AI Trust Signals

Find out just how likely AI is to recommend YOU. 

SEO got you found. AI trust signals get you recommended. And the brands that win tomorrow are the ones AI trusts today.

Co-Founder

PriceGuide.ai

Explode leads on your website with PriceGuide.ai, allowing you to quickly, easily, and inexpensively create a pricing estimator for your product or service, giving your website visitors what they want while giving you way more of what you need-- LEADS.

The Question First Group

Helping leaders and sales teams connect deeper and win more trust by learning the art of breakthrough conversations.

Marcus Sheridan International, Inc.

In 2017 Forbes named Marcus 1 of 20 “Speakers You Don’t Want to Miss the Opportunity to See." He has been featured in The New York Times, Inc., The Globe and Mail, Content Marketing Institute, Social Media Examiner and more. Having spoken to hundreds of audiences and thousands of people around the world, Marcus delivers riveting and passionate performances that motivate and inspire!

Keynote Speaker

They Ask, You Answer

Rated the #1 Marketing Book to read in 2017 by Mashable and the "#2 Marketing Book of All-Time" by Book Authority, Forbes listed it as one of "11 Marketing Books Every CMO Should Read."

"They Ask, You Answer" is a revolutionary approach to Inbound Sales, Content Marketing, and Today’s Digital Consumer.  In it, Marcus shares his simple approach to inbound marketing that has earned an exceptional track record across many industries and throughout the world.  How can a single approach to selling be so versatile? Simple - it's all about the customer.  All potential customers need answers along their way to making a purchase and "They Ask, You Answer" definitively shows businesses, B2B and B2C, exactly how to become the most trusted voice in their industry.

Author

The Visual Sale

How to Use Video to Explode Sales, Drive Marketing, and Grow Your Business in a Virtual World.

IMPACT

Recognized by Fortune Magazine as one of the “Top 25 SMB Workplaces” in 2017, IMPACT is obsessed with helping businesses and organizations succeed.  By offering full support from strategy to implementation, as well as education and in-depth training, IMPACT is able to help lead their clients to success regarding all things inbound, digital, and today’s changing buyer.

Owner/Partner

River Pools

Currently one of the largest fiberglass pool installers in the United States with the most visited swimming pool web site in the world.  In 2001 and fresh out of college, Marcus stumbled across his first business with two friends: installing swimming pools out of the back of a beat-up pickup truck. Nine years later, with the help of incredible innovations through inbound and content marketing, Sheridan’s company overcame the collapse of the housing market and became a leader in the industry.

Partner

The Sales Lion

The Sales Lion is a Marketing/Sales consulting company focusing on helping organizations develop a culture of content and inbound marketing while dramatically improving sales, marketing and video communication.  We offer world-class training, consulting, workshops, and keynotes for businesses, brands, & agencies around the globe.

Founder and President

Working with Chris Marr, founder of the Content Marketing Academy, Marcus has developed workshops focused on achieving true “World Class Communication.”  His true passion is found in helping others reach their potential as teachers, communicators, and speakers. Marcus’s workshops are focused on pushing business professionals and executives to improve their ability to communicate, motivate, and inspire in all walks of life.  Covering such topics as: Presentation Design, The Power of Story, The Columbus Principle, and Trust Techniques; Marcus helps attendees to elevate their communication skills on stage, in the boardroom and in the home.

Co-Founder:  World Class Communication

Along with sales and marketing experts Joey Coleman and Ian Altman, Marcus created and hosted two unprecedented conference events focused on sales, marketing and customer experience.  The Remarkable Growth Experience conferences were held in historic Arlington, VA.  Attendance was limited to 100 participants allowing for more intimate discussions and interaction.  Conference attendees were able to have full access to event speakers, participate in hands-on practical applications, develop individualized specific action items and leave with clear plans for immediate improvement and success.

Co-Founder: The Remarkable Growth Experience Conferences

TED Conferences

The Honest Economy:  How Transparency Can Change the Economy and Inspire a New World

TEDx Speaker

Keynote Speaker on Sales, Marketing, and Building Trust...Author of They Ask You Answer...Ranked #1 LinkedIn Voices for Entrepreneurship...and a Dang Good Follow on LinkedIn

Called a “web marketing guru” by the New York Times, the Story of how Marcus Sheridan was able to save his swimming pool company, River Pools, from the economic crash of 2008 has been featured in multiple books, publications, and stories around the world and is the centerpiece to his best-selling book, They Ask You Answer, which has been named “One of the 5 Best Marketing Books of All Time” by BookAuthority and his follow up book, Endless Customers, was named a National Bestseller by USA Today.

