Category Archives: Psychology

Making People Matter in AI Era

GUEST POST from Janet Sernack

People matter more than ever as we witness one of the most significant technological advancements reshaping humanity. Regardless of size, every industry and organization can adopt AI to enhance operations, innovate, stay competitive, and grow by partnering AI with people. Our research highlights three workplace trends and four global, strategic, and systemic human crises that affect the successful execution of all organizational transformation initiatives, posing potential barriers to implementing AI strategies. This makes the importance of people mattering in the age of AI greater than ever.

Three Key Global Trends

According to Udemy’s 2024 Global Learning and Skills Trends Report, three key trends are core to the future of work, stating that organizations and their leaders must:

Understand how to navigate the skills landscape and why it is essential to assess, identify, develop, and validate the skills their teams possess, lack, and require to remain innovative and competitive.
Adapt to the rise of AI, focusing on how generative AI and automation disrupt our work processes and their role in supporting a shift to a skills-based approach.
Develop strong leaders who can guide their teams through change and foster resilience within them.

Five Key Global Crises

1. Organizational engagement is in crisis.

Recently, Gallup reported that Global employee engagement fell by two percentage points in 2024, only the second time it has fallen in the past 12 years. Managers (particularly young managers and female managers) experienced the sharpest decline. Employee engagement significantly influences economic output; Gallup estimates that a two-point drop in engagement costs the world $438 billion in lost productivity in 2024.

2. People are burning out, causing a crisis in well-being.

In 2019, the World Health Organization included burnout in its International Classification of Diseases, describing “Burn-out is a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. Three dimensions characterize it:

Feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion;
Increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job; and
Reduced professional efficacy.

Burn-out refers specifically to phenomena in the occupational context and should not be applied to describe experiences in other areas of life.”

They estimate that globally, an estimated 12 billion working days are lost every year to depression and anxiety, costing US$ 1 trillion per year in lost productivity.

Burnout is more than just an employee problem; it’s an organizational issue that requires a comprehensive solution. People’s mental and emotional health and well-being are still not prioritized or managed effectively. Well-being in the workplace is a complex systemic issue that must be addressed. Making people matter in the age of AI involves empowering, enabling, and equipping them to focus on developing their self-regulation and self-management skills, shifting them from languishing in a constant state of emotional overwhelm and cognitive overload that leads to burnout.

3. The attention economy is putting people into crisis.

According to Johann Hari, in his best-selling book, “Stolen Focus,” people’s focus and attention have been stolen; our ability to pay attention is collapsing, and we must intentionally reclaim it. His book describes the wide range of consequences that losing focus and attention has on our lives. These issues are further impacted by the pervasive and addictive technology we are compelled to use in our virtual world, exacerbated by the legacy of the global pandemic and the ongoing necessity for many people to work virtually from home. He reveals how our dwindling attention spans predate the internet and how its decline is accelerating at an alarming rate. He suggests that to regain your ability to focus, you should stop multitasking and practice paying attention. Yet, in the Thesaurus, there are 286 synonyms, antonyms, and words related to paying attention, such as listen and give heed.

4. Organizational performance is in crisis.

Research at BetterUp Labs analyzed behavioral data from 410,000 employees (2019-2025), linking real-world performance with organizational outcomes and psychological drivers. It reveals that performance isn’t just about efficiency, it’s about shifting fluidity between three performance modes – basic: the legacy from the industrial age, collaborative: the imperative of knowledge work, and adaptive: the core requirement to perform effectively in the face of technological disruption, by being agile, creative, and connected. The right human fuel powers these: motivation, optimism and agency, which our research has found to be in short supply and BetterUp states is running dry.

Data scientists at BetterUp uncovered that performance has declined by 2-6% across industries since 2019. In business terms, half of today’s workforce would land in a lower performance tier, across all three modes, by 2019 standards.

GenAI relies on activating all three performance gears, and the rise of AI-powered agents is reshaping the way teams work together. Research reveals that companies that invest in adaptive performance see up to 37% higher innovation.

5. Innovation is in crisis.

According to the Boston Consulting Group’s “Most Innovative Companies 2024 Report,” Innovation Systems Need a Reboot:

“Companies have never placed a higher priority on innovation—yet they have never been as unready to deliver on their innovation aspirations”

Their annual survey of global innovators finds that the pandemic, a shifting macroeconomic climate, and rising geopolitical tensions have all taken a toll on the innovation discipline. With high uncertainty, leaders shifted from medium-term advantage and value creation to short-term agility. In that environment, the systems guiding innovation activities and channeling innovation investments suffered, leaving organizations less equipped for the race to come. In particular, as measured by BCG’s proprietary innovation maturity score, innovation readiness is down across the elements of the innovation system that align with the corporate value creation agenda.

