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ACG Strategic Insights
Strategic Intelligence That Drives Results
Welcome to ACG Strategic Insights — trusted by 9.8+ million current and aspiring leaders worldwide for strategic intelligence that drives results. Our daily publication delivers actionable insights across strategic leadership, technology & innovation, financial strategy, business strategy, and executive development, combining cross-industry expertise with real-world consulting experience.
From emerging market dynamics and proven leadership frameworks to technology innovation and executive development strategies, ACG Strategic Insights provides the strategic perspective that enables confident decision-making in an increasingly complex business environment. Learn more about ACG Strategic Insights or subscribe below to join millions of leaders who rely on our daily intelligence.
The SaaS Spend Crisis: When Technology Becomes Financial Quicksand
The Hidden Cost of Invisible Waste: Where Your SaaS Budget Actually Goes. Mid-market companies spend 4-8% of revenue on software subscriptions, yet use only half their licenses. This dashboard reveals the patterns executives miss—unused entitlements draining millions, duplicate tools solving identical problems, and auto-renewals perpetuating yesterday's decisions. Red flags don't appear in vendor invoices. They emerge when you finally measure what you're actually using versus
Jerry Justice
10 hours ago7 min read
IP Strategy for Mid-Market Companies: The Value You're Leaving on the Table
Unlocking Hidden Value: The Missing Piece in Your IP Strategy. Most mid-market companies overlook the intellectual property already within their walls—proprietary processes, customer insights, and specialized methodologies worth millions. The lightbulb moment comes when leaders recognize these intangible assets as the strategic pieces that complete their competitive advantage. What intellectual property is your organization leaving on the table? Most mid-market executives bel
Jerry Justice
1 day ago9 min read
When Competitive Advantage Expires
The Strategic Refresh Curve: Companies that proactively refresh their competitive positioning before market erosion (upper curve) maintain sustained relevance, while those clinging to single advantages (lower curve) experience inevitable decay and diminished market position. Your company spent two years building what executives believed was an unassailable market position. The differentiation was clear, the value proposition sharp, the competitive moat seemingly wide. Eightee
Jerry Justice
2 days ago9 min read
What January's Execution Reveals About Next December's Results
The opening move determines the endgame. In chess and in business, January's strategic decisions shape the trajectory of the entire year ahead. The ledger doesn't lie. By the time January's statements close, you already know something critical about how the year will end. Not because the first month predicts revenue or market conditions, but because it reveals something more telling: your execution capacity. January carries a quiet honesty. The calendar has turned, expectatio
Jerry Justice
5 days ago8 min read
Succession Planning Beyond the Org Chart
Organizations that build leadership depth across multiple levels recover faster from transitions and outperform competitors by 2.2x. Strategic succession planning maps capabilities, not just titles, ensuring critical expertise exists throughout the enterprise rather than concentrated in a few key individuals. The longevity of an enterprise often rests on a paradox. While we celebrate the singular vision of a Chief Executive, the true strength of a company lies in its ability
Jerry Justice
6 days ago7 min read
The Budget Variance Conversation That Actually Drives Performance
Strategic budget variance reviews transform when leaders shift from defending past decisions to shaping future resource allocation. The most effective CFOs facilitate collaborative dialogue where variances become strategic signals rather than performance scorecards. The final days of January often bring a familiar ritual to executive suites across mid-market and Fortune 1000 companies. Financial controllers distribute spreadsheets filled with variance indicators. Department h
Jerry Justice
Jan 288 min read
Operational Leverage – The Growth Multiplier Most Companies Miss
The Leverage Multiplier in Action: Small strategic inputs—standardized processes, clear decision frameworks, and scalable systems—turn into exponential output gains. Companies that design operational leverage before growth arrives don't work harder as they scale. They work smarter, converting each dollar of revenue into disproportionately higher profit while competitors add cost in lockstep with sales. Growth reveals what leaders truly designed. Revenue rises, demand acceler
Jerry Justice
Jan 277 min read
Why Your Leadership Team Agrees in Meetings But Executes Differently
The Illusion of Unity: When leadership teams mistake polite agreement for genuine strategic alignment, the pieces never quite fit together—no matter how many meetings you hold. True alignment requires the courage to ensure every executive understands not just what was decided, but what it means for how they'll execute on Monday morning. The conference room falls silent as everyone nods in agreement. The strategy is clear, objectives are defined, and your leadership team seem
Jerry Justice
Jan 266 min read
The CFO Transition Timeline That Protects Shareholder Value
Protecting Shareholder Value Through Structured Transition: The four-phase CFO transition timeline transforms a vulnerability window into a demonstration of governance strength and institutional resilience. Why CFO Transitions Test The Enterprise Few leadership changes expose an organization's internal strength quite like the departure of a chief financial officer. The CFO sits at the intersection of capital strategy, risk management, and operational truth. When that role goe
Jerry Justice
Jan 235 min read
Customer Concentration Risk: The Double-Edged Sword of Landing That Dream Client
When a single pillar bears too much weight, even the strongest structure becomes fragile. Customer concentration risk turns your biggest win into your greatest vulnerability—reducing strategic options, compressing valuations, and leaving your business exposed to forces beyond your control. The question isn't whether your anchor client is strong enough. It's whether your foundation can survive without them. Customer concentration risk rarely announces itself as a problem. It u
Jerry Justice
Jan 2210 min read
The Technology Investment Decision Framework That Prevents Regret
Technology governance demands more than oversight—it requires understanding how every system, decision, and investment connects to create competitive advantage or costly complexity. Every year, leaders face recurring tension during budget season. The pressure to modernize feels relentless, driven by the fear that falling behind a competitor's digital capabilities marks a slow path to irrelevance. Yet the data tells an uncomfortable story about how this capital gets deployed.