Sheridan is a highly sought-after global speaker (averaging 50 keynotes yearly) in the digital sales and marketing space, working with hundreds of businesses and brands alike to achieve their potential in a rapidly evolving marketplace, ultimately helping them to connect deeper and become the most trusted voice in their respective industry.

Companies Marcus is a Part of: IMPACT, River Pools, Marcus Sheridan International, Question First Group, PriceGuide.ai

Keynote topics include:  Sales, Marketing, AI, Leadership Communication

Marcus Sheridan

Most people assume I “run” all my businesses.

But the truth is I barely run any of them.

Here’s the actual timeline of businesses I’ve started:

   2001 - Swimming pool installation
   2012 - Professional speaking
   2014 - Consulting/coaching agency
   2017 - Pool manufacturing
   2019 - Swimming pool franchise
   2020 - Sold #4 and #5
   2021 - Offshore fishing charter
   2024 - PriceGuide (software) + The Question First Group
   2025 - AI Trust Signals (software) + Pet food manufacturing

I’m still an owner in all of them except the two I sold.

People ask me all the time:
“How do you manage so many companies?”

My answer is simple:
"I don’t."

At least, not really.

I have exceptional business partners (and people) who run them without me.

My job is strategy, big picture, and making sure we are world-class in sales and marketing.

But a great CEO I am not.

And I’m perfectly fine with that.

After 25 years of building, failing, pivoting, selling, and starting again… here are a few lessons that stick:

👉 1. Most entrepreneurs don’t make great CEOs.
At a certain size, the skills that built the business aren’t the same skills needed to run it. This isn’t a knock, it’s self-awareness. Sadly, most CEOs never know when this day has come.

👉 2. Choose partners who are great at what you’re terrible at.
If your partner is just another version of you, you don’t have a partner, you have a mirror. You do NOT need another you.

👉 3. Your first “vision” for the business is almost always wrong.
The market will teach you what it wants...if you’re willing to listen. Observe. Adjust. Observe. Pivot. Observe…

👉 4. Someone on the team has to go to bed thinking about the business.
If that’s not you, you better know exactly who that person is.

👉 5. Your business only scales when you stop trying to be everything.
Ego doesn’t scale. Self-awareness does. You do NOT need to be everyone’s hero.

I could go on and on, but hopefully there’s a nugget or two for you.

I’d love to know, what would you add to the list? What has your journey taught you? 👇

One of the most engaging keynote speakers on the planet—I create experiences that change how businesses sell, connect, and win | Author of Endless Customers and They Ask, You Answer | Entrepreneur | Master Storyteller

What a magical couple of days teaching MasterCraft Boat Company dealers how to create extraordinary connections with their customers. But let me tell you a powerful story how one man in the audience immediately applied what he learned to his personal life:

During the event, one of the attendees recieved a text from his daughter that she was having a really hard time.  Instead of calling her and quickly going into "Dad" mode by telling her what she needed to do (or think, or feel, etc.) he simply reached out to her and kept inviting her to "tell me more."

He said it was one of the most powerful conversations he'd had with his daughter in a long time.

That's what is so rewarding about teaching leaders and sales pros to communicate at the highest levels - when done properly, it transcends their "professional" life and deeply affects their "personal" life.  And then, because of that, they come to you months later and  say, "That training has affected my entire life. I can't thank you enough for the impact you've had on my family."

Once again, this is just another reason why I love my job.

It was a good day. 🙂

Wild Stat:
After analyzing 3,500 websites, only ONE scored a “perfect” for NAP consistency (Name, Address, Phone Number).

If you own a business (especially a location-based one) you already know NAP matters. Legacy Google has always relied on it for local signals. But here’s the part business must now understand:

👉 LLMs (like ChatGPT) rely on NAP even more.

To a large language model, inconsistent NAP is a major "ding" on your trust score. If your core business identity isn’t consistent across the internet, the model questions whether you’re legitimate… which directly impacts whether it will recommend you.

When Patrick Moorhead and I reviewed this dataset from AI Trust Signals, we honestly thought something was broken, so we checked the data again and again.

But the result held: 1 out of 3,500. 😳 

Yes, that's a pretty shocking number.

So here’s the takeaway:

AI needs every possible reason to trust you. (I really can't stress this enough.)

NAP consistency is one of the simplest (and strongest) trust signals you can control.

So do this today:
👉 Audit every platform, directory, social profile, association listing, map entry, citation, and third-party mention of your business.
 👉 Make every instance of your name, address, and phone number identical--same formatting, same punctuation, same abbreviations, everywhere.

It may take an hour or two but will be well worth it.

Remember my friends, when it comes to AI recommending you online, small inconsistencies create potentially massive visibility penalties.

And if less than 1% of businesses are doing this correctly, that means one thing:
Fix your NAP, and you instantly separate yourself from the entire market.