You can overcome these crises by transforming them into opportunities through a continuous learning platform that empowers, enables, and equips people to innovate today, making people matter in the age of AI. This will help develop new ways of shaping tomorrow while serving natural, social, and human capital, as well as humanity.

Current constraints of AI mean developing crucial human skills

While AI can perform many tasks, it cannot yet understand and respond to human emotions, build meaningful relationships, exhibit curiosity, or solve problems creatively.

This is why making people matter in the age of AI is crucial, as their human skills are essential.

Some of the most critical human skills are illustrated below.

Some of the Most Critical Human Skills

These essential human skills are challenging to learn and require time, repetition, and practice to develop; however, they are fundamental for creating practical solutions to address the three trends and four crises mentioned above.

Making people matter in the age of AI involves:

Providing individuals with the ‘chance to’ self-regulate their reactive responses by fostering self and systemic awareness and agility to flow with change and disruption in an increasingly uncertain, volatile, ambiguous, and complex world.
Inspiring and motivating people to ‘want to’ self-manage and develop their authentic presence and learning processes to be visionary and purposeful in adapting, innovating, and growing through disruption.
Teaching people ‘how to’ develop the states, traits, mindsets, behaviors, and skills that foster discomfort resilience, adaptive and creative thinking, problem-solving, purpose and vision, conflict negotiation, and innovation.

Human Skills Matter More Than Ever

The human element is critical to shaping the future of work, collaboration, and growth. The most effective AI outcomes will likely come from human-AI partnership, not from automation alone. Making people matter in the age of AI is crucial as part of the adoption journey, and partnering them with AI can turn their fears into curiosity, re-engage them purposefully and meaningfully, and enable them to contribute more to a team or organization. This, in turn, allows them to improve their well-being, maintain attention, innovate, and enhance their performance. Still, it cannot do this for them.

Making people matter in the age of AI by investing in continuous learning tools that develop their human skills will empower them to adapt, learn, grow, and take initiative. External support from a coach or mentor can enhance support, alleviate stress, boost performance, and improve work-life balance and satisfaction.

Human problems require human solutions.

Our human skills are irreplaceable in making real-world decisions and solving complex problems. AI cannot align fragmented and dysfunctional teams, repair broken processes, or address outdated governance. These are human problems requiring human solutions. That’s where human curiosity and inspiration define what AI can never achieve. It is not yet possible to connect people, through AI, to what wants to emerge in the future.

Making people matter in the age of AI can ignite our human inspiration, empowering, engaging, and enabling individuals to unleash their potential at the intersection of human possibility and technological innovation. We can then harness people’s collective intelligence and technological expertise to create, adapt, grow, and innovate in ways that enhance people’s lives, which are deeply appreciated and cherished.

This is an excerpt from our upcoming book, “Anyone Can Learn to Innovate,” scheduled for publication in late 2025.

Please find out more about our work at ImagineNation™.

Please find out about our collective learning products and tools, including The Coach for Innovators, Leaders, and Teams Certified Program, presented by Janet Sernack . It is a collaborative, intimate, and profoundly personalized innovation coaching and learning program supported by a global group of peers over nine weeks. It can be customized as a bespoke corporate learning program.

It is a blended and transformational change and learning program that will give you a deep understanding of the language, principles, and applications of an ecosystem-focused, human-centric approach and emergent structure (Theory U) to innovation. It will also upskill people and teams and develop their future fitness within your unique innovation context. Please find out more about our products and tools.

Image Credit: Unsplash

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Putting Human Agency at the Center of Decision-Making

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Putting Human Agency at the Center of Decision-Making

GUEST POST from Greg Satell

We live in an automated age. From the news we read and the items we shop for, to who we date and what companies we choose to work for, algorithms help drive every facet of modern life. Such rapid technological advancement has led some to predict that we’re headed for a jobless future, where there is no more need for humans.

Yet in their recent book Radically Human, Accenture’s Paul Daugherty and H. James Wilson argue exactly the opposite. In their work guiding technology strategy for many of the world’s top corporations, they have found that, in many cases, the robots need us more than we need them. Automation is no panacea.

For over a century, pundits have been trying to apply an engineering mindset to human affairs with the hope of taking a more “scientific approach.” So far, those efforts have failed. In reality, these ideas have less to do with science than denying the value of human agency and limiting the impact of human judgment. We need to stop making the same mistake.

The Myth Of Shareholder Value

In 1970, the economist Milton Friedman proposed a radical idea. He argued that corporate CEOs should not take into account the interests of the communities they serve, but that their only social responsibility was to increase shareholder value. While ridiculed by many at the time, by the 1980s Friedman’s idea became accepted doctrine.

In particular, what irked Friedman was that managers would exercise judgment with respect to the objectives of the organization. “the key point is that, in his capacity as a corporate executive, the manager is the agent of the individuals who own the corporation … and his primary responsibility is to them,” he wrote.

