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Articles by Sam Reese
CEOs: 5 Business Opportunities You Can’t Ignore
Business Operations After a year of pessimism and uncertainty, recent research conducted by Vistage and the Wall Street Journal reveals an increase in CEO optimism as we enter 2026. With this improving sentiment comes a variety of business opportunities, and the world’s best CEOs are striking while the iron is hot.
The 5 opportunities business leaders can't afford to ignore in 2026
After a year of pessimism and uncertainty, recent research conducted by Vistage and the Wall Street Journal reveals an increase in CEO optimism as we enter 2026. With this improving sentiment comes a variety of opportunities, and the world's best CEOs are striking while the iron is hot.The following are five of the most significant opportunities CEOs are seizing as we kick off a new year:1.
How Leaders Can Improve Their 2025 Strategic Planning
As 2026 rapidly approaches, many business leaders are starting their strategic planning process. Setting a strategy is the most difficult and important part of a CEO's job. While there are many different ways to create an annual strategic plan, effective plans include a few common elements. They reflect what worked and did not work well in the previous year, and the opportunities for the following year.
What You Need to Know About the Future of Blockchain Finance
An unprecedented shift is reshaping the foundations of global finance. Cryptocurrencies are gaining greater acceptance in Washington, with President Donald Trump establishing a strategic bitcoin reserve and signing the GENIUS Act. Meanwhile, state treasuries are adding bitcoin to their balance sheets, and public companies are holding a growing portion of their reserve in bitcoin. Stablecoins, digital tokens designed to maintain a stable value, are also entering the mainstream.
Why the world's best CEOs are training like athletes -- and how you can, too
Entrepreueur The opinions expressed by contributors to Entrepreneur are theirs. World’s top CEOs approach their leadership in the same manner as elite athletes do: with focus, discipline and a commitment for constant improvement. Today’s most successful leaders do not wait for challenges. They prepare for them. As a former All American distance runner for the University of Colorado Boulder I know firsthand that preparation and mindset are the key to excelling.
How I Stopped Letting Emotion Sabotage My Leadership — And How You Can Too | Entrepreneur
For years, I let fear, ego, and loyalty influence my biggest decisions. It felt noble. Human, even. But looking back, I can see how much it held us back. Once I learned to pause, recognize what I was feeling and act from clarity — not emotion — everything changed. I became a better CEO. The business grew faster, ran smoother and became more profitable. And I showed up with a level of calm and confidence that transformed how others responded to me. Now I lead with clarity, not chaos.
5 Reasons Why We Champion SMB Leaders
National Small Business Week is a week-long celebration dedicated to spotlighting the backbone of our economy: small and midsize businesses (SMB). These businesses are the often-unsung heroes driving our country's economic growth, fostering job creation and nurturing local communities. The numbers are staggering: Small businesses alone account for 99% of all businesses and 44% of all economic activity in America. They employ 61.7 million Americans, including 46.4% of private sector employees.
5 Reasons Why We Champion SMB Leaders
Leadership National Small Business Week is a week-long celebration dedicated to spotlighting the backbone of our economy: small and midsize businesses (SMB). These businesses are the often-unsung heroes driving our country’s economic growth, fostering job creation and nurturing local communities. The numbers are staggering: Small businesses alone account for 99% of all businesses and 44% of all economic activity in America.
How Accountability Teams Enhance Leadership Effectiveness
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. We are well past National Quitters’ Day (the second Friday in January), when approximately 23% of people have abandoned their goals for the New Year. But a CEO cannot afford to quit. The most successful leaders know that sustained progress requires more than good intentions — it takes consistency and accountability all 12 months of the year. That’s where accountability teams come in.
How Accountability Teams Enhance Leadership Effectiveness
We are well past National Quitters' Day (the second Friday in January), when approximately 23% of people have abandoned their goals for the New Year. But a CEO cannot afford to quit. The most successful leaders know that sustained progress requires more than good intentions — it takes consistency and accountability all 12 months of the year. That's where accountability teams come in.
How to Overcome the Fears of Being a New CEO
Taking on a leadership role — especially as a new CEO — brings its own set of fears and challenges. For many, it can trigger "imposter syndrome," causing doubt about the ability to handle the demands of the new position. Some new leaders feel stuck at first, unable to make decisions for fear that the wrong one could set back the company and jeopardize their credibility as well.
How Leaders Can Improve Their 2025 Strategic Planning
Strategic Planning As 2025 rapidly approaches, many business leaders are starting their strategic planning process. Setting a strategy is the most difficult and important part of a CEO’s job. While there are many different ways to create an annual strategic plan, effective plans include a few common elements. They reflect what worked and did not work well in the previous year and the opportunities for the following year.
How to Create a Winning Strategic Plan for 2025 Original
As 2025 rapidly approaches, many business leaders are starting their strategic planning process. Setting a strategy is the most difficult and important part of a CEO's job. While there are many different ways to create an annual strategic plan, effective plans include a few common elements. They reflect what did and did not work well in the previous year, as well as the opportunities for the following year.
