Patti Weber – Croixstone

Why the Portfolio Life is Attracting so Many

“I prefer the term “portfolio life” over “portfolio career,” but whatever you want to call it, it’s an opportunity to gain control over your life in the midst of uncertainty and constant disruption.”

– Christina Wallace (Senior Lecturer, Harvard Business School and author of The Portfolio Life)

A new way to view career: In launching Croixstone Consulting in 2016, our firm’s co-founders, Patti Weber (CEO) and Mark Weber (Managing Partner), designed a business plan that placed “portfolio professionals” at the center of the firm’s universe. While the concept of “portfolio life” or “portfolio careers” was not well known at that time, the career framework is gaining increasing popularity and adoption by professionals who understand that the future of work demands a new blueprint for architecting one’s career – – and life.

A guide to future-proof your career: Last month, Christina Wallace of Harvard Business School published a fascinating book entitled The Portfolio Life. This on-point book serves as a guide to future-proof your career, avoid burnout, and build a life bigger than your business card.

Definition of portfolio career: We like the following definition of portfolio career as published by Harvard Business Review. Whereas a career path tends to be a singular pursuit (climb the ladder in one direction and focus on what is straight ahead), a career portfolio is a never-ending source of discovery and fulfillment. It represents your vast and diverse professional journey, including the various twists and turns, whether made by choice or by circumstance.

Four pillars of the portfolio life: Christina Wallace advises that the following four pillars are essential when adopting the portfolio life / career:

1. Identity
2. Optionality
3. Diversification
4. Flexibility

Learn more: Learn more about the portfolio life / career framework and the four pillars to adopt this increasingly popular career framework here.

On the Radio with Croixstone

“The power of radio is not that it speaks to millions, but that it speaks intimately and privately to each one of those millions.”

– Hallie Flanagan (American Theatrical Producer, Director, Playwright & Author)

Croixstone’s CEO and co-founder, Patti Weber, and Managing Partner and co-founder, Mark Weber, were featured guests this past weekend on The Francene Marie Show that airs on 6 top-rated FM and AM radio stations in the Charlotte, NC market.

Francene Marie Morris serves as Public Affairs Director as well as Host and Producer of The Francene Marie Show that airs on radio stations in the Charlotte market owned by Beasley Media Group. The lively radio interview with Croixstone’s leaders featured insights and perspectives on the labor market, employment trends, and job search strategies.

Listen to the interview here.

The Power of Women-Owned Companies and Supplier Diversity

The big picture: As a woman-owned and certified firm, two of Croixstone’s leaders (Patti Weber, CEO and Lisa Cahill, Senior Talent Leader) are joining more than 4,000 fellow participants at the annual WBENC National Conference taking place this week in Nashville. The conference is the largest event of its kind for women business owners, welcoming thousands of women entrepreneurs and corporate executives ready to make connections and do business.

A quick look back: In 2020, Croixstone celebrated a milestone moment in achieving national certification as a WBE (Women’s Business Enterprise by the Greater Women’s Business Council, a regional certifying partner of the Women’s Enterprise National Council (WBENC).

The power of women: According to Fundera, the USA has 12.3 million women-owned businesses, with 40% of all US businesses being owned by women. Businesses owned by women general $1.8 trillion a year to the US economy. Women are starting new businesses in droves – – they started a net total of 1,821 new businesses every day last year.

The benefits of supplier diversity: Croixstone actively promotes the benefits that come with robust supplier diversity programs. As Harvard Business Review shared in its August 2020 article entitled “Why You Need a Supplier Diversity Program”, there are sound commercial reasons for creating supplier diversity programs. These reasons include:

• Inclusiveness is great for innovation. Diverse suppliers bring diverse ideas, viewpoints, backgrounds and knowledge to companies.

• Inclusive procurement strategies widen the pool of potential suppliers and promotes competition in the supply base, which can improve product quality and drive down costs.

• By providing more sourcing options, inclusiveness can make supply chains more resilient and agile.

• Supplier diversity delivers numerous channels from which a business is able to acquire goods and services.

• Inclusiveness allows a business to benefit from new prospects from business growth with the rise of new customer requirements based upon shifting demographic certainties.

• The “feel good” factor associated with supplier diversity programs can also reflect positively on brands.