Jerry Justice
Jan 218 min read
The Working Capital Crisis Hiding in Your Growth Numbers
Growth creates distance between revenue and cash flow. The question isn't whether your business is expanding—it's whether the bridge connecting top-line success to actual liquidity can bear the weight. The Growth Paradox Every Executive Faces Growth is the primary metric by which we judge organizational health. It validates strategy, energizes teams, and signals market relevance. Board decks glow with upward lines, and leadership momentum feels justified. Yet beneath those nu
Jerry Justice
Jan 209 min read
Legacy Leadership - Building Systems That Outlast You
The strongest trees stand not because of what's visible above ground, but because of the root systems built deep below. Great leaders understand this—their legacy isn't the height they reach, but the depth of the systems they build that continue nourishing growth long after they're gone. Every January, we pause to remember Martin Luther King Jr. Not because he served in Congress. Not because he accumulated personal wealth. Not because he lived to see all his dreams fulfilled.
Jerry Justice
Jan 198 min read
Pricing Power in a Margin-Squeezed Market
The companies expanding margins in today's squeezed market didn't get lucky. They built pricing power through deliberate architecture across value definition, structural design, and customer intimacy. Master these pillars, and price becomes secondary to the outcomes you deliver. The phone calls come in waves. "Our suppliers raised prices again." "Customers are pushing back harder than ever." "We can't keep discounting to win deals." CFOs watch margins compress. Sales teams br
Jerry Justice
Jan 168 min read
The Performance Management Trap That Demotivates Your Best People
Two conversations. Two outcomes. On the left, the traditional performance review where defensiveness replaces dialogue and forms matter more than growth. On the right, a development conversation where curiosity drives the exchange and possibility replaces judgment. The difference isn't in the words spoken but in the separation of purpose. Your best people already know which one helps them grow. January arrives with its predictable rhythm. New year resolutions. Budget approval
Jerry Justice
Jan 157 min read
Cybersecurity Governance Beyond the IT Department
When cybersecurity moves from the server room to the boardroom, accountability shifts with it. Directors who understand cyber risk as enterprise risk protect more than data—they protect trust, reputation, and shareholder value. The phone call came at 2:47 AM. The CEO of a respected healthcare company learned their systems had been breached six hours earlier. By sunrise, patient data from 340,000 people was being sold on the dark web. The CISO had followed every protocol. The
Jerry Justice
Jan 1410 min read
M&A Market Shifts in 2026 Reveal Opportunities Behind the Headlines
M&A deal volume and value trends reveal the market bifurcation reshaping strategic opportunities. While global deal values surged to $4.8 trillion in 2025—a 36% jump from 2024—transaction volumes tell a more nuanced story. The divergence between quantity and quality reflects a flight to premium assets, where prepared companies with recurring revenue models, defensible technology advantages, and credible management teams command multiples that increasingly separate winners fro
Jerry Justice
Jan 138 min read
The Coordination Costs Your Operations Team Isn't Tracking
When leadership reviews dashboards in the boardroom while teams operate in fragmented silos across time zones, the gap between reported efficiency and actual performance widens. The cost of this disconnect doesn't show up on quarterly reports—but it shows up in your margins. Your operations team wrapped their quarterly review. Cycle times improved. Material costs stayed flat. Labor productivity hit targets. Every dashboard glows green. Yet your margins tell a different story.
Jerry Justice
Jan 128 min read
The January Board Presentation That Determines Your Year
Your January board presentation sets the expectations, metrics, and narrative that will define every conversation for the next twelve months—make it count. Walk into your January board meeting with last quarter's results and a promise to "do better," and you've already lost control of the conversation for the next eleven months. The directors sitting across that table aren't just reviewing December's numbers. They're forming judgments about your strategic clarity, your grasp
Jerry Justice
Jan 98 min read
When Strategic Plans Become Expensive Paperweights
The most expensive binder in your office. Research shows 67% of strategic plans fail due to poor execution—not poor planning. The difference between strategy that drives results and strategy that gathers dust comes down to what happens in the first 30 days after board approval. The Board approved your 2026 strategic plan in December. The document looks impressive. The analysis is thorough. The objectives are clear. In boardrooms across the country, leaders are exhaling with a
Jerry Justice
Jan 86 min read
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