Posts in Organization
The Shortlist Lie: Why Your Executive Search Was Decided Before You Saw the Candidates
The Shortlist Lie: Why Your Executive Search Was Decided Before You Saw the Candidates

The standard executive search slate contains three to four candidates. AESC member firms and most retained search practices converge on this number for a reason — and it isn’t the one you’ve been told.

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Best Practice, Organization, RecruitingHenning SchwinumVendux LLCchoice, recruiting, decision, candidate
The Unfinished Puzzle: Why Leaders Must Frame the Work Before Filling the Details
The Unfinished Puzzle: Why Leaders Must Frame the Work Before Filling the Details

Some habits never leave you. They simply evolve. For me, puzzling has always been one of them—a quiet, obsessive activity that pulls me in completely and refuses to let go until the last piece clicks into place.

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Best Practice, Leadership, Motivation, OrganizationHenning SchwinumVendux LLCpuzzle, frame
To The Last Page: How Childhood Reading Built My Discipline, Curiosity, and Leadership Focus
To The Last Page: How Childhood Reading Built My Discipline, Curiosity, and Leadership Focus

Reading was not assigned—it was inevitable. Books were not just a pastime; they were my primary form of entertainment, my travel to a different place and time.

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Skills, Organization, Motivation, LeadershipHenning SchwinumVendux LLCbook, reading, childhood, discipline, leadership
When a CEO Confirms It: Hiding a Fractional Executive Is the Mistake
When a CEO Confirms It: Hiding a Fractional Executive Is the Mistake

In last week’s CEO Masterclass, I laid out the common reasons why fractional executive engagements go sideways. Then one of the CEOs in the room did something that made the lesson land harder than any slide could: he squarely confirmed it.

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Best Practice, Fractional Sales Leader, Interim and Fractional, Leadership, Organization, RecruitingHenning SchwinumVendux LLCMasterclass, ceo, mistakes, CEO, fractional, HR, Executive
Three Siblings, Shifting Alliances: How Time Turned Rivalry into Enduring Partnership
Three Siblings, Shifting Alliances: How Time Turned Rivalry into Enduring Partnership

Today, I am deeply fond of them. We live on different continents, see each other only once or twice a year, and yet every meeting seems to strengthen our bond. It feels stable, intentional, and enduring.

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Organization, Motivation, COVIDHenning SchwinumVendux LLCsiblings, sister, alliances, partnership
AI and the Fractional Executive: A New Operating Model
AI and the Fractional Executive: A New Operating Model

Fractional executives have always sold one thing above all: pattern recognition compressed into fewer hours. Artificial intelligence is now rewriting what those hours look like — for GTM leaders (fCMOs, fCROs), fCFOs, fCOOs, and fCTOs alike.

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Change, Fractional Sales Leader, Interim and Fractional, Leadership, OrganizationHenning SchwinumVendux LLCAI, artificial intelligence, Artificial intelligence, operations, fractional, executive, CRO, CMO, CTO, COO, CFO
Fire in the Cold: What a Winter Hike Taught Me About Motivation and Leadership
Fire in the Cold: What a Winter Hike Taught Me About Motivation and Leadership

This one begins on a cold January Sunday, somewhere far enough from home to feel like an expedition, with frozen ground under our feet and one simple promise that kept us moving: there would be a fire, and we would grill sausages.

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Motivation, Leadership, Organization, TeamHenning SchwinumVendux LLChike, winter, fire, sausage
Who Actually Hires Fractional Executives? A Look at Ownership Patterns
Who Actually Hires Fractional Executives? A Look at Ownership Patterns

Most fractional engagements cluster around a surprisingly consistent set of ownership structures. In our experience placing fractional sales leaders and other CXOs, three types of organizations account for the vast majority of demand.

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Fractional Sales Leader, Interim and Fractional, Organization, Recruiting, TeamHenning SchwinumVendux LLCfamily, vc, private equity, ownership, fractional, executives
Fractional Sales Leadership Isn’t a Cost Play
Fractional Sales Leadership Isn’t a Cost Play

It’s an Organizational Design Strategy. Sales tools are evolving faster than ever. AI SDRs. Revenue intelligence. Deal analytics. Forecasting copilots.

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Best Practice, Change, Fractional Sales Leader, Interim and Fractional, Organization, SalesAndrew MillerVendux LLCfractional, cost, ai
Twenty-three Minutes at a Time: How Vinyl Records Taught Me Focus, Patience, and Depth in Business
Twenty-three Minutes at a Time: How Vinyl Records Taught Me Focus, Patience, and Depth in Business

Long before playlists, streaming, or skipping tracks, I learned how to listen—really listen—one album side at a time. And that habit shaped far more than my musical taste.

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Best Practice, Leadership, Organization, SkillsHenning SchwinumVendux LLCfocue, patience, vinyl