2026 Is the Year of Playing Offense
2026 Is the Year of Playing Offense Playing offense in 2026 requires a shift in how leaders think about momentum. It shows up in the belief systems that shape daily behavior and in the way teams respond when conditions are uneven. When beliefs, behaviors, and accountability are aligned, progress continues even through variability. I saw this with a medical device revenue team that missed its number for five consecutive quarters. The talent was there and the market was real, but fear had crept into how the team operated. Competition replaced collaboration, information moved cautiously, and individual wins mattered more than enterprise outcomes. When the team applied the Surrender to Lead...
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You Are Addicted to Action
Workaholics Anonymous began in the 1990s, but their founding belief still rings true: “No matter how much work I did, it was never enough.” That...
When “Scrappy” Becomes Sloppy: What Amazon’s Culture Overhaul Gets Wrong
A friend once described working at Amazon as “building a rocket ship while being pushed off a cliff.” That same intensity once felt like innovation....
CEO Empathy Gyms at KKR: A Conversation with Pete Stavros
A year ago, I watched a video that stopped me in my tracks—factory workers weeping as they found out they were now part-owners of their company....
The Surrendered Leader
We’ve been sold a myth: that great leaders control culture through vision, policies, and willpower. But culture doesn’t bend to control—it responds...
Vision 2030: Because Odd Numbers Just Don’t Hit
Back in 2015, companies everywhere were touting “Vision 2020” plans. Now, halfway through 2025, we’re seeing the rise of “Vision 2030” strategies....
Who Owns Tariffs At Your Company? The New Rules of Leadership in 2025
I just got off a call with the CEO of a $75B global company who said what we’re hearing everywhere right now: collaboration isn’t optional...
From Fear to FOMO: The AI Whiplash in the Workplace
AI has gone from existential threat to economic darling in record time. At this week’s AI Summit in Paris, the message from global leaders was...
Outrage Is Easy. Accountability Is Hard.
Everyone gets selective about their outrage. We see it in politics, in business, in culture—everywhere. But what separates outrage that leads to...
Fear is Having Faith in Something You Don’t Want to Happen
Fear is persuasive. It takes over your thoughts, convincing you to fixate on worst-case scenarios. But fear is not just an emotional response—it is...
Where Have All the Middle Managers Gone?
Not long ago, the middle manager was the linchpin of the corporate world. They juggled project management, performance tracking, and resource...
A Culture for All Generations
Disrupting the way we think about generations to attract, engage, and retain all employees
There’s a real benefit in dismantling the perceptions behind Gen Z or X, or whatever the next trendy label is! Citing extensive academic research from her book, Unfairly Labeled, Jessica provides a refreshingly enlightening and data-driven perspective on how multi-generational organizations can strip away stereotypes and and biases that hinder performance and prevent progress toward a common purpose.