Turns out that AI (and humans) HATE recommending stale/old content.

That's why EVERY marketer should make this a non-negotiable in 2026:

👉 Put a “Last Updated” timestamp on every major page and article on your website, just like you see in the photo here from HubSpot.

I know, this may seem incredibly tedious.

But at AI Trust Signals, we’re seeing over and over that it matters a lot, not just to readers, but to the AI systems deciding whether your content is confident, current, and *safe* to recommend.

And please understand, this isn’t just a "front-end" thing.

You also need the machine-readable version on the back end.

This means implementing the proper schema markup so AI can instantly verify when the page was truly updated. (Yes, it appears every marketer will be forced to a Schema expert in the future. 🤷‍♂️ )

This is just one of many "new rules of the game" that we're seeing because of AI.

And yes, it may feel a little annoying.

But it's the reality of where online content is heading, and so there's no need to complain about it.

Fact is, "content freshness" as a trust signal will only matter more and more moving forward. 

It's a new era in content my marketing friends.

Time to lean in.

While teaching a workshop this morning, I had a salesperson come up to me during a break and said, "Marcus, I don't do well with conflict. When a customer is upset, I freeze. Can you help?"

This simple question led to a great conversation, but the core of the answer I gave comes down to three simple steps any team can learn with a little bit of practice. 

Step #1: LET THEM VENT: 
This is a bit hard for folks to understand because the tendency is to immediately try to "fix" the situation. The issue with fixing is that the customer doesn't get a chance to feel heard. Your job is to make sure they feel VERY heard. Which means you let them vent, and even when you think they may be done, you ask them if there is anything else they're unsettled about. This step is the most important by far, yet the most overlooked in the world of customer experience.

Step #2: REPEAT WHAT THEY SAID: 
Not only must they feel heard, but they must feel *understood.* This occurs when you repeat the words they used and confirm, "What I've heard you say is..." (Again, do not use your words here. Use *their* words. Those are the ones that matter.)

Step #3: LET THEM VERBALIZE THE POTENTIAL SOLUTION: 
Assuming the individual has has a legitimate complaint (which is true in most cases), once you've allowed them to vent and have repeated their thoughts, you sincerely ask, "What would you like to happen to make this right?"

Now, granted, businesses can't always do what the customer asks for, but you at least want to put the ball in their court first.  Interestingly enough, often times the only thing they were looking for were step 1 & 2. In other words, they just wanted to feel heard and understood. But by asking them what they would like to do to make the situation right, you've now allowed them to at least state what they feel would be the appropriate solution.

Ultimately, there is no foolproof method of resolving customer frustration, but at a minimum you want to train (with role play) your team what to say and how to say it for these situations. 

Like the young man that approached me this morning, they shouldn't freeze when moments of conflict arise.

Instead, they should be ready for the moment. And if they follow these three simple steps, they are very likely to not only diffuse the situation, but create a lasting relationship as well.

As always, a little training goes a long ways.

#QuestionFirst

Have you seen this article from Inc. Magazine this month? It verifies everything I've been begging organizations to understand since AI changed the way we search.

👉 Pricing Transparency is about to be forced on ALL businesses. 👈 

Why? Here are a few impending realities (all of which have already begun):

1. In the future, if you don't discuss pricing/cost in detail on your website, it's highly unlikely that AI (like ChatGPT) will recommend you.

2. In the future, anytime someone is given a "price" , "quote" , or "estimate" they will run this through AI and it will give them an assessment as to whether or not they are getting a good value. 

3. In conjunction with #2, if someone doesn't feel good about a quote they've been given, they'll then be able to task their AI-agent to go out and "find" a better value...immediately.

I can assure you, these three things will be COMMON. The norm. Table stakes.

I can also say with high certainty most companies still do not realize this is what is happening.

The solution?

Get in front of this. 

Don't wait for everyone in your industry to move while you continue to do things the ways they've always been done.

Entire industries where "call for quote" is the norm are about to be upended.

Act now. Start winning today. And stay in front of all the laggards tomorrow.

Because it's all coming.

Most CEOs didn’t start out feeling stuck. But the weight of leading builds quietly until one day you realize you’re carrying too much alone. The decisions get harder. The conversations get safer. And the people who used to challenge you now just wait for direction.

I know that place. I lived it for years.

I founded and led Applied Educational Systems for 36 years. Built it. Scaled it. Made mistakes that cost me. Had wins that taught me even more. And for too long, I thought I had to figure it all out myself.

That changed in 2003 when I joined Vistage. The group didn’t let me hide. They asked the questions I was avoiding. Gave me the accountability I didn’t know I needed. That shift helped me lead differently. We earned five straight years on the Inc. 5000, and I exited on my terms in 2022.

