"Experiences are what form us in our professional and personal lives."
Phil Nichols is an accomplished Veteran, Senior Executive, Entrepreneur, Advisor, Thought Leader, and Board Member with more than 30 years of success across the military, manufacturing, consumer services, oil & gas, financial services and outsourcing industries. His broad areas of expertise include business development, human resources management, organizational development, strategic planning, leadership development and contract negotiations.
Phil holds a key leadership position as Managing Partner for Exsin where he helps other business owners and executives grow professionally and personally and improve their bottom line. Phil helps clients to be profitable, positioning them well for acquisition, or an orderly succession to the next generation of ownership. Phil has worked with many companies where he reduced cost and improved efficiency and revenue growth within the organizations.
Prior to his role at Exsin, Phil led as the Principal CEO of Cornerstone Partners, LLC as well as the Principal CEO of HR Benefit Planners, an Employee Benefit and HR Outsourcing advisory for business and trade associations that he built from the ground up after honorably leaving the military.
Phil studied Human Resources at Bellevue University. He is currently serving on the boards for numerous nonprofits and organizations. Phil is a professional speaker, writer, and podcaster, and is continually looking to help Veterans, individuals and other business owners succeed in their businesses and life.
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Table of Contents
We are thrilled to have you join us today, welcome to ValiantCEO Magazine’s exclusive interview! Let’s start off with a little introduction. Tell our readers a bit about yourself and your company.
Phil Nichols: I have been working with business owners and their teams for several years. Our great passion professionally is helping organizations create value for their customers, employees, and ownership teams.
Exsin has a stated mission of helping 1000 organizations grow in value over the next ten years, for our team at Exsin that means not just financially but also the company culture and customer satisfaction. We believe that every employee is a key stakeholder within the organization and needs to be heard and also needs to have a clear vision of the organizational mission and vision.
My greatest accomplishment is my role as a husband and father, I have been married for thirty-four years to my wonderful wife Tonya and together we have been blessed with two children by birth and thirty-three children by choice. Our family is our mission field.
2020 and 2021 threw a lot of curve balls into business on a global scale. Based on the experience gleaned in the past couple years, how can businesses thrive in 2022? What lessons have you learned?
Phil Nichols: I think the past couple of years have shown us all that anything can happen. We stress that during times of uncertainty you are only as good as your processes and people and the systems that you have in place within your organization. Every organization no matter the size must have processes in place that your teams understand and value to thrive in 2022 and beyond.
The pandemic seems to keep on disrupting the economy, what should businesses focus on in 2022? What advice would you share?
Phil Nichols: Trust your process! Also, we must stay focused on the things we control. Remember the answer to most problems within organizations falls in three areas: people, time, and money. If organizations are following a consistent process and are fostering a culture of inclusion and growth within their organization they are well on their way to a successful 2022.
How has the pandemic changed your industry and how have you adapted?
Phil Nichols: I believe the pandemic changed every industry. We have been able to grow during the pandemic because we followed our process and stayed focused on positive change as needed. We believe that organizations that have a positive attitude and are willing to adapt to changes with an attitude of new opportunity and gratitude for what they have and the future will always thrive.
What advice do you wish you received when the pandemic started and what do you intend on improving in 2022?
Phil Nichols: it would have been nice to better understand the capabilities of the tools we already had and were using with regard to technology. We have seen a willingness to continue to utilize technology from our clients that weren’t there before in the area of team communications and meetings.
Online business surged higher than ever, B2B, B2C, online shopping, virtual meetings, remote work, Zoom medical consultations, what are your expectations for 2022?
Phil Nichols: I think we will continue to see these grow in 2022 and for years to come. The days of traveling to meetings, shopping centers, and doctors’ offices are gone, we will be virtual forever! I think this is a good thing.
How many hours a day do you spend in front of a screen?
Phil Nichols: More than I ever thought, around four to five hours a day.
The majority of executives use stories to persuade and communicate in the workplace. Can you share with our readers examples of how you implement that in your business to communicate effectively with your team?
Phil Nichols: Experiences are what form us in our professional and personal lives. My style has always been story-based, I believe you have to paint a picture for people so everyone understands the message. We do this in all meetings and encourage our teams to do the same.
Business is all about overcoming obstacles and creating opportunities for growth. What do you see as the real challenge right now?
Phil Nichols: The greatest challenge I see is a sense of apathy within organizations and our society as a whole. There is so much going on globally that it is easy to fall into a rut and feel like whatever you do won’t help, this is simply not true! We need to follow our processes and focus on those things we control.
In 2022, what are you most interested in learning about? Crypto, NFTs, online marketing, or any other skill sets? Please share your motivations.
Phil Nichols: I am a people junkie! I am always focused on how we can make people’s lives better.
A record 4.4 million Americans left their jobs in September in 2021, accelerating a trend that has become known as the Great Resignation. 47% of people plan to leave their job during 2022. Most are leaving because of their boss or their company culture. 82% of people feel unheard, undervalued and misunderstood in the workplace. Do you think leaders see the data and think “that’s not me – I’m not that boss they don’t want to work for? What changes do you think need to happen?
Phil Nichols: Yes! It is tough to take a hard look at yourself and acknowledge that change is needed. Leaders must understand that without their teams the people that make everything go they have nothing! Every leader needs to make sure that they are listening to their teams and giving them a clear path for growth and development.
On a lighter note, if you had the ability to pick any business superpower, what would it be and how would you put it into practice?
Phil Nichols: Listening! If we listen to hear and understand the path to helping others is very clear.
What does “success” in 2022 mean to you? It could be on a personal or business level, please share your vision.
Phil Nichols: Success is simple for us in that if our clients are growing financially and their culture is ever-improving then we are successful.
Jed Morley, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank Phil Nichols for taking the time to do this interview and share his knowledge and experience with our readers.
If you would like to get in touch with Phil Nichols or his company, you can do it through his – Linkedin Page
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