress toward the goals they set. Of all of the options, we’re especially enthusiastic about what vranda is offering. Many software platforms count only Scope 1, 2, and 3 carbon emissions. Some calculate water usage. A few track food waste and now, food donations. vranda takes a bigger picture view that helps clients think about what they’re doing, why they’re doing it, and point to options along the way as circumstances change. "What our clients need is a seamless and scalable approach to reporting data for many global, science-based, reporting platforms, and an approach that goes beyond carbon and incorporates other elements of social and environmental responsibility." All platforms spit out data; what matters is how comprehensive it is, and how to interpret it. That’s what vranda does, uniquely. The goal is to drive impact and every client needs good data to start. What you do with that data is where we partner with you and vranda, to help you set or modify goals, to keep you competitive and responsible. Because doing the right thing is simply the right thing to do! At 4xi Global Consulting & Solutions, we’re dedicated to the quest of curating best-in-class innovation: products, services, technologies, or "things" that deliver impact. Check out our Explorers Innovation Directory for more. Visit vranda or set up a DEMO or you can email us directly to set up an introductory exploration at hello@4xiconsulting.com. Simon Elliot is Managing Partner of 4xi Global Consulting – a boutique firm focused on advancing the Human Experience of people away from home. Supporting clients in driving impact in ESG performance and advocating for positive change. Helene York is the sustainability lead at 4xi Global Consulting and has spent a career in driving ESG initiatives globally with some of the most progressive organizations in the world of food and facilities services. 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 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

Brynne Tilman CEO, Social Sales Link One of the biggest misses on LinkedIn for social sellers is that they connect and forget. The average B2B sales professional has over 2,000 connections, most of whom they are ignoring. And, on average, 10% of their connections are people they’d love to have a conversation with, yet they spend all their time on net new connections and rarely nurture the ones that they already have. "I call this conducting CPR on your connections. Yes, we are breathing life back into our network, but it also about identifying the clients, prospects, and referral partners that we want to engage." Practical Tip: Begin by exporting your connections: Click the Me in the dropdown menu. Click Settings & Privacy (may default here) Select Data Privacy Click on Get A Copy Of Your Data Click on Connections Add your LinkedIn email and password Click the Download Link in your notification email (arrives in about 10 minutes) Click Download Archive Open Your Connections CSV file Add a column on the right-hand side of the spreadsheet and Mark each connection as CPR Engage your network by providing insights, asking for their point of view on a topic or a poll, or sending them a personal video message from the LinkedIn app. TRUE NORTH© - Win better, retain better business. Brynne Tilman is the CEO of Social Sales Link. She is a LinkedIn Author, LinkedIn & Sales Navigator trainer. Brynne helps professionals transform the way they sell by converting connections to conversations, to clients. Brynne is also the host of the Making Sales Social podcast. Contact us to learn more about TRUE NORTH© including Brynn and Social Sales Link: hello@4xiconsulting.com 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 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

It’s been 15 years since the first Low Carbon Diet was introduced across the United States and the first books were published about the food system’s impact on climate. Now there’s an explosion of interest in climate-friendly diets. The impacts on climate change are becoming clearer, more severe, and widely accepted as human-induced. We can do something about it! At the same time, venture funders have invested heavily in alternative or substitute offerings - meat, egg, and fish products - that are finally able to demonstrate to consumers that new food types can have a similar taste, texture, smell, and satiety as familiar foods. People in their 20s and 30s, who are our employees, don't have decades of ingrained eating habits, are more multicultural than their parents and they are digging in. But so are older folks who are concerned about heart-healthy foods. Very few of either demographic, however, call themselves vegan. Or flexitarian, which was an early alternative designation. "Most people just want to eat what they like, but, also lower their health and climate risks." The challenge for chefs and foodservice operators has always been how to market and sell these products successfully. Fortunately, we now know that single and obvious efforts don’t move the needle. It takes a blended approach; meticulous menu planning, conscientious product sourcing, insightful consumer education, and thoughtful presentation. These are the keys to success for implementing a climate-friendly dining program at any location. Where to begin? We're happy to support you with Sustainability Simplified©. Helene York is an environmental and sustainability supply chain expert, adding her talents in strategic sourcing on a global level to 4xi's capabilities under our banner of Sustainability Simplified©. To learn more about Helene download her BIO, or you can contact Helene directly at helene@4xiconsulting.com 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 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

