The Most Remarkable Innovators Shaping Business Leadership In 2025

Phil Bristol: Leading the Way as an Astute Leader in Executive Coaching and Project Management

Business leaders often encounter challenges throughout their entrepreneurial journey. Amid evolving technologies and dynamic market shifts, many turn to external expertise to stay aligned with their strategic vision and operate efficiently. To minimize deviations and accelerate growth, they seek seasoned professionals with deep domain expertise. Executive coaches serve as pivotal partners, translating vision into actionable strategies and building mutual trust through aligned perspectives. In this edition, we are pleased to spotlight Phil Bristol, CEO of Projectivity Solutions, a respected authority in strategic and business consulting.

An Eminent Journey

With a career spanning more than 30 triumphant years, Phil has an impeccable command over leadership, project management, and the information technology (IT) industry. Leveraging his organizational development skills, he designed and implemented the US Army Senior Civil Servant and Officer Management System, evaluating objectives and reporting. With a proven track record in strategic planning, project management, business process reengineering, conflict transformation, and leadership development, Phil has successfully delivered innovative solutions across both public and private sectors.

Projectivity Solutions began with a focus on custom home project management before transitioning to IT initiatives for NUMMI, followed by computer systems design and development for leading firms such as Tandem Computers, Hewlett-Packard, Apple, Netscape, and Sun Microsystems. The firm then advanced into semiconductor manufacturing systems projects for companies like Silicon Valley Group, Varian Thin Films, and Applied Materials.

These foundational experiences led to the establishment of Project and Program Management Offices (PMOs) for organizations including Varian Thin Films, Eddie Bauer, CTB McGraw-Hill, and Register.com. In 2004, the company strategically pivoted towards supporting Small and Medium-Sized Businesses (SMBs), utilizing frameworks such as the One Page Plan and Balanced Scorecard to serve business owners and C-suite leaders.

Phil says,” Have a master calendar and block time for a predictable framework. Be clear on the top 5 results you deliver, the priority, and the time allocated. Leave 20% of your time open to contingencies.”

Today, Projectivity Solutions, Inc. operates as an integrated solutions provider, committed to unlocking organizational performance by addressing hidden barriers to employee engagement and productivity. Its approach is centered on building people, fostering strong relationships, and enabling trust-based, high-performing cultures.

Exposure Enables Growth

Phil’s military & corporate stints kept him in the consultant mindset. Over the past 30 years, the organization has emerged from project management and contracting to Fortune 500 program management offices, strategic planning, and team building. The unmitigated passion to help independent business owners fuels the team to enhance operations. In 2007, the team’s focus shifted to small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) and multigenerational family-owned companies.

Military service instilled leadership and resilience, while experience in pharmaceutical IT strategy developed multicultural and systemic thinking for Phil. Business process improvement refined the ability to define requirements by streamlining existing methods before adopting new systems. Tools like Target Training Insights behavioral and emotional intelligence assessments enhance team potential, while the Arbinger Institute’s Outward Mindset fosters a shift from individual focus to collective performance.

A Guiding Light

Phil identified a surge in opacity around organizational direction, work, and relationship expectations that results in reduced employee productivity. Projectivity Solutions equips business owners and leadership teams with practical tools to enhance organizational effectiveness. Position role sheets clarify expectations, while master process documentation ensures cross-functional collaboration.

In the 1990s, the company specialized in helping Fortune 500 firms streamline and standardize complex projects for timely, budget-conscious delivery. By 2000, recognizing that team dynamics, not processes, often drive complexity, Projectivity integrated behavioral tools into its services. Today, Projectivity Solutions is a people-centric, data-driven firm that supports informed decision-making and sustainable business growth.

Employee-first Approach

Phil says,” Knowing you need to take action and knowing what action to take can be two different things.”

Phil is focused on two aspects: employees and work quality. He highlights that to build a successful team, the employee engagement should merge with the sense of belonging aspect. Additionally, the organization’s mission needs to be aligned with that of its employees, resulting in their active involvement and ownership of their work.

Projectivity Solutions’ people-centric training focuses on shifting organizations from control-based methods to influence-driven leadership. The program emphasizes three core elements:

Self-mastery and leadership development to build trust and unlock team potential
A collaborative culture that balances business acumen with empathy
Advanced leadership modules, including conflict transformation and key talent acquisition

Phil emphasizes that leadership is developed over time. It grows through experience and self-understanding. His workshops help listeners hear their “leadership voice”, how they communicate & act, to empower the team. An insight is built on how one’s leadership voice sounds to others. Effective leadership turns individual success into a collective one.

Visionary leaders are inspired by big dreams. Among the given leadership styles, affiliative leadership creates harmony and resolves conflicts, while democratic leaders value the opinions of employees. These styles make a positive environment. Pacesetting boosts results but can strain teams; commanding suits crises but may feel harsh if overused.

Diverse Strategies

In mid-sized businesses or family-owned businesses, the organization faces uninvited obstacles. This results in a visibly slow growth of the business, which comprises 5 to 23 employees. In this early stage, the sole aim is nothing but profits, resulting in managers and employees being focused on planning and executing work activities. The owner’s unwavering focus on “Working ON” the company opens doors for critical thinking, well-crafted core values, mission, and vision statements, with the organizational structure as well. During the onset of the business, the BOD needs to evolve to bring the company in the ideal direction by setting a standard for organizational performance pace.

