Nostalgia isn’t strategy

The Canadian prime minister said it this week in Davos. Simple. Direct. True. We cling to what was. The contract that made sense three years ago. The employee who once delivered brilliance. The market position we held before everything shifted. That was then. We know...

Get a dog

We say we want advice. What we really want is someone to nod along. To affirm the path we’ve already chosen. To tell us we’re brilliant for thinking exactly what we’re already thinking. That’s not advice. That’s a mirror with a voice....

The questions we’re not asking

Forty minutes explaining why the transformation initiative stalled. Better systems. Clearer accountability. More data. The usual suspects. Then came the question: “What question would change everything if you had the courage to ask it?” Silence....

Being still v standing still

A story is told that Walter Massa, an Italian winemaker from Tortona, offered this distinction: “We shouldn’t stand still. We should be still.” A subtle difference. One you likely caught immediately. Standing still suggests paralysis. Frozen by...

Maybe is your enemy

Maybe later. Maybe when the market stabilizes. Maybe after Q4. Maybe when we have more time. Maybe is the polite assassin of extraordinary outcomes. It whispers comfort while strangling possibility. We use it to avoid the difficult conversation, delay the bold move,...