At 4xi, we believe in the constant quest for knowledge and learning, the importance of understanding the perspectives of others and learning from those perspectives. The 4xi Thought Leadership Book Series continues with the third in the series brought to you by 4xi's Design, Strategy, and Innovation expert, Melanie Corey-Ferrini. Check out her favorite reads and their impact on her work below. "I am an avid reader of information provided by others with new and unique viewpoints into the human experience and innovative approaches – environmental, personal, cultural, and/or purposeful." Foreword The readings below are a variety of books, magazines, and articles that have impacted my thinking about Design4Life© and towards leadership in projects and with companies, and for my own thirst and curiosity in new and innovative approaches that facilitate community and collaborative thinking. As the co-creator of 4xi's Design4Life©, as well as, an entrepreneur creating new companies, keeping informed about how design, architecture, new innovations, and creative business approaches are key to looking at design with a holistic and ever-changing lens. Keeping up to date on current thinking, being purposeful in the world, pushing the limits of project innovation and creation, and guiding projects to a new dimension is how I like to help others with their own projects. Design4Life© - People, Place, Purpose + Possibilities Making Business Personal by Robert Kegan, Lisa Lahey, Andy Fleming, and Matthew Miller from HBR Magazine (April 2014) A 150 Mile Wardrobe How One Closet Helped Kickstart A Local Economy by Kirsten Dirksen, Contributor A Pattern Language: Towns Buildings, Construction (Center for Environmental Structure Series by Christopher Alexander In designing their environments people always rely on certain "languages," which, like the languages we speak, allow them to articulate and communicate an infinite variety of designs within a formal system that gives them coherence. This book provides a language of this kind. It will enable a person to make a design for almost any kind of building, or any part of the built environment. It's Not Too Late! Crisis, Opportunity and The Power Of Hope by Francis Moore Lappé and The Small Planet Institute Despair is humanity’s worst enemy, I believe, so we—the whole Small Planet team—have created an easy-to-digest tour of inspiring ways US cities, states, and farms are stepping up to meet the climate crisis. Plus we explore key lessons from abroad. Knowing that hope has power—as it organizes our minds toward solutions. Resilience Matters, Reimagining The Future In A Tumultuous Year Edited by Laurie Mazur "Over the last three decades, Island Press has published seminal works on resilience, ecosystems, and sustainable urban design. As our cities confront turbulent times, much depends on how resilience is defined and implemented. Seeing an opportunity to shape that outcome, Island Press launched the Urban Resilience Project in 2013, with the support of The JPB Foundation and The Kresge Foundation. The project’s goal is to advance a holistic, transformative approach to thinking and action on urban resilience in the era of climate change, an approach grounded in a commitment to sustainability and equity." In this perennial bestseller, embraced by organizations and industries worldwide, globally preeminent management thinkers W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne challenge everything you thought you knew about the requirements for strategic success. Recognized as one of the most iconic and impactful strategy books ever written, BLUE OCEAN STRATEGY, now updated with fresh content from the authors, argues that cutthroat competition results in nothing but a bloody red ocean of rivals fighting over a shrinking profit pool. Based on a study of 150 strategic moves (spanning more than 100 years across 30 industries), the authors argue that lasting success comes not from battling competitors but from creating "blue oceans"--untapped new market spaces ripe for growth. In Abundance, The Future Is Better Than You Think, space entrepreneur turned innovation pioneer Peter H. Diamandis and award-winning science writer Steven Kotler document how progress in artificial intelligence, robotics, digital manufacturing synthetic biology, and other exponentially growing technologies will enable us to make greater gains in the next two decades than we have in the previous 200 years. We will soon have the ability to meet and exceed the basic needs of every person on the planet. Abundance for all is within our grasp. Breaking down human needs by category—water, food, energy, healthcare, education, freedom—Diamandis, and Kotler introduce us to innovators and industry captains making tremendous strides in each area. “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; . . . who at the best knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.”—Theodore Roosevelt Every day we experience the uncertainty, risks, and emotional exposure that define what it means to be vulnerable or to dare greatly. Based on twelve years of pioneering research, in Daring Greatly, Brené Brown Ph.D., MSW, dispels the cultural myth that vulnerability is weakness and argues that it is, in truth, our most accurate measure of courage. In Never Eat Alone, by Keith Ferrazzi, the specific steps—and inner mindset— he uses are laid out to reach out to connect with the thousands of colleagues, friends, and associates on his Rolodex, people he has helped, and who have helped him. Ferrazzi's form of connecting to the world around him is based on generosity, helping friends connect with other friends. Ferrazzi distinguishes genuine relationship-building from the crude, desperate glad-handing usually associated with “networking.” He then distills his system of reaching out to people into practical, proven principles. If you see a topic that strikes a chord for your team or business, please let us know, 4xi Global Consulting can help. Don't forget to leave your book recommendation in the comments! 4xi: Inspiring a brighter future, together. Drop us a note at: hello@4xiconsulting.com 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

Boutique consulting firm, 4xi Global Consulting announces the arrival of Dina Wiltshire joining the team to lead strategic partnership and growth for the business. Dina brings a wealth of first-hand operations and strategic experience to help clients flourish and drive positive change and impact across the portfolio of 4xi services, offerings, and support. “A satisfied customer is the best business strategy of all.” – Michael LeBoeuf Dina spent her career in Information Technology, call center, customer care, and consulting in a variety of business verticals. Designing and developing solutions for call centers, unified communications, and infrastructure management was a critical business need as the customer experience began moving from in-person face-to-face to technology platforms. Crafting systems to bring warmth, engagement, and genuine care onto the cold technology platforms became a mission. Managing, training, and leading cross-functional teams to increase revenue, enhance the customer experience, and exceed industry standard KPIs was the training ground to truly understanding what makes a company successful. With customer care and the customer experience being at the heart of her passion, Dina identifies opportunities for businesses to build traction and gain impact - thus creating a dynamic relationship between customer and business founded on these well-defined principles. Introducing Dina Wiltshire Over her career, Dina has consulted in disinfection and infection control; SaaS