Now I privately coach business owners and chair a private Vistage group for CEOs and business owners in Central Pennsylvania.

I don’t coach strategy alone. I coach the whole person, because the business only grows as far as the leader does. I ask the questions no one else will ask—the ones that get below the surface, the ones that make you stop and rethink what you thought you knew.

This isn’t for everyone. It’s for CEOs who know they’re the most important hire in their company. Who are willing to invest in themselves. Who want real feedback, not validation. Who are curious, open-minded, and brave enough to be vulnerable in a room of peers who get it.

I limit my coaching clients and my Vistage group to the right fit. It has to be right for you and for the group.

Married 40 years. Five kids. Still asking better questions every day.

Jim Schultz

A friend of mine owns a company with about 60 employees.

He's been frustrated with his VP of Sales for over a year.

Performance is slipping. Attitude is off. Energy is down.

But every time we talk, he says the same thing.

"I don't want to demotivate him."

"Maybe it's just a rough patch."

"I'm trying to be supportive."

Last month, two good people on his sales team gave notice.

They didn't leave because of the VP.

They left because my friend wouldn't have the hard conversation with the VP.

Here's what I've learned after thousands of coaching conversations.

We think we're being nice.

We think we're protecting people.

But we're actually robbing them.

We rob them of clarity.

We rob them of the chance to self-discover what's not working.

We rob them of time they could be spending somewhere they actually fit.

And we tell ourselves it's kindness.

It's not kindness.

It's self-protection.

We don't want the discomfort of the hard conversation.

So we avoid it.

And everyone pays the price.

Your team pays. Your customers pay. Your family pays.

And the person you're "protecting" pays most of all.

Because they're stuck in confusion while you stay comfortable in avoidance.

What conversation are you avoiding right now?

JSESSIONID

Tap says…

li_at

Talks about #ceos, #coaching, #learning, #leadershipcoach, and #theyaskyouanswer

Entrepreneur & Exited Founder | Supporting CEOs Who Scale Smarter, Build Legacy, and Create Life Beyond Business

Tough couple of weeks. Then Wednesday night, I stopped worrying. Stopped thinking. Just present.

I'm at a hibachi grill watching my grandsons' eyes go wide as flames shoot up from the table.

The birthday boy just turned 5. And what does every self-respecting 5-year-old want for his birthday dinner?

Fire. Lots of fire.

We never thought any of our kids would move back to Lancaster. Now we have our two oldest with their families here in the area. Wednesday night, three generations packed around that table. My two sons, my two daughters-in-law, three grandkids, all of us together.

Here's the thing.

When life gets heavy, family grounds you. Not because they fix anything. But because they remind you what's real.

A 5-year-old doesn't care about your stress. He cares that you're there.
Sometimes that's exactly what you need.

Who grounds you?

#Family #CentralPA #Leadership

I promoted a superstar once who couldn't manage people.

Watched them struggle for a long time. Team performance dropped. Good people got frustrated. And I did... nothing.

Well, not nothing. I made excuses.

"They just need more time to adjust."
"The team needs to be more patient."
"Maybe if we get them some training..."

Here's what I wasn't saying: "I don't want to have this conversation."

I saw the problem clearly. But addressing it meant conflict. Meant admitting I made a bad call. Meant having a hard conversation with someone I valued.

So I waited. And my avoidance put our growth in jeopardy.

Here's the thing about promoting your top performers into management, the promotion isn't the mistake. The mistake is seeing it's not working and choosing comfort over clarity.

You know that conversation you need to have? The one you've been putting off for weeks, maybe months?

Be honest with yourself: Are you protecting them, or protecting yourself from discomfort?

Because every day you avoid it, you're choosing your comfort over your company's growth. Over your team's success. Over that person's chance to either step up or find a role where they can actually win.

The conversation won't be easier next month. The situation won't fix itself.

Clear is kind. Avoidance is selfish.

What conversation are you avoiding right now that's actually holding your company back?

A CEO told me they can't stop reviewing everything because "I need the details to make decisions."

I said, "No. You need people who own the details. What you're doing is avoiding the hard conversation about why you don't trust them."

The CEO got quiet.

I know that feeling. At AES, I stayed in the weeds for years. I convinced myself the business needed my detailed knowledge to run well.

The truth? Staying involved was easier than the real work.

Building leaders takes patience. Having hard conversations about capability takes courage. Trusting people to fail forward takes faith.

Reviewing every detail? That just takes time.

Here's what I finally learned after 36 years. The detailed knowledge that made you successful as an operator becomes the excuse for not delegating as a CEO.

You tell yourself you're being thorough. You're protecting quality. You're ensuring nothing falls through the cracks.

But really, you're avoiding the harder question.

Do you not trust them because they can't do it? Or because you haven't built them to do it?