Phil says, “Focus on your passion and gifts – not work. Develop a sense of cadence and flow with the team and clients.”

Projectivity Solutions empowers small business leaders to elevate communication for greater organizational complexity. In the early stages (under 19 employees), a directive leadership style is effective. As the company scales toward 100 employees, leadership must shift to developing new leaders and communicating evolving priorities across people, process, and profit. Timely adjustments enable sustained growth.

The Culture Pillars

Phil believes company culture shapes everything. It’s the foundation of success. When employees feel valued, trusted, and connected, they thrive. And when they thrive, the business thrives. An ideal company culture, built on eight core pillars, attracts top talent. Those pillars are:

Credibility- leaders who lead by example.
Respect- where everyone is valued for who they are.
Fairness- treating everyone equally and recognizing their contributions.
Pride- a sense of ownership and belief in your company’s mission.
Belonging- a culture where everyone fits in and feels valued.
Leadership- inspiring and motivating others to achieve their best.
Values- shared beliefs that guide your company’s decisions.
Innovation- creating an environment where ideas flow freely and creativity thrives.

Flexibility Does It

Phil emphasizes that accelerating organizational performance is the cornerstone of Projectivity Solutions. Its journey to establish a robust system begins with a realistic evaluation. The organization studies the current strengths and resources while foreseeing the gaps that are restraints for their clients. This acts as a foundation that is custom-made for the client’s goals.

Projectivity Solutions helps define an organization’s core strategy: Mission, Vision, and Values. The mission communicates purpose, the vision sets direction, and the values guide team behavior. Aligning all three ensures unified, purpose-driven execution.

Projectivity Solutions conducts knowledge assessments before, after, and six months following each client workshop to measure learning outcomes and training effectiveness. These assessments target key areas such as strategic direction, company culture, infrastructure, leadership, and mindset. The firm collaborates with clients to identify priority business needs and align implementation strategies accordingly.

Alignment with Strategy

Projectivity Solutions delivers results-driven services built around four core pillars: strategic direction, operational excellence, leadership, and mindset. Each service is independently effective and collectively aligned to support client outcomes. Engagements begin with a needs assessment through interviews, evaluations, and observations to develop a tailored action plan. The firm’s enterprise project management (EPM) approach takes a strategic view, aligning projects, programs, and portfolios with organizational goals to optimize resources, reduce risk, and maximize value across the enterprise.

Taking a Step Back

When asked about his pinnacle moment, Phil shared an inspiring story. The story goes like:

One of his clients, Palmer Electric (name changed), a multigenerational construction firm with three departments and 150 employees, was under a leadership gridlock. It had successfully built multi-residential housing and lit airport runways. But since the last business management meeting three quarters ago, the morale was low as conflicts had begun among team members. Revenue stagnation was witnessed at $ 15 M.

During realignment with the CEO, trust between staff and leadership emerged as a key challenge. By integrating communication and emotional intelligence tools, leaders began valuing differences and building trust. This led to the development of the company’s first strategic plan, outlining five growth priorities and defining its vision, mission, and values.

Initial resistance to collaboration shifted as leaders adopted a conditional trust approach, observing team dynamics. Conflict resolution and an outward mindset reshaped managerial roles and performance expectations.

Palmer Electric, now a $575 million regional business, conducts quarterly performance reviews and operates with a culture of trust, clarity, and accountability. Every team member follows a KPI-based action plan aligned with company goals.

On the Outside

Projectivity Solutions’ brand strategy focuses on driving organizational transformation through an outward mindset, prioritizing others’ needs to build trust, strengthen relationships, and enhance business outcomes. By guiding leaders and teams from an inward to a people-centric approach, the firm helps unlock workforce potential, improve engagement, reduce turnover, and boost team cohesion.

Authenticity Builds Credibility

The quarterly performance review conversation in the organization is an interaction of each position’s performance aspects, while pointing out positive outcomes and areas of improvement. The biannual ritual oversees the effectiveness of existing operations and integrates changes as needed.

In monthly reviews, Projectivity Solutions includes a short story session to foster continuity of key insights. Each team member shares a brief, relatable story with a factual start and core perceptions.

Phil says,” Ask Questions for Which I Have No Answers. I learned this essential lesson from the Arbinger Institute, the Creating We Institute, and Target Training International, significantly improving my leadership and communication styles.”

Pearls of Wisdom

Clarity in personal and business foundations is essential. The process begins by charting key life highs and lows to identify lessons learned, based on Steve Pavlina’s Life Purpose and Values blog (Dec 2010). Next, five core values are defined with synonyms, behavior statements, and actions to avoid when not aligned with those values. The final step involves crafting mission statements for both the individual and the business.

Strategic Aims

In January, Projectivity Solutions conducted a thorough review of the services, staff, and client base. It is dedicated to catering to organizations with 500 employees or fewer. It will be to enhance unmatched operational excellence, while nurturing a collaborative environment. Furthermore, the organization aims to widen its operational horizon into the European and Indian regions with consistently elevating planning and leadership development. A refined data-driven approach and higher client engagement is the ultimate goals. Looking ahead to 2025 and 2026, Projectivity Solutions plans to enhance its strategic planning services, expand into Europe and India, launch The Business Mechanics℠ podcast, and establish a mentor advisory team, strengthening its client service capabilities and industry reputation.

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