help desk design; HVAC synthetic additives for reducing the carbon footprint; fundraising strategies for not-for-profit organizations; call center consulting to improve the customer experience, and conducted studies for white paper publications. Understanding its causal effects and ultimately a solution to mitigate healthcare-acquired infections was the focus and target of this project. Growing up as a child in Africa, she saw firsthand how infections destroy lives, cause untold suffering and compromise the family, the village, and the country with far-reaching impacts on the economy and success. She studied French at Oxford College, United Kingdom, and completed numerous studies in leadership and information management technology and executive Finance and Accounting at McGill. Welcome on board Dina, and here's to getting Up Close & Personal. Q1: Where do you live? DW: Roswell, Georgia Q2: What was your journey to 4xi? DW: I heard about 4xi from my brother-in-law and did some research about the company. I fell in love with the mission, the vision, the members and decided to reach out to see where and how I could contribute. I am delighted to be part of the team. My focus is to help grow the 4xi business; to learn and introduce the programs that 4xi has developed; to share them with passion. I don’t hard sell anything! I listen, ask, and understand the customer’s story. I solve problems and identify opportunities to help the customer flourish! "Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood." -Stephen Covey Q3: Why is growth so important and how can you make a difference? DW: Growth means the 4xi offerings are adding value, being adopted, and more importantly contributing to the health and welfare of the customer’s own growth. Every time a customer wants more of what we have, it confirms that our solutions are making the world a more successful place one package at a time. Constant growth comes from customer feedback which is welcomed, solicited, and embraced. Better solutions are driven by changing needs. I bring a deep commitment to adding value. I have an inter-dependent relationship with my customers. Their success is my success. My approach to honoring the clients of 4xi is to bring my business acumen with me, not just my sales cap. The term Win-Win has many interpretations. For me personally, Win-Win means the customer and 4xi benefit with growth for both being achieved "Growth today hinges on sharing curated information; providing relevant and pertinent solutions and learning how to ask better questions." Q4: How does customer care help organizations succeed and why does it appeal to consumers? DW: When a customer chooses you as their provider; when they spend their money on your solution or product it is because you and your product or services impressed them. The sale itself is just the beginning. The long-term journey to affirming to the customer that their decision was correct is what customer care is all about. When a customer feels understood; when their reason for contacting you is resolved quickly and with respect; when the product or service makes a difference in their world, customer care is in action, at its best. The appeal to consumers is knowing that if they encounter a problem, it will be solved; if something underperforms it will be rectified and more importantly, their experience with you confirms to them that their business is ‘good’ business to you. Acknowledging the value that retaining a customer is as important, and, in many cases more important than gaining new ones, means the focus is always on the customer experience. Word of mouth has always been, and will likely continue to be, the best way to garner new business. Every interaction with a customer could result in dozens of tweets, a host of posts, a raft of new followers, and warm engaging responses. Customer care is the fuel that drives success and profit. Q5: If you were invited to a dinner party of 10, who would you invite? DW: An ideal dinner party for me would be outside in the Rocky Mountains around a campfire, dining on great food, looking up at the stars, listening to music, and sharing stories. When you remove formality, you elicit ease and grace. My guests would be an eclectic group of artists, impact masters, and scientists who have made the world better in beautiful and extraordinary ways. The buffet would comprise dishes treasured by each guest. A family favorite, a cultural tradition, or their own personal comfort food. All with exciting explosions of flavor. The meal would be set on trestle tables covered with white table cloths, decorated with a sprinkling of gold nuggets and quartz rocks from the surrounding mountains. These minerals from mother earth need to be carefully chosen and taken back into their pockets. A Gratitude Rock, a reminder of nature at her best, or as a memory of stories shared under a full moon on a crystal-clear night in the Rockies. A selection of bread from each continent at one end of the table with famous divine desserts at the other. A selection of wines from each continent for the guests to experience and savor. Plates and wine glasses crafted by local potters from Colorado clay and baked into rustic forms. Breaking bread and giving thanks in an extraordinary setting gives each guest an opportunity to be themselves and leave the ceremony behind. For the guest list, CS Lewis holds a special place in my heart, and having him regale us with stories would be a night to be remembered. Itzhak Perlman playing his Stradivarius under the milky way would leave us all entranced. Winston Churchill, because who can resist the presence of pure resilience mingled with the soft wafting smell of cigar smoke. John Denver, because he is John Denver and we are in the Rockies – ‘nuff said'. The Dalai Lama with his wisdom and tinkling, melodic voice chatting away in delight. Dr. Joe Dispenza for his gift of healing. Listening to him would ignite in each guest a sense that hope is all around us; all we have to do is grasp it and know we are changing the world by changing ourselves. Galileo Galilei because with zero light pollution here in this sacred place in the Rockies, he, above all guests, knows every star and constellation. General George Patton for some robust character and passionate discourse. Sitting Bull wove the power of the warrior with the wisdom of the spirits into a leader that to this day is admired, revered, and quoted. Finally, Mother Teresa to keep us all grounded in the power that it is deeds of love not talk that fill our hearts with compassion for our fellow man. "No matter how tasty the main dishes, how dynamic the wines, we have to have dessert. Let’s face it, as Mary Poppins puts it ‘a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down!" Q7: What are the top 3 pieces of advice you would offer to our readers with regards to improving their approach to customer care? DW: Number 1: Customer care isn’t about having it all sorted; having all the answers at your fingertips nor even a service or product that works 100% of the time, it is about listening with grace and fixing with honor and dignity. It is always about the journey, not the destination! Number 2: Never assume that customer care or customer experience is in the hands of the front-line workers, or the call center staff. The customer experience is owned wholly and completely by every member of the company, from the Chairman on down. No one person is more or less important to the customer experience. We each make a difference and we each must keep our eye on the prize. Our customer! Number 3: Customer care is a two-way street. It is as important for us to listen, engage and provide solutions for our customers as it is for us to listen, engage and provide solutions to each other. We are always stronger together and sharing insights from outside and inside is critical to making the processes, products, and services better and more valuable to the customer. Innovation is not a moment in time or a flash of brilliance, it is an open dialogue of sharing, understanding, and collaborating to new heights, vision, and growth that happens one ‘connect’ at a time. Q9: If you could change one thing, anything, what would it be? DW: To find equilibrium in a culture of collaboration versus competition. When we study nature, we do not see the survival of the fittest, we see the sharing of resources with more compassion and heart than we ever dreamed of. From the hidden roots of trees deep underground that feed, communicate and support each other in the forest to mothers tenderly taking the abandoned orphans of other species to raise as their own. "Collaboration is how we truly grow. Competition is how to innovate and to spur creativity and forward-thinking. It is business after all." Q10: What is your favorite food or cuisine? DW: So difficult to choose just one. May I have two? Mediterranean and Pho. Thanks, Dina, nice to get to know you, and welcome to the 4xi family! We looking forward to driving Growth and making a real impact for the future. 4xi: Our strength is in the power of our collective To learn more about Dina download her BIO, or you can contact Dina directly at dina@4xiconsulting.com 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

Welcome to 4xi's latest team member, Jennifer Durning, she is available to offer support on a consulting basis for individual projects and ongoing expertise. Jennifer’s focus is in areas of hospitality operations, conference services management, project management, and customer experience. Introducing Jennifer Durning Jennifer has a proven record of successfully managing projects in the hospitality industry. She is a solutions-focused manager who can think on her feet and is adept at creating beneficial working relationships with all levels of the client workforce while building training, and inspiring teams who excel at driving client and guest satisfaction. Jennifer was Vice President, Business & Operations, for JPMorgan Chase & Co. Here, she was responsible for operational oversight and overall quality of the conference centers, catering, and concierge services, including client centers, dining services, cafés, micro-markets, and pantries. Jennifer managed and developed vendors, and operations teams, including employee services programs, food service, and conference centers. She established conference meeting planning procedures and customer service expectations, aligning the staff responsible for conference planning services throughout the company’s managed conference space. Additionally, she’s leveraged the company’s property management system data to optimize the utilization of conference centers and amenity locations while enhancing the workplace and employee experience, simultaneously reducing external expenses for the firm. Other prior experience includes Meeting & Event Manager and Hotel/Front Office Operations at W New York Hotel in New York City, Sheraton Parsippany, NJ, and the Providence, RI, Marriott, where the client roster included financial institutions, socials, non-profit and large event operations. Jennifer received her Master of Project Management from Keller School of Management, DeVry University in 2019. She earned a B.S. in hospitality sales and meeting management and an A.S. in hotel/restaurant management from Johnson & Wales University, Providence, Rhode Island. Jennifer is a Certified Meeting Professional through the Convention Industry Council and a member of the Project Management Institute (PMI) working toward her PMP certification. Welcome on board Jennifer, and here's to getting Up Close & Personal. Q1: Where do you live? JD: Dallas, Texas Q2: What was your journey to 4xi? JD: I began my career in the hotel industry, checking guests in at the front desk while attending Johnson & Wales University in Providence, RI. If you’ve worked in hotels, you understand there’s never a dull moment- and that’s what hooked me. I loved the guest contact, problem-solving, and the people I worked with; it gave me the opportunity to use my degree in a tangible way. I had the opportunity to work in many departments throughout several hotel brands, and as grew as a manager, I strengthened my foundation and the skills I use today: attention to detail, listening communication and language skills, and multitasking. "The hotel industry rounded out my discipline and eventually led me to work at JPMorgan Chase & Co, in Midtown, Manhattan, and the Southwest, where I had the opportunity to manage and expand a conference services team and amenities programs." Q3: What does Operational Leadership mean to you and how can you help 4xi clients make a difference? JD: I remember my first day at JP Morgan, I walked onto the elevator, pressed the floor button, looked up, and greeted everyone in the elevator. As a former hotel employee, it came so naturally to engage with people around me. Thankfully I caught myself from the embarrassment, but I reflect on that day and continue to ask the question - why can’t we greet corporate employees like we would hotel guests? We are all guests in the workplace. There’s a linear connection between hospitality and engaging customers and employees to feel welcomed. Fast forward to today, and I am reading, Think Again, by Adam Grant. I find his book relevant to where we are; there’s a need to unlearn, let go of "comfortable" and have the courage to embrace discomfort, and challenge the thought process. I like the idea that we can rethink