The problem is that boiling down the success of an enterprise to the single variable of shareholder value avoids important questions. What do we mean by “value?” Is short term value more important than long-term value? Do owners value only share price or do they also value other things, like technological progress and a healthy environment?

Avoiding tough questions leaves significant problems unsolved, which may be one reason that, since Friedman’s essay, our well-being has declined significantly. Our economy has become markedly less productive, less competitive and less dynamic. Purchasing power for most people has stagnated. By just about every metric, we’re worse off.

How The Consumer Welfare Standard Undermines Consumer Welfare

In 1978, the legal scholar Robert Bork published the Antitrust Paradox in which he argued against the rule of reason standard for antitrust cases that required judges to use their discretion when deciding what constitutes a practice that “unreasonably” restricts trade. In its place, he suggested a consumer welfare standard, which would only take into account whether the consumer was harmed by higher prices.

Much like Friedman, Bork didn’t like the idea of depending on subjective human judgment. How could we trust judges to decide what is “reasonable” without a clear and objective standard? If the government is going to block business activity, he argued, it should have to prove, through stringent economic analysis, that harm is being done.

Yet as Lina Kahn pointed out in a now-famous paper titled Amazon’s Antitrust Paradox, consumers can be harmed even as prices are lowered. If Amazon is allowed to control the online retail infrastructure, including logistics, hosting, marketing, etc., then trade is restricted, free markets are undermined and the consumer will be harmed.

To understand why, you only need to look at the recent baby formula shortage, in which only three firms dominate the market and, the leader, Abbott, is the exclusive supplier in many markets. Not only is it highly likely that the lack of competition contributed to lax quality standards at Abbott’s plant in Sturgis, Michigan, but once it went offline because of contamination, there weren’t enough suppliers to fill the gap.

These aren’t isolated examples, but indicative of a much larger and growing crisis. An article in Harvard Business Review details how the vast majority of industries are concentrated in just a few dominant players. A more extensive analysis by the Federal Reserve bank shows how the lack of competition leads to lower business dynamism and less productivity.

“Great Power” Politics

In early March, the prominent political scientist John Mearsheimer gave an interview to The New Yorker in which he argued that the United States had erred greatly in its support of Ukraine. According to his theory, we should recognize Russia’s role as a great power and its right to dictate certain things to its smaller and weaker neighbor.

Today, the idea that America should have left Ukraine at the mercy of Russia seems not only morally questionable, but patently absurd. Not only has the brutality of the Russian forces horrified the world, their incompetence has laid bare the fecklessness of the the Putin regime. How could such a respected expert of foreign affairs get things so wrong?

Once again, the failure to recognize human agency is a key culprit. In Mearsheimer’s view, which he calls, “realism,” only “great powers” have a say in world affairs and they will work to further their interests. He believes that by not recognizing Russia’s desire to subjugate other nations in its orbit, America and its allies are being silly and impractical.

Hopefully, we can learn some lessons from the war in Ukraine. Strategy is not a game of chess, in which we move inert pieces around a board. People have the power to make choices. Ukraine chose to undertake tough reforms and arm itself. Russia chose an autocracy which rewarded loyalty over competence. That, more than anything else, has driven events.
The Real World Isn’t An Algorithm

A joke began circulating in the late 1970s, often attributed to management consultant Warren Bennis, that the factory of the future will have only two employees, a man and a dog. The man will be there to feed the dog. The dog will be there to keep the man from touching the equipment. Today, even with offshoring, about 10% of Americans work in factories.

When you scratch below the surface, the joke has less to do with technological advancement than it does with derision and control. Bennis wasn’t just any business consultant, but a renowned expert on leadership, who wrote books, published articles in top journals and even advised presidents. That he would promote the view, even as a joke, that leaders should deny agency to employees is as troubling as it is telling.

If you believe that human judgment is a liability rather than an asset, you manage accordingly. You treat employees as cogs in a machine rather than partners in a shared enterprise. You invest in offshoring rather than up-skilling, schedule shifts without regard to people’s lives, deny benefits such as parental leave. We’ve seen where that’s gotten us—lower productivity, worsening mental health and a society that is more unequal and less just.

We need to get back to the business of being human. Our economy should serve our people, not the other way around. The success of a society needs to be measured by the well-being of those who live in it. If we increase GDP, but our air and water are more polluted, our children less educated, we live unhappy lives and die deaths of despair, what have we really gained?

— Article courtesy of the Digital Tonto blog
— Image credits: Pixabay

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Your Response is What Matters

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Your Response is What Matters

GUEST POST from Mike Shipulski

When was the last time you taught someone a new method or technique? What was their reaction? How did it make you feel? Will you do it again?

When was the last time you learned something new from a colleague? What was your reaction? What did you do so it would happen again?

When was the last time you woke up early because you were excited to go to work? How did you feel about that? What can change so it happens once a week?