Those are two very different problems. One requires a new hire. The other requires you to step back and actually lead.

Most business owners, founders, and CEOs never ask which one they're facing.

So here's my question for you as we head into 2026.

What are you staying "hands-on" with that's really just avoiding the hard work of developing your people?

Because staying in the weeds isn't diligence.

It's avoidance.

#CentralPA #Leadership #BusinessGrowth

My son watched me make a choice last weekend that cost me a full morning of work.

Saturday morning. Deep work blocked on my calendar. Client deliverables waiting.

Then a knock on the door.

My son and two-year-old grandson.

The next two hours disappeared. I sat on the floor watching him play, knowing I wasn't going to deliver what I'd promised that day.

Sunday morning, I'm at breakfast with Tracy, still thinking about that choice. I looked up and saw this sign on the wall.

Made me pause.

I spend my days coaching business owners on difficult decisions. But here I was, wrestling with my own. The "right" choice for my business versus the right choice for my life.

I chose the floor with my grandson.

My grandson won't remember that morning. But my son saw his dad choose presence over productivity. That's the model I'm trying to pass down.

Last week in a coaching peer group, someone described what they see as my strength: "You listen for the small moments that reveal the big truths."

But am I actually living that? Or am I just good at coaching others to do it?

Here's what I'm learning: We build companies to create freedom and options. Then we let those same companies steal both from us.

We justify it as commitment. Work ethic. Responsibility.

But to who? And for what?

What decision are you making today that you're convincing yourself is about business, when it's really about what you're willing to sacrifice?

#CentralPA #Leadership #BusinessOwners

I just had a conversation that took me back to one of the hardest decisions I ever made.

In 2010, we went from $10 million in revenue to zero in 36 months.

On purpose.

I was on the Endless Customer podcast by IMPACT recently, and they asked me to tell the story of how Applied Educational Systems went from near bankruptcy to making the Inc 5000 list five years in a row.

The short version? We stopped selling. We started teaching.

But here's what I didn't expect. The framework that saved my company became the same framework I now use to coach CEOs.

Asking better questions. Getting below the surface. Helping people gain clarity faster so they can actually make decisions instead of staying stuck.

Most business owners think they need better tactics. More initiatives. Another marketing agency.

What they really need is someone asking the questions nobody else is asking.

The same questions that helped us generate 25,000 leads a year in a tiny niche market. The same questions that made our competitors wonder how we were still in business while we were scaling 40% annually.

In the podcast, I share the whole story. The crisis. The shift. What we learned. And why I believe any business can implement this framework if they're willing to get honest about what their buyers actually need.

If you're a business owner tired of chasing tactics and ready to focus on principles that actually work, this conversation might be worth your time.

Link in the comments.

Brianna Stauffer Bob Ruffolo Alex Winter Austin Mock 

#CentralPA #Leadership #BusinessGrowth

Communications Specialist at Cargas Systems

CEO of IMPACT, a marketing and sales training company, creating heroes, growing businesses, changing lives.

Creative Director | Video Production at IMPACT

Content Marketing Manager @ IMPACT

𝗜 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗺𝘆𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝗼𝗻 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝘂𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗿𝘀. 𝗜𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆.

Early in my entrepreneurial career, I thought my job was to know more than everyone else.

I had founded and built the company. I understood the product, the customers, the market. When problems came up, I solved them. Fast.

It felt like leadership. It was actually a trap.

This came up recently in a #Vistage monthly meeting with business owners and CEOs. We talked about how we rob our people when we train them to depend on us.

We think we have the best answer. We think only we can do the job. And then we fall below the line and start to resent them for it.

But here's the thing:

I failed plenty of times building my company. Made bad hires. Lost customers. Missed opportunities. I learned from every one of them.

So why was I so hesitant to let my team fail and learn?

What's the worst thing that can happen?

Every time I jumped in with the answer, my team stopped thinking. They learned to wait. To bring me problems instead of solutions.

I had trained them to depend on me.

The shift came when a coach asked me: "What if your job isn't to be the smartest person in the room? What if it's to make everyone else smarter?"

When you're always the expert, you create followers.

When you make space for others to think and fail, you develop leaders.

What would change if you stopped being the one with all the answers?

#Leadership #CEOlife #BusinessGrowth

"The business problem I keep avoiding? It's not a business problem."

Same here.

When I was building AES, my biggest mistakes didn't come from bad strategy. They came from choosing comfort over courage.

Avoiding the tough conversation with a failing manager. Putting off the decision about that toxic customer. Dancing around hard truths with family members who were in the business but struggling.

Sometimes the hardest conversation isn't even at the office. It's at home. When you're working 60+ hours to avoid facing what's broken. When your spouse has been trying to tell you something and you keep saying "just one more quarter."