How CEOs Can Find Their Leadership Style
There is no one-size-fits-all leadership style that works for everyone. Finding a successful leadership approach takes time and often involves trial and error, as CEOs learn from their experience and their peers' best practices and mistakes. At Vistage, we have a front-row seat to how CEOs of small and midsize businesses dedicate themselves to improving their leadership on an ongoing basis, driven by a spirit of selflessness, curiosity and humility.
How CEOs Can Find Their Leadership Style Original
There is no one-size-fits-all leadership style that works for everyone. Finding a successful leadership approach takes time and often involves trial and error, as CEOs learn from their experience and their peers' best practices and mistakes. At Vistage, we have a front-row seat to how CEOs of small and midsize businesses dedicate themselves to improving their leadership on an ongoing basis, driven by a spirit of selflessness, curiosity and humility.
5 Habits Shared by the Most Successful Leaders
Across a wide array of industries and geographies, the world's greatest business leaders know all goals must be rooted in consistent habits that support them. Top leaders regularly evaluate and reassess whether their daily practices are enabling them to lead effectively and efficiently, and ultimately, whether they are paving the path for their long-term plans.
5 Ways CEOs Can Increase Productivity in 2024 Original
My conversations with CEOs across the country keep returning to a similar theme: the need for increased productivity in the workplace has never been greater. Today, leaders are grappling with unparalleled challenges, from the digital revolution to global economic shifts to the post-pandemic business landscape. With this complex set of issues at hand, productivity has become the governance for measuring whether an organization is progressing or staying stagnant, and ultimately, falling behind.
Creating a culture of success
Owner of The Line Up and Vistage 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award Winner Deb Erickson joins the podcast to share her journey from working in social services to making apparel for some of the biggest sports teams in the country. Deb also talks with Vistage CEO Sam Reese about how learning to ask for help unlocked new potential for herself and her company, and the lessons she's learned while putting in place a concrete succession plan.
Why CEO networks are key to success
The adage, "You are the sum of your closest friends," rings particularly true for CEOs. Over the last 30+ years, I've been uniquely blessed with the opportunity to meet and learn from hundreds of CEOs. One of the greatest predictors of a CEO's success is their network: The people CEOs choose to surround themselves with will make a meaningful difference in how well they respond to challenges and how likely they are to succeed. Some CEOs may consider networking a numbers game.
6 ways peer advisory groups help CEOs scale
Imagine hiking a mountain from base to summit. During steep ascents, you may have moments of doubt. During long, flat stretches, you can catch your breath ... but loneliness can set in. And what if there's a dramatic change in weather, or danger presents itself? Every expert mountaineer knows you should never go it alone. You'll climb higher and go further with an experienced team. Plus, it's a whole lot more rewarding sharing the journey with peers you trust and respect. The same is true in business.
The CEO's 7 pillars of leadership
CEOs are in the business of making decisions, and it's the outcome of those decisions that define their success. So how do leaders rise to the challenge day after day, year over year? We have learned that leadership is a journey that requires a daily commitment. Every day, leaders rise to the challenge and recommit to their vision and purpose. That's why we refer to it as "a life of climb." The climb is challenging, but when approached with integrity and rigor, the rewards can be profound.
Embracing the leadership climb: 6 benefits CEOs gain from peer advisory groups
Imagine hiking a mountain from base to summit. During steep ascents, you may have moments of doubt. During long, flat stretches, you can catch your breath ... but loneliness can set in. And what if there's a dramatic change in weather, or danger presents itself? Every expert mountaineer knows you should never go it alone. You'll climb higher and go further with an experienced team. Plus, it's a whole lot more rewarding sharing the journey with peers you trust and respect. The same is true in business.
The 7 biggest mistakes of CEOs
CEOs are human, and they make mistakes. I know I have, especially when I was a first-time CEO. Unfortunately, today's business environment leaves little room for error. Inflation spikes, geopolitical conflicts, an ongoing pandemic and looming recession have left businesses in a precarious position. With so much instability, any mistake can cost a business dearly. Great CEOs realize one thing in their control that can have a significant impact on outcomes is their leadership development.
CEO insights: Purpose is your North Star
As CEOs have led their organizations through the unchartered waters of the pandemic, purpose has emerged as a true North Star. It guided leaders in their decision-making, helping them determine what direction to take during the most difficult times. And for those whose company did not yet have a well-defined purpose prior to the pandemic, the need to establish one became undeniable. Purpose can drive big business benefits – when developed and implemented correctly.
7 laws for leading a CEO's "life of climb"
CEOs are in the business of making decisions, and it's the outcome of those decisions that define their success. So how do leaders rise to the challenge day after day, year over year? We have learned that leadership is a journey that requires a daily commitment. Every day, leaders rise to the challenge and recommit to their vision and purpose. That's why we refer to it as "a life of climb." The climb is challenging, but when approached with integrity and rigor, the rewards can be profound.
5 ways to make accountability part of your corporate culture
Accountability - that quality of personal responsibility and ownership - can be difficult to establish and easy to lose. It's also more elusive than you might think in today's business world. A Harvard Business Review survey shows almost 50% of managers are terrible at accountability. That's not surprising, because accountability isn't something you can do half way. No executive or business can be "sort of accountable." It requires a commitment from the top and adoption throughout the organization.
How to build accountability into your corporate culture
While holding others accountable, you as a leader have to be accountable as well.
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