When was the last time you had a crazy idea and your colleagues helped you make it real? How did you feel about that? How can you do it for them? What can you do to make it happen more frequently?

When was the last time you had a crazy idea and it was squelched because it violated a successful recipe? How did you feel about that? What can you do so it happens differently next time?

When was the last time you used your good judgement without asking for permission? How did you feel about that? What can you do to give others the confidence to use their best judgement?

When was the last time someone gave you credit for doing good work? And when was the last time you did the same for someone else? What can you do so the behavior blossoms into common practice?

When was the last time you openly contradicted a majority opinion with a dissenting minority opinion? Though it was received poorly, you must do it again. The majority needs to hear your dissenting opinion so they can sharpen their thinking.

When was the last time you gave good advice to a younger colleague? How can you systematize that type of behavior?

When was the last time you did work so undeniably good that others twisted it a bit and adopted it as their own? Don’t feel badly. When doing innovative work this is what success looks like. All that really matters is your customers realize the value from the work and not who gets credit. What can you do so this type of thing happens as a matter of course?

Good things happen and bad things happen. That’s how life goes. But the important part is you pay attention to what worked and what didn’t. And the second important part is actively making the good stuff happen more frequently and the bad stuff happen less frequently.

Image credit: Pexels

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Addressing the Veteran Mental Health Crisis

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A New Frontier in Healing for Memorial Day Weekend

Addressing the Veteran Mental Health Crisis

by Braden Kelley and Art Inteligencia

As a nation, we have an enduring obligation to the brave individuals who have served in our military. On this Memorial Day weekend, while we honor their sacrifice, we must also look toward a future where we care for the psychological wounds of war. One of the greatest challenges we face is the veteran mental health crisis, with high rates of PTSD, depression, and suicide. Emerging research suggests that psychedelic treatments could significantly alleviate these conditions, providing a new pathway to healing that we cannot afford to ignore.

Understanding the Crisis

The statistics are alarming. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), approximately 17 veterans die by suicide every day. Furthermore, the VA estimates that around 15% of Vietnam veterans, 12% of Gulf War veterans, and 11-20% of veterans who served in Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom suffer from PTSD in a given year. Traditional treatments like psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy have proven beneficial for some, but many veterans experience symptoms that persist despite these interventions.

The Promise of Psychedelics

In recent years, researchers have turned their attention to the therapeutic potential of psychedelic substances such as MDMA, psilocybin, and LSD. These substances are showing promise in treating PTSD, depression, and other mental health issues. A landmark study conducted by the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) in collaboration with the VA found that 67% of participants treated with MDMA-assisted therapy no longer met the diagnostic criteria for PTSD after three sessions. This is a groundbreaking finding that cannot be ignored.

Similarly, psilocybin, the active compound in “magic mushrooms,” has shown potential in alleviating depression and anxiety symptoms in numerous studies. A study from Johns Hopkins Medicine demonstrated that psilocybin-assisted therapy resulted in rapid and sustained reductions in depression severity, with effects lasting for weeks and even months. The therapeutic mechanisms of psychedelics, which include altering neural network connectivity and promoting emotional processing, offer a new realm of possibilities for treatment.

Legal and Regulatory Challenges

Despite promising results, the legal status of these substances remains a significant barrier. Classified as Schedule I substances under the Controlled Substances Act, they are currently deemed to have “no accepted medical use.” However, as the evidence base strengthens, there is growing momentum for reevaluating this classification. States like Oregon and cities such as Denver have decriminalized psilocybin, paving the way for broader acceptance and access.

Building a Comprehensive Support System

To address the veteran mental health crisis effectively, we must take a multi-faceted approach:

Policy Revision and Advocacy: It is crucial for policymakers to prioritize the revision of regulations surrounding psychedelics. We need comprehensive legislative efforts to reclassify these substances, allowing for more extensive research and greater accessibility.
Research and Training: Increased funding for research into psychedelic-assisted therapies is essential. Universities, independent research organizations, and the VA should collaborate to expand clinical trials. Alongside research, training programs for mental health professionals must be developed to ensure they are well-equipped to provide these treatments safely and effectively.
Education and Awareness: Public awareness campaigns can help destigmatize mental health and psychedelic treatments. Stories of healing and recovery should be shared, and educational resources must be made available to veterans, their families, and the general public.
Holistic Care Models: Veteran care must incorporate holistic and integrative approaches, including mindfulness, nutrition, and community support, alongside psychedelic treatments. These support systems are vital for sustaining mental health and can multiply the therapeutic effects of psychedelics.
Veteran-Centric Programs: Programs tailored specifically to veterans’ unique experiences and needs should be developed. Peer support systems, where veterans can share their experiences and support one another through healing, can enhance recovery outcomes.

The Role of Community

Community plays a pivotal role in healing. As a nation, we must foster environments that not only support veterans but actively engage them in the healing process. Community centers focused on veteran well-being, alongside integration programs that help veterans transition back into civilian life with purpose and support, can be transformative.