Here's what I keep seeing with the CEOs and founders I coach:

Growth lives on the other side of discomfort. And the longer you delay it, the more expensive it becomes.

Patrick Lencioni calls it the temptation of harmony over conflict. We tell ourselves we're protecting the culture. Really? We're protecting ourselves.

If you're feeling that tension right now, here's the uncomfortable question:

What's the conversation you already know you need to have… and what's it costing you not to?

Your team sees it. Your spouse feels it. Your results reflect it.

Lean in. It won't get easier, but you will get better.

#CentralPA #Leadership #DifficultConversations

The problem a business owner brings to the room is rarely the real problem.

I watched this play out in our recent #Vistage meeting. A member started talking valuation numbers and transition timing. Sounded like a financial decision.

But the group had met long enough to spot it. Something else was driving this.

Within minutes, they moved past the spreadsheets to ask: What are you avoiding? What's the real fear here? What changes if you name what you're actually protecting?

The room got uncomfortable. You could see it in his posture.

Then came the breakthrough: "You're right. It's not about valuation."

It was about relevance. Identity. The courage to admit what he'd lose if he let go.

That's the power of a peer group that's earned the right to challenge you. They don't solve the presenting problem. They help you see the real one.

Most #CEOs never get this kind of clarity inside their own companies. But in a room of peers who aren't impressed by you and aren't afraid of you, you finally stop performing and start thinking clearly.

The business issue you keep trying to fix with better strategy?

It might not be a strategy problem.

What would you discover if you had a room of peers who'd earned the right to ask you the questions you're avoiding?

#CentralPA #Leadership #Vistage

Legacy is a funny word.

We throw it around like it's a trophy you win at the end of your career.

But most legacies are built in the small, invisible moments. The way you treat people when nobody's watching. The decisions you make when there's no applause.

I've worked with leaders who obsess over their exit strategy, their net worth, their name on the building.

Three years after selling my company, what do I miss?

Honestly? It surprised me.

Not the deal. Not the multiple. Not seeing my name on anything.

I miss the people who challenged me. Who made me better. Who showed up on the hard days.

Money fades. Titles fade.

But the impact you have on people? That sticks around.

If you're thinking about your legacy, maybe start with the people in the room today.

That's where it actually lives.

A CEO told me they're being patient with their predecessor who keeps overriding their decisions.

I asked them, "How long are you going to tolerate what you're calling patience?"

They didn't have an answer.

Look, I get it. Transitions are messy. Succession is sensitive. You want to be respectful of what someone built.

But here's what I see happen. Leaders disguise avoidance as patience.

"I'm being respectful of the transition."
"It's sensitive right now."
"I'll address it after we make the announcement."

But delaying the hard conversation isn't patience. It's choosing short-term comfort over long-term clarity.

And here's the cost. Every day you delay setting boundaries, you're teaching people how to treat you.

You're showing them what behavior you'll accept. What decisions you'll let slide. What authority you're actually willing to claim.

Clear is kind. Avoidance is selfish.

I learned this the hard way at AES. I'd tolerate behavior or decisions that undermined what we were building because I didn't want the conflict.

I told myself I was being patient. Strategic. Waiting for the right time.

The right time never came. Because I kept moving the goalpost.

Patience is strategic. It has a timeline. A purpose. A clear outcome you're working toward.

Avoidance is just hoping the problem solves itself.

So here's my question as you're thinking about 2026.

What are you calling patience that's really just you avoiding a conversation you know you need to have?

Because the longer you wait, the harder it gets. And the more you teach people that your boundaries don't actually mean anything.

#CentralPA #Leadership #BusinessGrowth

𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴. 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗸𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝘄𝗮𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗽𝘂𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝘄𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁. 𝗪𝗲 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗻'𝘁 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝘁.

For a long time, I described my company as a family. I heard my employees say it too.

It felt like a strength. Loyal team. Low turnover. Everyone got along.

But here's what I didn't want to admit:

Everyone knew who wasn't holding up their end. Me, my managers, the whole team. We just avoided those conversations.

Why? Loyalty. "They've been with us a long time." "It would feel wrong."

I see it all the time now in coaching. A business owner describes their "family culture" with pride. Then I ask:

"Who on your team should be performing better but isn't?"

They always know. Immediately.

"Why are they still there?"

Long pause.

Here's what I've learned:

"Family" becomes code for avoiding hard conversations.

"Loyalty" becomes an excuse for tolerating mediocrity.

"We take care of our people" becomes a reason to keep someone who's holding the team back.

Real families forgive flaws. They overlook shortcomings out of love.

But your business isn't a family. It's a team. And great teams hold each other accountable.

Finally, we stopped asking "how long have they been here?" and started asking "are they helping us get where we're going?"

