We are in a "conceptual age of business," Stolarczyk says, which means you have to be attuned to your partner's goals in order for there to be mutual profitability. "You have to have an open-source environment where you share as much as you can," he says. "You need long-term relationships because you will care about them and their position in the marketplace."

Stolarczyk says he is speaking about third-party service providers as much as he is about individuals. In his view, 3PLs need to set goals that "create empathy" as well, and not just strike contracts for transactional business.

"You have to see your client's opportunities and how you can ride out peaks and troughs together," he says. "Empowering each other instead of keeping it for yourself, that's what's required."

He feels that long-term contracts are better for all parties. Merely changing rates and the scope of the work every few months is hardly a guarantee of success. Nevertheless, he acknowledges that the open-source mentality that he advocates so strongly sounds simple, yet is difficult to put into practice. "We've talked about this since the dawn of time, but it takes courage to open themselves up."

To view this video interview in its entirety, click here.