The Moral Imperative

As we commemorate Memorial Day, we must also reflect on our moral duty to those who have served. The veteran mental health crisis is a call to action—an opportunity not only to acknowledge the sacrifices of our military personnel but to invest in their healing and well-being. Psychedelic treatments represent a beacon of hope, backed by rigorous science and positive outcomes. It is essential for us to come together as a society, to push for changes that reflect our commitment to caring for veterans in the most effective and compassionate ways possible.

Conclusion

The journey to mental health recovery for veterans is not an easy one, but it is a journey we must undertake collectively. By embracing innovation and fostering an environment of openness and support, we can lead the way in addressing the mental health crisis that afflicts our veterans. The time to act is now. With courage, compassion, and collaboration, we can chart a course toward healing and honor the legacy of those who have served with dignity and responsibility.

In the spirit of unity and progress, let us stand together to advocate for effective solutions and a brighter future for all veterans. Their healing is our mission. Let us not falter in this duty.

Accelerate your change and transformation success

Image Credit: Microsoft CoPilot

Content Authenticity Statement: Most of the paragraphs in the article were created with the help of OpenAI Playground.

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The Real Reason Your Team Isn’t Speaking to You

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The Real Reason Your Team Isn't Speaking to You

GUEST POST from David Burkus

It’s a common issue in many organizations – teams not voicing obstacles or issues in their work. If you’ve been a leader for a while, you’ve probably experienced it firsthand. Maybe you and your team had a check-in meeting with everyone, and everything was positive. Everyone gives a status update. And no one is asking for help. So, the meeting ended, and everyone went about their business.

But you were suspicious. Your team was saying it was all good. But then they started missing deadlines, or the project came in over budget, or it didn’t come in at all.

You’re not alone. In fact, in many organizations’ failures happen and get covered up at many levels of the organization. It’s not uncommon for senior leaders to be the least informed about what’s really happening in the organization because everyone at every level is trying to minimize failure…or trying to minimize their role in it.

No one trusts each other enough to share their setbacks, so no one knows what’s holding the team back.

But trust doesn’t automatically resolve teamwide issues. Building trust is great, but research suggests that trust alone is insufficient. Instead, teams need to feel psychological safety—a climate of mutual trust and respect that helps team members feel safe to take interpersonal risks. Risks like voicing failures or disagreements, but also risks like sharing their “crazy” ideas that just might be brilliant.

Teams with psychological safety have members who can be vulnerable and authentic with each other. They ask questions or offer ideas that may seem odd but can lead the team’s thinking in new directions. Psychological safety encourages team members to speak up when they disagree, and as a result more diverse viewpoints are shared. Psychological safety reduces failures, because when people feel that they can speak freely they’re more likely to intervene before a team makes a mistake. In fact, research from Harvard Business School professor Amy Edmondson, who first discovered the power of psychology safety on teams, suggests that on diverse teams, psychological safety determines whether their varied strengths are harnessed or if they perform below their potential.

In her work, Edmondson describes psychological safety as “a team climate characterized by interpersonal trust and mutual respect in which people are comfortable being themselves.”

Trust and Respect.

These may seem similar. But they have their differences. The interplay between them is what builds psychological safety. Trust is how much we feel we can share our authentic selves with others. Respect is how much we feel they accept that self. If I trust you, then I will share honestly with you. If you respect me, then you will value what I’ve shared. High-performing teams don’t need to just trust each other, they also need to learn how to respect each other’s contribution.

So how can leaders build a sense of trust and respect on a team? Here’s a few ideas:

1. Celebrate Failures

Celebrating failures on a team doesn’t mean teams throw a party every time they lose, but it doesn’t mean that every loss immediately triggers a round of “shift the blame” or that they forbid each other from talking about “the project which shall not be named.” Failures are inevitable, and often for reasons outside of a team’s control. Clients change their mind. Budgets get cut. Global pandemics disrupt the supply chain and force everyone to look at each other on video calls. To build trust on a team, the team must be comfortable with the idea that they will fail—and that they will learn from failure.

So, taking the time to celebrate what the painful experience taught the team can be a worthwhile exercise. This happens in several ways. You could draft a “failure resume” for yourself and encourage teammates to do the same, listing every job or project that didn’t turn out as hoped. As a team, you could create a “failure wall” with pictures or quotes from projects that blew up or clients you didn’t win. Sara Blakely, founder of Spanx, throws regular Oops Meetings, where she admits her own mistakes and encourages the team to do the same. One pharmaceutical company went so far as to create “Failure Wakes” to gather researchers together around a promised but failed compound. The team said their good-byes, and expressed gratitude for the lessons working on that aborted drug taught them. These types of celebrations not only focus the team on lessons learned, but they encourage future risk-taking and keep teams motivated even when those chances of failure are high.