and unlearn the past few years and perhaps move forward differently. "I believe my experience, as well as the collective of 4xi, can help companies move forward, rethink, and combine operational leadership, workplace hospitality, customer experience, and employee engagement." Q4: What role do you think creating operational efficiencies plays in the approach to winning and retaining better business? JD: Throughout my career, I quickly recognized great service is not only about providing a service but more importantly taking care of the employees who provide that service daily; it is about building a great team and making employee satisfaction a priority. I’ve worked for great brands, like W Hotels, one of the first lifestyle brands, and here, teams were motivated, engaged, and recognized by employee activities, surveys, and feedback. When you prioritize employee satisfaction, you will see the direct correlation between guest feedback and surveys. This type of leadership, both customer and employee engagement, is the key to retaining better business. "That said, contracting for the lowest-priced option in all categories is a big mistake, regardless of your market position or a client's current "climate" - it's just simply never a good idea and always results in a race to the bottom when it comes to customer and guest experience." Q5: What are the most interesting innovations you see in the market today? JD: When I first started working in conference services, we used a manual bookkeeping system for all the events and space confirmed. Can you believe it - what an antiquated way to manage space! Now, conference and workplaces teams can integrate PMS systems to manage space utilization, sensor technology for real-time people counting, even streamline visitor experiences, all while providing metrics to stakeholders. It is an exciting time, and thankfully a big leap from manual bookkeeping. Q6: If you were hosting a dinner party of 10, who would you invite? JD: I love to cook AND entertain! I need more than 30 ingredients in a recipe to be interested in making it. My pantry is filled with spices, teas, coffee, and ingredients I can’t pronounce – some I’ve picked up throughout my travels. My love for food is rooted in the memories of my Italian Grandmother Octavia, she always had a pot of water boiling ready for pasta! I’d invite my large New Jersey family and new friends and family here in Texas to enjoy a delicious Sunday dinner like we always did at Grandma's house growing up. Q7: What is your favorite vacation destination and why? JD: I’ve traveled to 14 countries; 5 continents and I am working toward seeing every state in the U.S. There’s so much to see and do, particularly here in the U.S. But, my favorite international adventure, so far, was traveling across Morocco with my good friend and the 2 guides we hired. We crossed the Sahara Desert on a camel, trekking out into the sand to stay overnight in a tent and see the sunset and sunrise – a picture-perfect adventure. Q8: If you could change one thing, anything, what would it be? JD: I’d like for the summers to be warm and long on the shore and to be able to see my family in New Jersey at a moment’s notice. Over the past few years, I’ve learned to hold on tight to family and family and friends. Q9: What is your favorite food or cuisine? JD: When it comes to food, I eat mostly plant-based, adding eggs, seafood and cheese a few times a month. I believe you are what you eat – wellness, nutrition, and a holistic approach to managing your health, along with functional movements and yoga. I like the research by Dan Buettner, and The Blue Zones, where he’s identified five locations around the world where people not only live the longest but are happy and active- able body people with little alignments. His work has been integrated with communities and there’s been a positive impact on how people live- imagine if we introduced his ideas into the workplace. Thanks, Jennifer, so nice to get to know you, and welcome to the 4xi family! 4xi: Our strength is in the power of our collective To learn more about Jennifer download her BIO, or you can contact Jennifer directly at jenniferdurning@4xiconsulting.com 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

Welcome to 4xi's latest team member, Helene York, her focus is to help clients craft, review, and update, social and environmental responsibility plans or programming to achieve results that are meaningful, measurable, realistic, by providing adaptable choices with the greatest impact. Helene is an environmental and sustainability supply chain expert, adding her talents in strategic sourcing on a global level to our capabilities under our banner of Sustainability Simplified©. Introducing Helene York Now a teacher and an independent strategic advisor after two decades as a supply chain innovator with global and national experience for foodservice companies, Helene has made a career of questioning business as usual, partnering with chefs, and building trust among suppliers and distributors to move in new directions. At Bon Appetit Management Company, she developed new produce, seafood, meat, chocolate, snack, and coffee supply chains, and created the Low Carbon Diet, the first US national program to implement climate-friendly menus. This program was explored by a prominent science reporter and featured on the front page of the LA Times on Earth Day 2008. The key ingredient to this successful program was partnering with chefs, the 'choice editors' of our food system As Global Director of Responsible Business for Compass Group at Google, Helene led a supply chain team supporting 60 restaurants and 300 micro-kitchens in Silicon Valley and supported on-the-ground procurement officers in 27 countries. She led the implementation of food waste reduction technology and practices across the world. At Guckenheimer, she served as Chief Procurement Officer and as Head of Social and Environmental Responsibility. She developed and won support for a broadly responsible procurement strategy that embedded shared value and profitability, supporting chefs' ability to continue to serve delicious options, responsibly. She advised the global ISS team to adopt an industry-leading set of progressive sustainability goals including the Cool Food Pledge and aggressive in-unit waste reduction goals. Over her career, Helene has visited countless farms, fisheries, and processors across the world in pursuit of understanding levers of change, creating channels for byproducts dismissed as waste, and encouraging biodiversity. One effort resulted in planting pollinator plants and heirloom potatoes grown on a large farm in Ireland. She takes pride in having coached numerous emerging food business