Garbage in still stinks

We’ve heard it for decades – garbage in, garbage out. Yet in the rush to use AI, we’ve forgotten what it means. People type vague, rushed prompts and expect brilliance. They want insight, but feed confusion. They crave speed, but trade it for depth. It’s not the...

Giving up the ghost

We hold on to strategies that stopped working two years ago. To org charts designed for a company half our size. To that VP who was brilliant in 2019 but hasn’t grown with us. To the product line that built the business but now drains it. We know. Deep down, we...

Inspiration needs no permission

Motivation requires a push. A deadline. A carrot dangling just out of reach. Inspiration? That’s different. Here’s what I’ve learned working with individuals who’ve built remarkable companies: motivation is external fuel. It burns hot, but it...

Stepping away changes everything

The river looks entirely different from the bank. When you’re in the current, swept along by the urgency of now, everything feels inevitable. The meeting that must happen. The decision that can’t wait. The crisis demands immediate attention. You’re...

Going over the top

My mother made the best lasagna. Seven ingredients. Done in sixty minutes. Last week, I watched a chef on YouTube make the same dish. Nineteen ingredients. Three hours. Truffle oil. Microgreens. A foam. It wasn’t lasagna anymore. It was a monument to complexity....

Boundaries beat values

Everyone has core values posted somewhere. Integrity. Innovation. Excellence. Customer-first. Enron had integrity on their list too. The founder who tells me “our values are respect and accountability” hasn’t told me anything yet. What I want to know...