2. Hold After-Action Reviews

One way to at least celebrate learning if not failure is the after-action review. Although unlike clapping or waving, this is a more serious ritual done after the action (hence the name). Originally a military ritual, after-action reviews work well because they force the team to discuss strengths and weaknesses and to dissect past failures (and even successes) for lessons. Just after the team finishes a project, or during an important milestone, gather them together and ask them a few questions:

What was our intended result?
What was the actual result?
Why were they different?
What will we do the same next time?
What will we do differently next time?

The purpose of the meeting is not to find someone to blame, or someone to give all the credit. The goal is to extract lessons from the project about where the team is strong and where they need improvement. When people are open and honest about their weaknesses and contributions to failure, celebrate the vulnerability they just signaled.

3. Model Active Listening

The easiest way to signal disrespect to someone is make them feel ignored. The reverse is true as well. Making people feel listened to and truly heard is one of the simplest ways to signal that you respect what they have to say. Great team cultures are marked by how well they listen to each other and take turns speaking so everyone feels heard. But our natural tendency as humans can make it difficult to show others we’re listening. We want to help people. So, when people come to us with problems, we want to jump in and help right away. For team leaders, this tendency is even stronger. People are supposed to come to us for help, right? So, we start helping…which means we start talking…which means we stop listening.

One simple trick for ensuring you listen longer and help others feel more heard is to get used to saying, “Tell me more.” When someone says something that triggers a thought in your head, and you feel your mouth starting to open so your brilliant advice can greet the world—stop. Instead of whatever you were going to say, just say “Tell me more.” If you want to take active listening even further, consider a useful acronym from communication expert Julian Treasure: RASA. When someone else is speaking, Receive their ideas by paying attention to them as they speak. Appreciate what they are saying by nodding or giving confirming feedback. Summarize what the other person said when they’re finished. Then Ask them questions to explore their idea further. Since respect is a learned behavior, as you model active listening your team will follow your example—and more members of your team will feel heard and respected.

4. Recognize, And Share Credit

Leadership thinker Warren Bennis once noted that good leaders shine under the spotlight, but great leaders help others shine. Teams that share credit and take the time to recognize each other are teams where members feel more respected and more trusted. But teams that fight for credit when a project is finished (or fight over blame when it fails) diminish what little respect they had before. Great team leaders look for as many ways to share credit with their team as they can, even if they desire most of the credit. This can be as simple as taking the time to appreciate each team member’s strengths, or as big as shouting those praises throughout the company. When team members know what you appreciate about them, they know you respect their abilities and their ideas.

In addition, find small wins that can be celebrated more often—hence creating more opportunities to recognize others. Small wins have a big impact on individual and team motivation—and that impact only gets bigger when credit for the win is shared team wide.

Conclusion – The Psychological Safety Cycle

When individuals feel respected, and respectful behavior becomes the norm on a team, trust will naturally increase as well. That ensures that great ideas, and great lessons, get heard and considered. Without respect, that trust you’re building by accepting failures and embracing held-back brilliance from your team, will have a very short half-life. You can’t sleep on respect.

It’s a cycle.

You build trust on the team, which encourages people to take risks (or to risk admitting failures) and if that risk is met with respect…trust grows even more. If it doesn’t, you’re failing even faster.

It’s worth including in the conclusion, that we’re not talking about repeat failures. Psychological safety doesn’t mean there’s no accountability for consistently under-performing. It doesn’t mean that people can get away slacking off or that teams will just keep failing. But it does mean they don’t have to be afraid to ask for help or admit those occasional times when they do fail. It means that they take learning and growth so seriously that don’t hold back talking about their own struggles and their own mistakes.

And that’s why high-performing teams are psychologically safe teams.

Image credit: Pixabay

Originally published on DavidBurkus.com on January 6, 2024

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Paying Your Employees More Can Save You Money

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Paying Your Employees More Can Save You Money

GUEST POST from Shep Hyken

What’s the secret to keeping employees, getting them to work hard and provide a more engaging experience with your customers? There are two answers. The first is one word: Money.

Many years ago, I worked with a well-known fast casual restaurant chain. I was impressed by its low turnover and high customer engagement and satisfaction ratings. Its secret was higher starting pay, generous raises and a reasonable benefits package. All of that compensation led to attracting the best candidates, and more importantly, keeping them.

A recent RetailWire article covered the higher wages Costco pays its employees. Typical hourly employees (Costco refers to them as “assistants”) include cashiers, stockers, warehouse personnel and people running the Costco food courts. With a tighter labor market, it is tougher to find people to fill these roles (and others). It is reported that Costco’s wages are at the high end of the industry. A memo from Costco’s CEO Ron Vachris stated, “We believe our hourly wages and benefits will continue to far outpace others in the retail industry.”