leaders and smallholder farms to get a foothold supplying contract food service. She teaches a class, Supply Chains, Logistics, Manufacturing, and Legal Contracts, to master’s students at the Food Business School of the CIA. She also works with Postelsia, an advisory service, that seeks to expand opportunities for environmentally and socially responsible smallholder fishery and aquaculture operations. Helene has served on numerous boards including Humane Farm Animal Care (animal welfare), Chef Ann Foundation (school nutrition), Fishchoice (traceability/sustainability), and Project Open Hand (food as medicine). She earned her MBA in Strategy from Yale. Welcome on board Helene, and here's to getting Up Close & Personal. Q1: Where do you live? HY: San Francisco, California Q2: What was your journey to 4xi? HY: I have to admit that I fell into the foodservice and hospitality industry. It wasn’t by design or intention, but now I’ve spent two decades at the intersection of procurement and sustainability, before sustainability was even a commonly used term, working with wonderful people, piloting new ideas, teaching chefs about complicated concepts, and learning effective menu engineering techniques from them. "I’m here to bring all that experience to clients who are looking to make meaningful change, and to communicate what they are doing." Q3: Why is Sustainability so important and how can you make a difference? HY: Three reasons. It’s a global imperative. Period. Everyone has an important role to play. We can’t simply let others do the work we also need to do. Second, taking meaningful action is necessary to retain the best talent and recruit the best talent in the future. Marketing by itself is hollow. Action, (re)evaluation, reporting, and engagement is a virtuous cycle that builds a positive work culture and changes behaviors. "Ultimately, sustainability is about using and wasting fewer resources, so it has a bottom-line positive impact and is a competitive necessity." Q4: How does Procurement play a role? HY: I’ve helmed procurement teams and now I teach supply chain development at the Food Business School of the CIA. Procurement is important for most companies’ bottom line and it is critical for smooth operations. That said, contracting for the lowest-priced option in all categories is a big mistake, regardless of your market positioning. In times of market friction and supply chain disruption, companies that have negotiated the lowest prices are the first to experience broken contracts. I saw that happen way before COVID: during the Swine Flu crisis in 2009 and the Avian flu crisis in 2015, to name two. Treating suppliers as vendor partners, with mutually supportive goals, is a more rewarding way to operate over the long term. This kind of relationship also allows you to signal you need better products, more innovative products and helps your supply chain partners move the market for you. If COVID has taught us one thing, it is that Procurement needs to be seen as a strategic business function and not simply a set of tactical functions, subsidiary to Finance, or Operations. Q5: What are the most interesting Product innovations you see in the market today? HY: There are so many different products being developed that substitute beans or fungi for animal-based products that anything I’d say now could be out of date next month. The key to success for any of these potential replacements will be deliciousness. Without great taste, consumers won’t accept them, regardless of cost or our distributors’ ability to have them in stock. Q6: If you were invited to a dinner party of 10, who would you invite? HY: A perfect dinner involves great food and charming company that would delight in each other’s association in a welcoming environment. My guests would be curious and creative people. The dinner table would be in a space where 360-degree projections of different environments - under the sea, in the forest, on the beach at sunset, in a Gaudi-designed room - would change with each course. The chef and guest #1 would be Niki Nakayama. I’d invite Julia Child because I’m told she was as lovely as her TV personality; Meryl Streep, because they’d play off each other; Jeff Goldblum, the actor and leader of the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra, and “House of Cards” soundtrack composer Jeff Beale, who would do double duty to fill the space with music; comedians Mike Reiss, co-writer of The Simpsons and host of the podcast, What Are We Doing Here?, Rob Bryden doing imitations, and Olivia Colman; and food historian Mark Kurlansky. "We’d have to eat oysters because I love them, they are a superior food from an environmental perspective, and Kurlansky has written a great book about them!" Q7: How does Menu innovation help organizations and appeal to consumers - what are the latest trends? HY: The key to sustainability is delighting our guests with offerings that appeal and don't heavily rely on animal-based foods. It’s so easy to promote food offerings using photos of big portions with a lot of cheese but we need alternatives. We need to menu dishes that are visually appealing, smell and taste great, and are satisfying portion sizes so they’re not wasted. We need to name the dishes creatively and place them high on the menu to become the ‘anchor’ choice. "Perhaps, most importantly, Menu Innovation has to be two-way, with chefs using samples and getting true feedback from guests, who can influence how far you can drive innovation more than we realize." Q8: What are the top 3 pieces of advice you would offer to our readers with regards to improving our approach to sustainability? HY: Number 1: Sustainability isn’t about reducing to-go containers or having a singular focus on eliminating plastics. It’s fundamentally about changing our culture to see that resources are finite and shared. We need to use fewer resources overall and change our behaviors, which will drive innovation. Number 2: We also need to accept that simply marketing any good practice - such as promoting reusable vessels - won’t create sustained behavior change. We need to adopt multiple strategies to be effective. Number 3: One way we often trip up is by solving the wrong problem. Taking an innovative approach lets us figure out the key problem to solve, not the obvious problem. Are we trying to eliminate plastic to-go containers, for example, or achieve the most environmentally responsible foodservice operation? Q9: If you could change one thing, anything, what would it be? HY: To have a culture of open-mindedness. Where you are willing to consider new things without jumping to solutions immediately, which is an occupational hazard among earnest foodservice professionals. Q10: What is your favorite food or cuisine? HY: Itameshi! A fusion of Italian and Japanese. Think umami-bomb pasta and pizza. Thanks, Helene, nice to get to know you, and welcome to the 4xi family! We looking forward to driving Sustainability Simplified© and making a real impact for the future. 4xi: Our strength is in the power of our collective To learn more about Helene download her BIO, or you can contact Helene directly at helene@4xiconsulting.com 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