You can still treat people with dignity and kindness. And expect results.

What conversation have you been avoiding because it feels disloyal?

#Leadership #CompanyCulture #CEOcoaching

"𝗜'𝗺 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗲'𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴."

A founder friend said this to me recently. His company's been stuck at $12 million for four years.

He couldn't figure out why.

I could. Because I'd lived it.

I asked him what he was most proud of in his business.

"Everyone knows they can come to me with anything. I'm always available."

Then I asked what keeps him up at night.

"I can't scale. We keep hitting the same ceiling."

That's when I asked the question.

"𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗼𝗿 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗷𝗼𝗯 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂?"

Here's what I didn't say in that moment but I'll say now.

I built my company the same way. For years, I was the one who could do it faster and better than anyone else.

So I did everything.

All day, every day, seven days a week.

Then someone asked me: "𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗱𝗼 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗯𝘆 𝗱𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘁, 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝗹𝘀𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗲𝗿?"

I couldn't answer it.

Not because I didn't know. But because I wasn't spending any time on it.

I was too busy doing things I was good at. Things that were comfortable.

Not the hard work that actually mattered.

Building leaders. Having difficult conversations. Making strategic decisions.

Here's the truth I had to face.

I wasn't staying involved in everything because the company needed me to.

I was staying involved because it was easier than doing the real work.

𝗦𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.

What are you doing this week that you're really good at, that feels important, but is actually just keeping you from the hard work you're avoiding?

Because whatever you're stuck on, there's probably a conversation you're not having.

That's not a time management problem.

That's an honesty problem.

Before you make that leadership hire, ask yourself this.

Am I hiring someone to learn our way of doing things, or to unlearn their way of doing things?

Because one of those is a lot harder than you think.

At 31, I hired someone to lead operations at AES. Big company experience. Strong resume. Impressive interview.

Two months later, I had to let them go.

They came from a 500-person company where everything was structured and specialized. We had 20 people where everyone wore multiple hats and figured things out.

I felt terrible about my performance as an interviewer.

But here's what I learned. The person wasn't the problem. My question was.

I asked, "Can they do this role?" I never asked, "Can they do this role here?"

Now I watch business owners wrestle with the same choice. Internal candidate who knows your culture but doesn't know the role. External candidate who has the resume but doesn't know your context.

You're picking your poison either way.

The real question isn't about skills or experience. It's about learning speed.

Can this person learn what they don't know faster than they can unlearn what doesn't apply here?

Most founders underestimate how hard it is to unlearn big company habits. 
Process for process sake. Meetings about meetings. Waiting for permission to make obvious decisions.

In a growing business, that kills momentum.

So as you're building your team for 2026, here's what I'd ask.

Which gap are you better equipped to fill? Can you teach the role faster than you can teach your culture?

Because there's no perfect hire. Just different bets on what you can build.

#CentralPA #Leadership #BusinessGrowth

You're stuck on a plateau because you have no outside perspective.

You know something needs to change.

When you're the owner and CEO, where do you go to reality-check your thinking?

Somewhere confidential. Somewhere trusted. Somewhere safe.

Not your team. Not your industry peer group. Not your advisory board. Not your spouse.

So you carry it alone.

I get it. I did that for years.

I had someone on my leadership team in the wrong seat. I knew it. I avoided the conversation for months.

Until I got coaching and joined a #Vistage peer group in 2003. They called me on it.

They were right. They challenged me. They held me accountable.

It was difficult. And it was one of the best things that happened to me.

That's what a trusted circle does. Gives you clarity when you're stuck.
 
Challenges you when you're avoiding something. Reminds you that you don't have to figure it all out alone.

That's why I run one CEO peer group. Quality over quantity.

That's why I privately coach only 4-5 CEOs at any one time.

I build the space I needed when I ran my business for 36 years.

If this resonates, let's talk. I'd be glad to listen to your situation and explore what coaching or peer support could look like.

I have a few seats open in 2026. This isn't social hour. It's about real returns: clarity that leads to better decisions, savings from avoided mistakes, improvements that compound.

Comforting lies have a long line.
Unpleasant truths? Empty booth.

Happy Monday. 😂

Back in 2003, I was complaining to my Vistage coach about a wrong person on my leadership team.

I had all the reasons. All the excuses.

Then he asked me one question:

"What part did you play in this situation?"

Ouch.

I wanted to be mad. But he was right.

I hired them. I avoided the hard conversation. I let it drag on for months.

That's the gift of a peer group. Someone who cares enough to ask the uncomfortable question.

Not to make you feel bad. To help you gain clarity. To help you self-discover.

Because when you discover it yourself, you own it. You take action.

We all have blind spots. Every single one of us.

The question isn't whether you have them.

It's whether you have someone brave enough to point them out.

