Michael Kiolbassa is the third-generation CEO of his family-owned sausage company, Kiolbassa Smoked Meats. In this talk, Michael reflects on a vulnerable financial period in the company's history, detailing how he navigated this critical period by leaning into data and Evergreen® values. By establishing five clear business pillars, the company executed a shift toward margin-driven growth, streamlined its management structure, and optimized its customer base. This transformation allowed the team to take the emotion out of decision-making.

Michael shares how embracing one common truth through data not only stabilized the business but also built deeper trust with customers and secured the company's future.

Leidy Klotz is a professor at the University of Virginia and the author of Subtract. His research makes the case that our instinct to add before we ever consider taking away is one of the costliest and least examined habits in business, one that only compounds the longer a company has been building.

In this Tugboat Institute® Talk, Leidy traces the science behind that instinct, from a Lego bridge his son quietly improved by removing a block, to the deliberate subtraction built into games like Jenga, and makes the business case for treating subtraction as a genuine competitive advantage. For Evergreen® companies thinking in decades rather than quarters, he offers a practical way to ask not just what to build next, but what to prune along the way.

Tugboat Institute® member Cody Nath, CEO of Refined Technologies, Inc. (RTI) delivers a moving testament to the necessity of knowing and leading the whole person. In this Tugboat Institute talk, Cody shares the heartbreaking story of a beloved colleague, Barry, whose tragic loss catalyzed a fundamental shift in how RTI approaches People First leadership. Recognizing that workplace skills alone cannot sustain a healthy culture, Cody describes the creation of Imprint, a unique leadership development cohort that integrates "The Whole You" framework with immersive wilderness experiences.

By stepping away from the office and into the vulnerability of the outdoors and campfire circle, RTI leaders forge deep emotional connections through personal storytelling, resulting in a high retention rate and an internal network of connected, cultural ambassadors. Cody honors Barry's legacy by challenging fellow leaders to move beyond professional metrics and embody wholeness, and creating their version of Impact that uniquely fits their own Evergreen® company.