It's February 22, 2022. or otherwise written as 2/22/22 - this is what's known as a palindrome - meaning it reads the same forward as it does backward. It also falls on a Tuesday, which is now referred to as #Twosday - how will you remember 2.22.22 at 2.22 pm? Today is the most exceptional date in over a decade. It's a ubiquitous palindrome date because it's a palindrome whether written in the U.S. format (month, day, year) or international date format more widely used (day, month, and year). The last time there was a ubiquitous six-digit palindrome date was November 11, 2011. For me, this is a momentous week, no less so than it's my 20th Wedding Anniversary, China is apparently the traditional gift, Platinum, modern, an Emerald, or a white Daylily. I am also extremely proud of the progress we're making at 4xi - expanding our team, our capabilities, capacity as we continue our growth journey and evolution. But it's the events in #Ukraine that I will remember this day/week the most. Although I wasn't around in 1939, the rhetoric from Moscow and the progress of events in recent days have been alarming, to say the least. My thoughts go out to all those in Ukraine, and all the soldiers and servicemen and women on both sides of the political fence, and hope that sensibility and peace ultimately prevail. My prayers go to the world leaders to make the right, probably tough decisions to ensure global safety and stability for all. I wish for #Peace and #IBackUkraine Simon Elliot is Managing Partner and co-founder of 4xi Global Consulting, is a global citizen, originally from the UK, now a Resident of the United States, having navigated 6 of the 7 continents including across West and Eastern Europe. 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

4xi Global Consulting & Solutions continues its expansion with a key appointment of industry leader and figurehead, Hans Lindh as Non-Executive Director and Senior Advisor. Hans is a former senior growth executive with extensive global experience retaining and growing complex client portfolios across different industries and geographies. With a flair for managing ambiguity and inspiring organizations to excel, Hans has led diverse and geographically dispersed, multi-functional matrix teams to create win-win solutions that make strategic partnerships flourish for companies like American Express and Aramark. In his role as a non-executive senior advisor to 4xi Hans will leverage his experience and industry perspective to support the Managing Partners and the overall 4xi business with a long-term strategy, advocacy, and senior-level relationships. “We’re absolutely thrilled to welcome Hans to our team as we continue our glidepath of growth and add capability and expertise to deliver upon our mission - advancing the Human Experience for people away from home: at work, in education, at rest, and at leisure.” - Simon Elliot, 4xi Managing Partner, and co-founder A Swedish native with U.S. and EU citizenships, Hans is a former Board Member of the International Hotel & Restaurant Association and has been recognized as a Top 100 Global Sales leader by the Modern Sale. “Hans has been a long-time friend and advocate of our business and adds an important dimension to our leadership team as we continue to add value and deliver impact to our clients.” - Barbara Boden, 4xi Managing Partner, and co-founder 4xi: Our Strength is in the Power of Our Collective 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

Guest Blog from Kyle LaCour Kyle LaCour is Client Success Manager at MyFieldAudits - a game-changing App platform that allows operators of dispersed locations to see more than ever before, in real time. Thanks for sharing this article on the 4xi BLOG Kyle. Maximizing Employee Output and Engagement Oh, the many the challenges of maximizing employee output… with increased COVID measures and staffing shortages, management is increasingly tempted to further load the proverbial straw onto the backs of their onsite teams. But as the proverb goes, there’s always a breaking point. These limits present in a number of ways; from the more extreme unionization, protests, and straight-up refusals to work to the much more subtle, harder to tackle, diminishing returns on employee investment. When asking more starts to get you less, it’s time to re-evaluate your approach. While many tools claim they offer ways to further maximize employee output, oftentimes their implementation has the opposite impact. A perfect example is some of the initial strategies our clients have in using our onsite inspection platform. Frequently, we’re given a laundry list inspection forms - 50, 75, or a hundred items long that hourly employees are expected to complete within an already thinly stretched schedule. The results can be expectedly disappointing. Lack of attention to detail inspections (if they even happen at all) that provide little value. “I learned no detail was too small, it is all about the details.” - Brad Grey, Former CEO of Paramount The challenge often lies in the ratio of value to effort in the eyes of the employees. When people are asked to do high-effort tasks with little to no insight or involvement on their impact, it breeds disregard or disdain for their assigned tasks. As a hybrid technology and consulting firm, we’ve seen firsthand how flipping the paradigm of the value to the effort has not only increased engagement with our own platform but changed the dynamic between leadership and onsite teams. One approach that’s had a huge impact is the use of critical photo audits. Rather than teams checking endless boxes, they submit comprehensive photo examples of how they’re executing critical standards. Now here’s the crucial part: the results are reviewed REGULARLY with input from the teams themselves, creating a conversation about what’s working, what’s not and re-enforcing the fact that their actions do have an impact. The effect on employee morale has been palpable - feeling their time is valued creates the desire to contribute and see their hard work shown off. Leadership is funneled better information to make informed decisions. The effect on operations, is tangible, with increased compliance and overall output from teams. "As we look to the future of work and the role of onsite employees in it, success lies in not asking for more, but in asking for higher-value output from your employees and engaging them in the process." - Kyle LaCour, Client Development Strategist, MyFieldAudits MyFieldAudits: Less Chasing...More Doing To learn more about MyFieldAudits, 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 curating best-in-class innovation: products, services, technologies, or "things" that deliver impact. Check out our Explorers Innovation Directory for more. DOWNLOAD information on MyFieldAudits and set up a DEMO, or you can email us directly 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 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

