2026 ACG WI | Talent is everywhere. Opportunity is not.

About the Book

OPERATIONAL ALPHA

Most companies grow the wrong way.

Today's businesses are drowning in software, data, and meetings, yet somehow execution keeps getting harder. Why does success today require “extreme ownership” and managerial heroics? Why do our expectations for our people keep getting lower and lower? Meanwhile, your best people burn out holding everything together with sheer willpower.

Sound familiar?

The problem isn't your people. It's how your company is designed to operate. In Operational Alpha, Chris Nolte lays out a practical blueprint and field notes for building organizations to overcome the skills gap that exists in today’s tight talent marketplace. Drawing on real experience designing operational systems across global companies, through his talent agency Kayana Remote Professionals, Nolte shows how modern businesses create real leverage through smarter structure, distributed teams, and execution systems that don't depend on heroics.

Inside, you'll discover:

• Why the traditional org chart is silently killing your momentum
• The hidden cost of relying on star performers to save a broken system
• How distributed teams consistently outperform top-heavy departments
• Why trust and belonging aren't soft ideas, they're performance infrastructure
• How to build an organization that scales without grinding to a halt

For founders, operators, HR leaders, and investors building what comes next, Operational Alpha gives you a clear, actionable framework for turning execution into your most durable competitive advantage. Because the companies that win tomorrow won't just have a better strategy.

They'll have a better operating system.