Yes, but: There are several common obstacles that challenge companies in building and sustaining robust supplier diversity programs. Common challenges include:

• Supplier diversity professionals find it challenging to secure cross-functional buy-in from managers and senior-level executives.

• Capacity. According to one study, 54% of corporations dedicate one staff person or less to supplier diversity.

• A lack of supplier diversity data and insights.

• Difficulties in identifying suppliers who also meet procurement criteria.

• Challenges and/or inability to verify supplier diversity claims.

Moving forward: Croixstone is committed to promoting the benefits of supplier diversity, and to helping corporate America navigate the ongoing challenges and obstacles that face corporate supplier diversity professionals.

Let’s talk: To learn more about the benefits of supplier diversity and how Croixstone can help, contact our CEO, Patti Weber, at pweber@croixstone.consulting.

Croixstone’s Lisa Cahill to Participate in ENCOUNTER Charlotte

One of Croixstone’s favorite hometown nonprofits is Leadership Charlotte. This great organization has a mission to develop and enhance volunteer community leadership by providing a diverse group of emerging and existing leaders with the opportunity to increase their community knowledge, civic network, and service to the community.

Leadership Charlotte offers two programs to fulfill its mission. The organization’s core program is “Leadership Charlotte”, a 10-month program where an average of 50 participants explore current issues with a variety of community leaders. Additionally, the organization offers a scaled-down version of its core program called “ENCOUNTER Charlotte.” This program serves as an orientation to Charlotte and to community leadership over a two-day period each spring and fall.

Croixstone’s very own Lisa Cahill (Senior Talent Leader) is participating in ENCOUNTER Charlotte’s spring 2023 program. She joins participants from a diverse portfolio of organizations across the Charlotte region including: Charlotte Regional Business Alliance, Novant Health, Truist Financial, Microsoft, Grant Thornton, Bank of America, Second Harvest Food Bank, Dowd YMCA, and more.

Croixstone’s CEO, Patti Weber, and Managing Partner, Mark Weber, are past participants of ENCOUNTER Charlotte. Learn more about the organization here.

Croixstone Ranks #11 on Inc. Magazine’s List of the Mid-Atlantic Region’s Fastest Growing Private Companies

Inc. magazine today revealed that Croixstone Consulting is No. 11 on the publication’s fourth annual Inc. 5000 Regionals: Mid-Atlantic list, the most prestigious ranking of the fastest-growing Mid-Atlantic private companies based in the District of Columbia, Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia.

“We launched Croixstone in 2016 with the knowledge that middle market companies are seeking alternatives to the traditional consulting industry model,” said Patti Weber, Croixstone’s Chief Executive Officer. “Our fast growth is fueled by our team’s ability to drive business transformation and outcomes for our middle market clients in a pragmatic, efficient, and cost-effective manner.”

All about growth: The companies on Inc. magazine’s list show a remarkable rate of growth across all industries in the Mid-Atlantic region. Between 2019 and 2021, these 142 private companies have a median growth rate of 149 percent and, in 2021 alone, they added 14,439 jobs and $3.9 billion to the Mid-Atlantic region’s economy.

“This year’s Inc. 5000 Regional winners represent one of the most exceptional and exciting lists of America’s off-the-charts growth companies. They’re disrupters and job creators, and all delivered an outsize impact on the economy. Remember their names and follow their lead. These are the companies you’ll be hearing about for years to come,” said Scott Omelianuk, editor-in-chief of Inc. magazine.

Learn more about the Inc. 5000 Regionals: The 2023 Inc. 5000 Regionals are ranked according to percentage revenue growth when comparing 2019 and 2021. Complete results of the Inc. 5000 Regionals: Mid-Atlantic, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, metro area, and other criteria, can be found at inc.com/mid-atlantic.

Read our press release: Click here.

Croixstone Welcomes Brian McLaughlin as Director, Organizational Effectiveness

We are excited to announce today that Brian McLaughlin, MBA has joined Croixstone Consulting in a newly-created role as Director, Organizational Effectiveness. In this new role at the firm, Brian will deliver high impact programs and initiatives that support the firm’s corporate strategy and operational goals.

“I am thrilled to welcome Brian as an internal consulting resource to our senior leaders and teams at Croixstone,” said Patti Weber, Croixstone’s Chief Executive Officer. “In his new role with the firm, Brian will offer guidance and support with major short and long-term initiatives, especially those related to organizational design, leadership behaviors, team performance and change management.”

