Key Takeaways from The First Annual Commonsku CEO Summit 2023

Last week, I had the incredible opportunity to attend Commonsku’s first-ever CEO Summit in Toronto. commonsku is the leading software in our industry that helps connect suppliers with distributors. It was a privilege to be included in this small group of business leaders, seeking to collaborate as industry experts and collectively add value to each other and our individual business ventures.

Whitestone has been in partnership with the Commonsku team for many years, and this event only solidified my confidence in their mission and encouraged my belief in their strategy to help all of us feel confident about the future while maintaining best business practices and added accountability through networking with other industry professionals.

I walk into these events remembering that the individuals in attendance are my friends, my collaborators, and when we’re in it together, we are stronger as a sector. The focus is not competition but rather trusted friendship, building a network where we can learn and grow from each other while playing our part as market leaders to progress the industry as a whole. After the event, Commonsku created an outstanding follow-up blog titled, “16 Inspiring Ideas and Bold Trends from Commonsku’s CEO Summit,” and I highly recommend checking it out. Thank you to all who attended and contributed. I am very grateful.

In summary, I wanted to share a few of my key takeaways from the CEO Summit.

KEY TAKEAWAYS -

🔥 What we’re doing at Whitestone is working!

🌟 HR is on the rise - People & Talent Hire - Whitestone hired Chris Ambrose to lead our People & Talent Department last year. Now that Chris has been in the role for six months, I wonder how we ever operated without him.

💸 Adopting a company-wide bonus - Several years ago, we implemented company-wide incentives; this has helped rally our team around a common goal and get everyone rowing in the same direction.

🤝 Team selling model - Enterprise Department up & going! - This year we launched a new department to help effectively sell and manage program business. This team sells as a unit and not as individuals.

🔝 Path for Growth - inclusive understanding of how to grow individually & collectively as a company - we’ve created a management structure and have developed career paths for every role, helping to show everyone how they can grow within the organization.

💯 What we agree with in the industry & acknowledge as priorities for improvement -

💻 AI adoption - implementing new tools throughout the organization. We learned about many, but one that stood out was GONG. How can we improve through technology? That is a question we’re going to continually ask ourselves and put into practice.

⚡️ Aligning on Industry Direction - The industry is moving towards smarter workflows, and Commonsku is leading the way with Connected Suppliers. We need to embrace this new technology and rally behind our suppliers and software provider.

🌎 Global expansion industry-wide - The world is getting smaller, and the clients we’re working with are presenting us with the need to perform overseas. - This may mean Whitestone taking on a presence overseas or risk being left behind.

📈 Growth through acquisitions - which can often outperform traditional organic growth. We’ll be developing an Investment Thesis for how we can incorporate M&A into our 10-year plan. 

I left Toronto with a lot of joy and confidence that our industry has never been in a better place. Connecting with business leaders and companies whose professional values align with ours at Whitestone will remain a priority to me, as we continue to advance and contribute to our growing industry. 

And, since we’re in it together as industry professionals - I’m curious: what do you consider to be the greatest challenge and/or opportunity for the branded merchandise industry today? 

Thank you for reading, and I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts!