Middle Market Thought Leader | Priorities for Growth

In the wake of a big government contract win, IT consulting organizations frequently savor the luster of being awarded plus-sized opportunities that can validate a firm's leading edge solutions.  However, pursuing government "big game" contracts - can lead consulting organizations to very often set priorities according to the ebb and flow of the government's procurement processes instead of the leading edge solution development.  Here's where Excella of Arlington, Va appears to have stayed the course and continued to focus and invest in commercial opportunities related to Agile software development  - despite the  sizable obstacle traditional government procurement policies have been to the adoption of Agile approaches.  Finally, as the government's procurement practices begin to thaw and slowly became more accommodating to those circumstances under which Agile solutions are best adopted,  Excella's dedication to development and not policy appears to be paying off.  Join us when Excella co founder Steve Cooper explains the Agile opportunity his firm patiently nurtured - while knowing perhaps the government's appetite for innovation would someday soon influence its procurement menu options.    

Join us when Glenn Hazard, CEO, OPAQ Networks, and middle-market veteran, traces his firm-building path from the Internet’s early commerical days to the present. Learn about the unique management mind-set and skillsets that have allowed Glenn to open new chapters of growth for midsize firms.  (Original broadcast date: April 13, 2017)

When Japan’s Sapporo last year acquired craft-beer pioneer Anchor Brewing, many craft brewers characterized the transaction as the end of an era. It’s one John Dannerbeck today looks back on fondly having worked alongside the brewery’s legendary owner Fritz Maytag and the eclectic mix of seasoned managers that stubbornly rejected the notion of growth for growth sake and consequently gave birth to a global movement of craft brewers. Join us when John revisits his entry into the brewing business and the unrelenting market dynamics that bruised management’s ability to keep growth at bay.

Fifteen years ago, when the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) announced the successful completion of the Human Genome Project, Sam Santhosh decided that it was time to study up and find all of what was required to compete inside the world of DNA sequencing. The way that Santhosh saw it, sequencing was really about data, a world he felt he understood well and one that he was confident would yield future business opportunities. Still, the unique opportunity that would give rise to MedGenome would first escape Santhosh’s lines of sight. The opportunity: India’s historic caste structure is responsible for creating an unusual human patchwork where the population is divided into distinct groups with striking genetic differences. In the genomic world, India’s unusual population patchwork provides a yet unmatched genetic pool to test and accelerate new medical therapies—while providing insights for drug development and precision medicine. Join us when Sam explains how the opportunity came more fully into view and how building a research capability in India became the first stage in pursuing a bigger data vision.

Compensation strategies have often been considered a luxury rather than a necessity inside the realm of middle-market businesses. However, as Xactly Corp. continues to enlarge its pool of compensation data, the company’s benchmarking insights have begun to alter the mind-sets of middle-market executives as the company helps to level the playing field when it comes to acquiring compensation smarts. Join us when Xactly CEO Chris Cabrera explains why talent-minded midsize companies are quickly acquiring an appetite for compensation insights.