While wages are higher, employee retention in retail has gone down. According to an article in The Economist, the average employee turnover rate in the retail industry is 60%. Costco’s turnover is 8%, which is an incredible 86.67% lower than the industry.

Does this mean the higher wages are being paid by consumers? The simple answer is no. The longer answer is why. Just because a company pays employees more, a resulting benefit, such as lower turnover, actually reduces the cost of the higher wage. Lower turnover results in lower hiring costs, which also includes the cost of on-boarding and training. The full cost of the higher wage is dramatically reduced to a point that might pay for itself.

But higher wages aren’t the only reason employees stick around, work harder and better engage with customers. As mentioned at the top of the article, there is also a second reason, and that is culture.

While some employees will stick around for the paycheck, if you want the most out of any employee, they must like their job, and that goes beyond the job description. It also includes who they work with and work for. The culture of a company helps retain the best talent.

Regardless of what you pay your employees, if they don’t like the company, the way they are treated, their boss or leadership, paying them more may not be enough. I won’t go into creating company culture, but you can check out a Forbes article from last year that covered the Employee Hierarchy of Needs with a focus on building a fulfilling workplace culture.

Happy employees mean happier customers. All the benefits mentioned translate to higher NPS and customer satisfaction scores. If you compare the highest-rated companies and brands for customer service and experience posted by the American Customer Satisfaction Institute (ACSI) and the highest-rated companies and brands by employees at www.Glassdoor.com, you’ll find many of the same names. This is further backed up by an excellent article in the Harvard Business Review titled “The Key to Happy Customers? Happy Employees” by Andrew Chamberlain and Daniel Zhao. Even though it was written just over five years ago, the insights are more relevant than ever.

Companies like Costco prove that investing in employees through both compensation and culture isn’t just good for employees. It’s good for business. Employee happiness is contagious. Customers pick up on it. And when customers are happy, they come back, spend more and tell others. And, that makes the leadership and investors happy too!

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

This article was originally published on Forbes.com

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Don’t Get Fooled by Hucksters, Gurus and Consultants

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Don't Get Fooled by Hucksters, Gurus And Consultants

GUEST POST from Greg Satell

When I lived in Poland, it was common to say that “life is cruel, and full of traps.” From an American perspective, the aphorism can be a bit of a culture shock. We’re raised to believe in the power of positivity, the American dream and the can-do spirit. Negativity can be seen as something worse than a weakness, both an indulgence and a privation at the same time.

Over the years, however, I came to respect the Poles’ innate suspicion. The truth is that we are far too easily fooled and taken in by those prey on the glitches in our cognitive machinery. Sometimes the ones peddling bunk have fooled also themselves. Their claims seem to be supported by logic and evidence, but their promises never quite pan out.

We’re taken in because we want their claims to be true. We’d like to think that there is a secret we’re missing, that there’s a black magic that we’re not privy to and, if we prove our worth and obtain access to a few simple truths, we’ll capture the success that eludes us. Yet these frauds follow common patterns and there are telltale signs we can learn to spot.

1. The Survivorship Bias Trick

In 2005 W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne, both distinguished professors at INSEAD, published Blue Ocean Strategy. In their study of 108 companies the authors found that “blue ocean” launches, those in new categories without competition, far outperformed the shark-infested “red ocean” line extensions that are the norm in the corporate world. It was an immediate hit, selling over 3.5 million copies.

Bain consultants Chris Zook and James Allen’ book, Profit from the Core, boasted even more extensive research encompassing 200 case studies, a database of 1,854 companies, 100 interviews of senior executives and an “extensive review” of existing literature. They found that firms that focused on their ”core” far outperformed those who strayed.

It doesn’t take too much thinking to start seeing problems. How can you both “focus on your core” and seek out “blue oceans”? It betrays logic that both strategies could outperform one another. Also, how do you define “core?” Core markets? Core capabilities? Core customers? While it’s true that “blue ocean” markets lack competitors, they don’t have any customers either. Who do you sell to?

Yet there is an even bigger, more insidious problem and it is a trick that hucksters, gurus and consultants regularly employ to falsely establish dubious claims. It’s called survivorship bias. Notice how “research” doesn’t include firms that went out of business because there were no customers in those “blue oceans” or because they failed to diversify outside of their “core.” The data only pertains to the ones that survived.

Can you imagine a medical researcher failing to include the results of patients that died? Or an airplane designer forgetting to mention the prototypes that crashed? Yet hucksters, gurus and consultants get away with it all the time.

2. Dressing Up Social Proof As “Research”

Another trick hucksters, gurus and consultants use is to dress up social proof as research in order to increase their credibility as experts and establish a need for their services. They say, for example, that they find company profitability is strongly correlated with a customer focus or that culture has a statistically powerful effect on performance.