Brian brings to Croixstone over 30 years of experience in business transformation, process reengineering, change management, human resources leadership, and consulting. Prior to launching his consulting career in 2019, McLaughlin served for over 4 years in a variety of senior human resources leadership roles with The Chemours Company.

Additionally, Brian served more than three decades in a variety of corporate and site leadership roles with EI DuPont de Nemours including Global Human Resource Manager for 3 global business units with $4.3 billion in annual revenue and 37 manufacturing sites.

Read our Press Release here.

The Charlotte Business Journal Interviews Croixstone’s CEO

To many outside the industry, terms such as “consulting” and “transformation” can be vague. Croixstone Consulting’s CEO Patti Weber is known for her pragmatic approach in helping others to understand the firm’s business model.

Laura Williams-Tracy (Contributing Writer) of the Charlotte Business Journal recently interviewed Patti to learn how Croixstone fills a niche for middle market companies across the USA.

Read (or listen to) the December 2022 interview here.

November is Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month

Did you know that November is Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month? This month is exceptionally important to Croixstone Consulting as three of our senior leaders have families who have been impacted by this challenging disease.

Croixstone’s CEO and co-founder Patti Weber lost her father to pancreatic cancer, our Managing Partner and co-founder Mark Weber lost his mother to the disease, and our Senior Manager of Business Operations Grace Lynch lost her niece to the disease.

Pancreatic cancer is the 10th most commonly diagnosed cancer in the USA and is the nation’s third leading cause of cancer-related death. Despite these facts, the typical American knows very little about the disease.

To honor the loved ones they’ve lost to pancreatic cancer. Patti, Mark and Grace are determined to educate Americans about the disease. In 2020, the trio launched a non-profit community organization (The Charlotte Pancreatic Cancer Alliance) to increase awareness of the disease with a hyper local focus on the fast-growing Charlotte, North Carolina region.

Charlotte Pancreatic Cancer Alliance is a member of the World Pancreatic Cancer Coalition (WPCC) which is a global consortium of pancreatic cancer advocacy organizations. In October 2021, WPCC profiled Charlotte Pancreatic Cancer Alliance along with Patti, Mark and Grace in its monthly newsletter.

Read the profile here.
Learn more about the symptoms and risks of pancreatic cancer here.

WOSB Recertification

We are continuing to celebrate a memorable week at Croixstone Consulting! In follow-up to our news on September 26, 2022 that we have received national recertification as a Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE), Croixstone is proud to announce a second achievement this week.

Our CEO, Patti Weber, announced today that Croixstone has been granted recertification as a Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB). The certification was granted by the Greater Women’s Business Council (GWBC), a regional certifying partner of the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), who serves as an approved third-party certifier for the U.S. Small Business Administration’s WOSB Federal Contracting Program.

This latest achievement fuels continued growth opportunities for Croixstone by allowing the firm to compete for federal contracts set aside for the WOSB Federal Contracting Program.

Read our Press Release here.

2022 Global Supplier Diversity Accelerator Program

The Croixstone team is celebrating!

In June of 2022, our CEO and co-founder, Patti Weber, was accepted into the 2022 Global Supplier Diversity Accelerator Program (GSDA) sponsored by Santander US (the diversified financial business with $155 billion in assets and 15,000 employees) and Monica Motivates (a supplier diversity consulting firm).

GSDA offers training and development programs for supplier small businesses owned by women, minorities and veterans to enhance their skills and knowledge to win key business contracts.

Patti completed the 12-week program last week by flying to Dallas to deliver a pitch to a team of Santander US leaders including:

Dr. Virnitia Hendricks / Chief Diversity Officer
Christopher Pfirrman / Santander Consumer USA Chief Legal Officer
Corley Cowan / Santander Consumer USA Senior Director Sales Strategy and Implementation
Jason Christensen / Santander Consumer USA IT Chief Operating Officer
Emiliano Ariel Diaz / IT Category Mexus Regional Lead

Congrats to Patti and her fellow program participants on a job well done, and thank you to the teams at Santander US and Monica Motivates for your commitment to supporting supplier diversity in such a high impact way.

Check out this LinkedIn post from Santander US regarding the Class of 2022 here.

Learn more about Santander US here.

Learn more about Monica Motivates here.

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