At 4xi, we believe in the constant quest for knowledge and learning, the importance of understanding the perspectives of others and learning from those perspectives. The 4xi Thought Leadership Book Series continues with the second in the series, and 4xi's Chief Experience Officer in Residence, Tony Johnson, as he shares his favorite books and explains why they are important. "Learning isn't just a process of reinforcing your own point of view but assimilating and blending with others." Foreword I have always been a reader – and I have always fancied myself an author. The written word has always had a pull for me and although I don’t claim to have any artistic ability to speak of writing was where I found my calling a very long time ago. I attended Ball State University because at the time they were regarded as one of the best journalism schools in the country and I had my eyes set on making my living with a pen, a typewriter, and later a computer. "You can't tell which way the train went by looking at the tracks." - James Patterson Even as my career took interesting and unexpected detours, I always maintained my love of reading and writing. As a lover of facts, opinions, and learning my focus was always more around non-fiction, but I do have a huge appreciation of prolific writers such as Dan Brown, Sue Grafton, Ian Fleming, and James Patterson who could spin a yarn across decades and keep us very entertained. "Never job backwards. What might have been is a waste of time." - Ian Fleming But I think there is also something special about sharing your favorite books with others – it shows your personality in a very different way and can also reinforce your vision of leadership, service, and business. Here are my selections for the 4xi Thought Leadership Book Series. I hope you enjoy them, find value in reading them, and sharing them with others. CREATING MAGIC is one of my favorite books of all time. Lee Cockerell was a long-time Disney executive, and he is a masterful storyteller when It comes to bringing customer experience to life. I appreciate the way in which he approaches the idea of leadership and guest experience – in a very real and understandable way. I own this book in hardcover, e-book, and audio formats. It’s that good! Cockerell reminds us that everyone is important and to be careful of what we say and do. It is a customer experience (CX) and business book all rolled into one (one fuels the other after all). He also offers valuable advice on customer focus, management, productivity, and growing your career. It’s a triple threat, as they say in show business. This is a book that I read once every couple of years – or better yet, listen to on Audiobook as Lee reads the copy himself. It’s always such a treat to hear an author read their own work. TOGETHER WE SERVE I wrote this book myself and is one of my proudest achievements. I thought long and hard about including this book on the list and I believe that every experience I had in the world of restaurants, corporate America, and consulting combined together to create this book. I add this to the list because I am a teacher at heart and want to share my story, experiences, and ideas for success with you. Through the lenses of Service Success, Customer Success, Leadership Success, and Executional Success I give you the roadmap to employee and customer experiences that will build loyalty and trust. I remember reading OUTSIDE IN as I prepared for my Certified Customer Experience Exam many years ago. This book is a CX classic and so meaningful when it comes to understanding how to look at hospitality from the customer's point of view rather than the view of an organization. This is at the heart of understanding your customer’s journey and the design of your experience strategy. Bob Iger was the past CEO and Executive Chairman of the Walt Disney Company. Those who know me know that I love my Disney Parks and my nieces love Disney and Pixar movies. THE RIDE OF A LIFETIME digs deep into Bob’s journey through ABC and then Disney with a type of candor that is refreshing and eye-opening. As I read about his struggles and his successes, it helped me look at my leadership in a slightly different way. There was a great section about how he lobbied for the CEO job after Michael Eisner as you would a political campaign and it really did paint a picture of how to communicate value to others and to foster relationships along the way. My favorite chapter was hearing about his relationship with Steve Jobs and how they worked through a near disaster with Pixar It sounds like a stretch to say that a book “changed your life.” But 10% HAPPIER did. Dan Harris was a reporter and anchor for ABC, and I watched him for many years on Weekend Good Morning America and Nightline. I also remember when he had a panic attack on national television and learned more of his struggles as I read his book. Meditation is one of those things that everyone is talking about and is gaining more and more mainstream acceptance. My 4xi colleague Georgina Miranda has a mastery of the topic and we’ve had many conversations around mindfulness. This book is a real peek behind the curtain of how to adopt a more mindful approach and to use mediation as a tool to quiet your inner critic – that inner voice that just won’t shut up and for which nothing is ever good enough. Harris shares how you can use it to bring a bit of calm to your life while not losing your edge. And yes, I meditate every day – and while I’m not very good at it yet, I keep working to improve. There were several honorable mentions: What Got You Here Won’t Get You There, Switch, Big Potential, and Be Our Guest – but I’ll leave those for my next installment. If you see a topic that strikes a chord for your team or business, please let us know, 4xi Global Consulting can help. Don't forget to leave your book recommendation in the comments! Let's inspire the future together. Drop us a note at: hello@4xiconsulting.com 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