The Problem: The Old Playbook is Failing You
For decades, the standard for C-suite leadership was the five-year strategic plan. CEOs were tasked with drawing a clear, linear path from Point A to Point B, with predictable milestones and a defined destination. The market rewarded stability, long-term vision, and unwavering execution. But a look back at 2025 reveals a new reality, one defined by geopolitical instability, economic volatility, and unprecedented technological acceleration. This environment has rendered the traditional five-year plan obsolete, pushing it from a strategic blueprint to a historical artifact.
Mid-sized, privately held, and family-owned businesses have been at a critical juncture. You’ve achieved significant milestones, but you’re now at a point where the old playbook isn’t working. The business feels stuck, costs are escalating, and the future seems uncertain. You know there’s more potential, but you lack a clear strategic roadmap to get there. You feel the pressure of an impending exit or a major transaction but are frustrated by stagnant growth and eroding profitability. The thought of maximizing your company’s true value feels daunting without a decisive partner to guide you.
The future belongs to the adaptive leader—the one who can pivot with precision, leverage real-time data, and guide an organization not just through a crisis, but into a new era of opportunity. This is the essence of a CEO in 2026, and it’s a role that demands a flexible, high-impact approach. My career has spanned over two decades, navigating these exact transitions. From leading a company through the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic to recovering from a major ransomware attack, I have seen firsthand that a leader’s ability to sense and respond to disruption is paramount. This isn’t about abandoning vision; it’s about making your vision resilient. It’s about building a business that can not only withstand a changing world but also thrive in it.
The End of the Fixed Plan: Embracing Adaptive Strategy
The world has become a “roller coaster” of rapid technological advancements and fluctuating trade policies. As a result, corporate boards are demanding “agile leadership” that can position companies soundly for the future. The days of setting a static, five-year plan and expecting it to hold up are over. Today’s most successful leaders are instead adopting a model of adaptive strategy planning.
Adaptive strategy is a dynamic, scenario-based approach that acknowledges unpredictability as the norm, not the exception. It involves developing multiple, viable plans for a range of potential outcomes, allowing for a rapid pivot when conditions change. This is a fundamental shift from a predictive mindset to a prepared one. For a mid-sized business, this means constantly monitoring the horizon for emerging trends, new competition, and geopolitical curveballs that could impact everything from supply chains to consumer demand. Geopolitical instability and trade policy changes are now the top-cited risks to global growth, with a recent McKinsey survey showing they are viewed as equally disruptive forces. This kind of volatility is forcing companies to reassess supply chain and cybersecurity risks and define more robust business continuity plans.
The core of this approach is data. While traditional planning relies on static, historical data, an adaptive strategy is fueled by a constant stream of real-time intelligence. This includes everything from customer behavior and market trends to operational performance and supply chain logistics. By leveraging AI and predictive analytics, CEOs can transform this data into actionable insights, enabling them to make smarter, faster decisions. This isn’t about instinct; it’s about a data-informed approach to leadership. A recent report from the Boston Consulting Group shows that leading companies are allocating more than 80% of their AI investments to reshaping key functions and inventing new offerings, moving beyond simple productivity tools to fundamental strategic shifts.
For example, a sudden shift in international trade policy, such as new U.S. tariffs, can instantly redraw trade maps and make a company’s single-source manufacturing strategy obsolete. An adaptive CEO, however, would have already mapped out alternative sourcing strategies, with diversified suppliers ready to go. This kind of foresight turns a potential crisis into a manageable bump in the road.
The New Definition of Talent: Investing in Workforce Upskilling
A company’s greatest asset isn’t its technology or its cash flow—it’s its people. In 2026, this truth is more important than ever. The rapid pace of change, particularly with the proliferation of AI, is creating significant skills gaps in the workforce. A CEO’s ability to identify and close these gaps is no longer a human resources initiative; it is a core business strategy.
I believe that the smarter, well-positioned companies are already actively working to make AI part of their operational advantage. This means upskilling your existing “A-player talent” to leverage AI as a tool for innovation and efficiency. This is not about replacing employees; it’s about augmenting their capabilities and freeing them to focus on higher-value, more creative work. A recent study found that less than a third of companies have upskilled more than a quarter of their workforce to use AI, a clear indicator of a major opportunity for forward-thinking leaders.
My experience at Bal Seal demonstrated the power of this approach. As CEO, I launched initiatives around employee retention and talent development, including rotational programs and English as a second language courses. These efforts not only improved morale and retention but also uncovered hidden talent within the organization, such as degreed engineers from South America who were able to move into supervisory roles.
A CEO must be a talent scout and a culture builder. The modern workforce, particularly with Gen Z entering the market, demands more than just a paycheck; they want a company culture based on trust, transparency, and accountability. My approach, inspired by the book Cultural Code and implemented through monthly newsletters and direct communication, is designed to foster this kind of environment. When employees are empowered and feel valued, they are more engaged, resilient, and productive, directly contributing to the company’s success.
The CEO as Chief Trust Officer: Strengthening Stakeholder Relationships
In a world filled with uncertainty, the CEO’s most valuable currency is trust. This trust must be cultivated with every key stakeholder, from board members and investors to employees and customers. Consistent, transparent communication is the bedrock of this trust, especially during challenging times. A recent Diligent report on corporate governance trends notes that a transparent and ethical culture has tangible benefits for the bottom line, with companies that have strong ethics outperforming others by up to 40%.
As a CEO, I have extensive experience in expertly managing these critical relationships. This includes working effectively with auditors, investment bankers, and attorneys, particularly during M&A transactions. My experience leading Bal Seal through a major sale to a publicly traded company and then to a private equity firm gave me a profound understanding of what investors and boards are looking for: a leader who can deliver significant enterprise value. I was able to double the business’s value and nearly triple its EBITDA in just four years, demonstrating my ability to enhance enterprise value. I personally drove almost $50 million in new business in that same time period.
However, stakeholder trust goes beyond the boardroom. It extends to the entire organization. A CEO must be a steady hand in a crisis, providing clear direction and fostering a sense of calm. The threat of cyberattacks, especially through third-party supply chain vulnerabilities, has become a top-tier risk. In a recent incident, an attack on a third-party vendor handling employee onboarding led to a major retailer’s breach, highlighting the interconnectedness of modern business and the need for constant vigilance. When Bal Seal was hit by a devastating ransomware attack at the end of 2020, the experts predicted a three-to-five month recovery. I sat down with my director of IT and said, “We’re going to get this back up and running,” and we did so within 30 days. This type of resilience and decisive leadership in the face of a “hostile action” against the company builds immense trust with employees and demonstrates a commitment to business continuity.
The Call for a New Kind of Leader
The role of the CEO in 2026 is no longer about maintaining the status quo. It is about embracing volatility as an opportunity for transformation. It requires a leader who is a strategic visionary, a talent developer, and a crisis navigator all at once. For mid-sized, privately held, or family-owned businesses, the decision to bring in a fractional or interim CEO is a pivotal one. It’s an investment in a partner who can provide the decisive leadership needed to navigate critical junctures, accelerate growth, and establish a sustainable, thriving future.
I believe that the value I bring is my battle-tested, hands-on experience across CEO, CFO, and COO roles. I understand the intricate dance between strategy, finance, and operations. This integrated perspective, coupled with a proven track record of driving over $2 billion in M&A transactions and tripling EBITDA for companies just like yours, makes me uniquely positioned to help your business achieve its next major milestone.
Your vision – accelerated. Your success – realized. If your company is at a critical juncture and needs a clear path to growth and unprecedented value, let’s talk.