Who's sitting at your "unpleasant truths" booth?

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗿.

In coaching, I think about questions in three levels.

Level 1: The surface question. Easy to answer. "How's the project going?"

Level 2: The underlying question. Makes people think. "What's your biggest challenge?"

Level 3: The bedrock question. Provides the true insight. The one that sits with you for days.

Here's a Level 3 question I asked a CEO last week:

"Think about the last person who left your leadership team. What's your ownership in their departure?"

Here's another one I use when someone is telling me a story: "What part did you play in this?"

That question shifts everything. It's no longer about the narrative. It's about them.

The first answer is almost never the real answer. To get to the core, you need to ask at least three questions along the same line of thinking. That's when the breakthrough happens.

Bedrock questions aren't comfortable. They force you to look in the mirror instead of pointing fingers.

As leaders, we get comfortable with Level 1. It's safe. It keeps things moving.

Growth happens at Level 3.

Who in your life asks you bedrock questions and keeps digging until you get to the real issue?

Credit to my coach Chris Marr and The Question First Group for the Law of Three framework.

#Leadership #ExecutiveCoaching #CEOmindset #Vistage

Co-Founder & Coach of The Pathfinder System

I've had variations of this conversation with multiple business owners over the years.

"I can only control what I can control."

They'd say it when I asked about their exit strategy if their biggest customer left. Or what happens if tariffs change. Or if market conditions shift.

That's not wisdom.

That's refusing to do the hard work of scenario planning.

I see this all the time. CEOs avoid conversations about downside risk because it feels like negativity. Like lack of faith in the business.

But refusing to scenario plan isn't optimism. It's negligence.

I had one client dealing with tariff uncertainty. Their biggest customer slowed their timeline. Market conditions shifted. None of it was in their control.

When I asked how this impacts their exit strategy, they got defensive. "Let's hold that conversation."

Translation: I don't want to think about what happens if things don't go perfectly.

Compare that to another client managing a portfolio. They can't control when their largest investment exits or what multiple it'll get. Could be 1.5x. Could be 2.5x.

But they've modeled all of it. They know exactly what each scenario means for their financial plan. Their next moves. Their risk exposure.

They're not hoping for the best. They're prepared for the range.

That's the difference between leaders who survive uncertainty and leaders who get blindsided by it.

You can't control the tariffs. The economy. Your customer's timing. Your competitor's next move.

But you can control whether you've modeled what happens if things go sideways.

That's not pessimism. That's leadership.

So as you're planning for 2026, here's what I'd ask.

What scenario are you refusing to plan for because it feels like you're being negative?

Because hope isn't a strategy. And "focus on what I can control" isn't a substitute for doing the hard work of scenario planning.

#CentralPA #Leadership #BusinessGrowth

Even now, after 800+ hard conversations annually, I still catch myself hedging.

Back when I was CEO at AES, I had someone struggling in their role.

They were clearly unhappy. Performance was declining.

And I knew the role wasn't the right fit.

But instead of naming what I saw, I hedged.

"So how are things going? Are you feeling okay about everything? How can I help you?"

Soft. Vague. Safe.

What I should have asked was this.

"What's the cost of you staying in this role when it's clearly not working?"

That question would have given them permission to admit what they already knew.

It would have opened the door to find a better fit, maybe even within the company.

Instead, my avoidance robbed them of months of clarity.

That was my fault, not theirs.

Here's what I've learned.

The question "What's the cost of not..." is one of the most powerful tools you have.

It names reality without blame.

It centers them, not you.

It creates momentum instead of more confusion.

Try it this week.

Write down the hard question you've been avoiding.

Now strip the bubble wrap off it.

Replace "I don't want to upset you, but..." with "What's the cost of not..."

Then ask it plainly.

No justifying. No running up to it. No apologizing.

Just care and clarity.

The conversation won't be comfortable.

But it will be transformative.

For both of you.

Your advisors help you decide. But who challenges how you think?

Earlier this year a business owner and CEO told me he had plenty of advisors.

Lawyers. Accountants. Board members. Consultants.

"I'm covered," he said. "I don't need a peer group."

So I asked: "When's the last time one of them made you uncomfortable?"

Here's what I've learned after 36 years of building and scaling a company and now coaching business owners and CEOs:

There's a difference between people who advise you and people who challenge you.

Advisors give you options. Challengers question your assumptions.

Advisors help you decide. Challengers ask if you're solving the right problem.

Advisors have expertise. Challengers have nothing to gain but your growth.

The best leaders I know have what I call a "challenge network." Not yes-men. Not cheerleaders. Truth-tellers who care enough to make you squirm.

Who in your life is brave enough to tell you what you need to hear - not what you want to hear?

#Leadership #CEOlife #BusinessGrowth #Vistage

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