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Start with the Foreword →Pillar 03 · The Book
Hands Up
A CEO's letter to the generation that will inherit what we build.
Jennifer L. Bagley · Free digital pre-release
Pre-release · free digital · 24 sections
Or download the free pre-release (PDF) · Reading as an operator? Start with the Field Guide
Inside the book
A CEO's letter — written to be inherited
A foreword, What They're Saying, fourteen chapters, bonus love letters, and voices from the CI Web Group team who lived the transition — the four-generation story behind the company, told exactly as it was written.
Take it with you
The free digital edition — every chapter and photograph, typeset as a 6×9 PDF you can read anywhere.
Download the PDF →Meet the author
Jennifer L. Bagley — founder & CEO of CI Web Group and keynote speaker bringing AI to the trades.
About Jennifer →Foreword
A word from Tony Jeary
“Read with an open mind. Challenge the beliefs on your own window. Then put your hands up and move.”
One of the concepts I often share is the Belief Window. Each of us carries principles formed by family, teachers, coaches, and experience. Some serve us for years. Yet when the world changes, a principle that was once useful can quietly become outdated. Leaders who fail to update how they see the world eventually lose the ability to win in it.
I have known Jennifer Bagley for decades, and I have consistently been impressed by her willingness to challenge comfortable assumptions and move before the crowd. She has lived at the intersection of technology and marketing, not as an observer, but as a builder. When AI began reshaping consumer behavior and business operations, Jennifer did not wait for universal agreement. She gained clarity, focused on what mattered most, and executed.
That is why Hands Up deserves your attention. This is not merely a warning about change. It is an invitation to see change clearly, make better decisions, and act while action still creates an advantage. Whether you are a contractor, business owner, or leader responsible for what comes next, you will need to reach Jennifer's position of operation to win in today's world.
Read with an open mind. Challenge the beliefs on your own window. Then put your hands up and move.
Tony Jeary · The RESULTS Guy™
Mini Edition
The 32-page field guide
This 32-page field guide is an editorial condensation of the full digital edition of Hands Up. It preserves the central story, strategic frameworks, and most actionable ideas for contractors and business owners.
It ends where it should: a Monday-morning checklist and a first-90-days cadence. If you only read one thing before you decide what to change, read this.
From Hands Up
Readers' Top Takeaways
Ten ideas readers keep coming back to — the posture, the urgency, and the heart of leading through the AI transition.
You don’t get to opt out of the ride.
The AI transition is already happening. The only real choice leaders have is how they respond to it — not whether it occurs.
Posture matters more than certainty.
The “hands up” versus “gripping the bar” metaphor captures the core idea: fear is present either way. The difference is whether you meet change with curiosity or resistance.
Recognition creates responsibility.
Once a leader truly sees a shift coming, waiting for full proof just hands the advantage to competitors who moved first.
Transformation requires full redesign, not surface changes.
Adopting AI isn’t about buying software or asking a team to use ChatGPT. It means rebuilding roles, workflows, data, training, and decision rights from the ground up.
Time is the one resource you can’t get back.
Capital, talent, and technology can be rebuilt. Time spent hesitating cannot — and every quarter of delay lets early movers compound their lead.
Optimize for today while building for tomorrow.
Businesses need to keep their current search and customer acquisition systems working while simultaneously investing in AI-readable content and structured data for the future.
See AI through all six layers, not just one.
Labs, platforms, consumers, marketing, operations, and employees are all connected. Leaders need the full picture — not a narrow slice of it.
Human value shifts as machines take over repetitive work.
Judgment, relationships, creativity, leadership, and trust become the areas where people create the most value going forward.
Curiosity may outperform experience.
The willingness to keep learning and reinventing yourself could matter more for long-term career survival than age, title, or tenure.
Execution has to include heart, not just speed.
Jennifer’s own story — especially losing her father during a moment defined by urgency and movement — reinforces that leaders must combine systems and soul, protecting what’s human even while moving fast.
Dedication
For my father, Kevin Michael Bagley — and my grandson, Dallas Kevin Bagley-Slone.
The line runs through both of you. I am in the middle.
“Build accordingly.”
Begin with the Foreword →
Author
Jennifer L. Bagley
Founder & CEO of CI Web Group. The Catalyst for the Trades exists so operators can build something worth inheriting — Hands Up is the letter that started it.
Where the letter leads next
PriorityPersonal BrandStrategy, websites, books, and demand for trades leaders. Authority Engine publishing and print with RESULTS Faster Publishing. Compare packages at /personal-brand/packages.Explore →LearnThe Catalyst LibraryOwns marketing, brand, authority, valuation, recruiting, retention, and conversions for trades founders — seven pillars + Method, mapped to Learn operating pillars.Explore →BuildCatalyst ConsultGrowth strategy, AI transformation, brand and demand systems, or operator coaching.Explore →Buy · Sell · ValueAcquisitionsBuy-side, sell-side, diligence, valuation, and post-close integration.Explore →ListenThe Catalyst podcastLong-form conversations with the operators shaping the next decade of the trades.Explore →
Questions about the book
What should a first-time reader know before starting Hands Up?
Is Hands Up available yet?
Yes — as a free digital pre-release. Read it online starting with the Foreword, or download the PDF. The print edition comes later; the full story is yours to read now at no cost.
Is the pre-release really free?
Yes. The digital pre-release is free — no paywall, no sample chapters only. Start with the Foreword or download the complete digital edition.
What is Hands Up about?
Hands Up is a CEO's letter to the generation that will inherit what we build — Jennifer L. Bagley's four-generation story behind CI Web Group, told to the operators, builders, and family who will carry it forward.
Who is Hands Up for?
Operators and owners in home services and the trades, family businesses with a next generation in the wings, and readers who care about leadership, technology, and building something that lasts.
How long is the book?
A foreword, fourteen chapters, love letters, and voices from the CI Web Group team — about six to seven hours of reading, with each chapter running 15–45 minutes.