At first glance, these claims seem reasonable, but as Phil Rosenzweig explained in The Halo Effect, it’s all part of a subtle bait and switch. What is being “researched” is not really “customer focus” or “culture,” but perceptions about those things in responses to a survey. So it is highly likely that successful companies are merely being perceived as having these traits.

For example, in 2000, before the dotcom crash, Cisco was flying high. A profile in Fortune reported it to have an unparalleled culture with highly motivated employees. But just one year later, when the market tanked, the very same publication described it as “cocksure” and “naive.” Did the “culture” really change that much in a year, with the same leadership?

Some might say that it’s “obvious” that a strong culture and customer focus contribute to performance, but then why go through the whole kabuki dance of “research?” Why not just say, “if you believe these things are important, we can help you with them?” It’s hard to avoid the conclusion that their is either an intent to deceive or just pure incompetence.

You don’t have to look far to see that this is an ongoing con. A few quick Google searches led me to major consulting firms currently selling halo effects as causal relationships to trusting customers here and here.

3. The VUCA World

Today it’s become an article of faith that we live in a VUCA world (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous). Business pundits tell us that we must “innovate or die.” These are taken as basic truths that are beyond questioning or reproach. Those who doubt the need for change risk being dismissed as out of touch.

The data, however, tell a very different story. A report from the OECD found that markets, especially in the United States, have become more concentrated and less competitive, with less churn among industry leaders. The number of young firms have decreased markedly as well, falling from roughly half of the total number of companies in 1982 to one third in 2013.

A comprehensive 2019 study from the National Bureau of Economic Research found two correlated, but countervailing trends: the rise of “superstar” firms and the fall of labor’s share of GDP. Essentially, the typical industry has fewer, but larger players. Their increased bargaining power leads to more profits, but lower wages.

The truth is that we don’t really disrupt industries anymore. We disrupt people. Economic data shows that for most Americans, real wages have hardly budged since 1964. Income and wealth inequality remain at historic highs. Anxiety and depression, already at epidemic levels, worsened during the Covid-19 pandemic.

So why do hucksters, gurus and consultants insist that industries are under constant threat of disruption?

4. The Allure Of Pseudoscience

In Richard Feynman’s 1974 commencement speech at Cal-Tech, he recounted going to a new-age resort where people were learning reflexology. A man was sitting in a hot tub rubbing a woman’s big toe and asking the instructor, “Is this the pituitary?” Unable to contain himself, the great physicist blurted out, “You’re a hell of a long way from the pituitary, man!”

His point was that it’s relatively easy to make something appear “scientific” by, for example, having people wear white coats or present charts and tables, but that doesn’t really make it science. True science is testable and falsifiable. We can’t merely state what you believe to be true, but must give others a means to test it and prove us wrong.

This is important because it’s very easy for things to look like the truth, but actually be false. That’s why we need to be careful, especially when it’s something we already believe in. The burden is even greater when it’s an idea that we want to be true. That’s when we need to redouble our efforts, dig in and make sure we verify our facts.

Hucksters, gurus and consultants love to prey on our weakness for authority by saying that “the science says…” The truth is that science doesn’t “say”anything, it merely produces hypotheses that haven’t been disproven yet. Some, like Darwin’s theory of natural selection, have been around a long time, so we’re pretty sure that they’re true, but even in that case a large part of it was debunked within months. The ‘theory” as we know it now is what survived.

There are no absolute answers. There is, as Sam Arbesman has put it, a half life of facts. We can only make decisions on higher or lower levels of confidence. In the real world, there are no “sure things,” and don’t let hucksters, gurus and consultants tell you any different.

— Article courtesy of the Digital Tonto blog
— Image credits: Pexels

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Change Behavior to Change Culture

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Change Behavior to Change Culture

GUEST POST from Mike Shipulski

There’s always lots of talk about culture and how to change it. There is culture dial to turn or culture level to pull. Culture isn’t a thing in itself, it’s a sentiment that’s generated by behavioral themes. Culture is what we use to describe our worn paths of behavior. If you want to change culture, change behavior.

At the highest level, you can make the biggest cultural change when you change how you spend your resources. Want to change culture? Say yes to projects that are different than last year’s and say no to the ones that rehash old themes. And to provide guidance on how to choose those new projects create, formalize new ways you want to deliver new value to new customers. When you change the criteria people use to choose projects you change the projects. And when you change the projects people’s behaviors change. And when behavior changes, culture changes.

The other important class of resources is people. When you change who runs the project, they change what work is done. And when they prioritize a different task, they prioritize different behavior of the teams. They ask for new work and get new behavior. And when those project leaders get to choose new people to do the work, they choose in a way that changes how the work is done. New project leaders change the high-level behaviors of the project and the people doing the work change the day-to-day behavior within the projects.

Change how projects are chosen and culture changes. Change who runs the projects and culture changes. Change who does the project work and culture changes.

Image credits: 1 of 850+ FREE quote slides available for download at http://misterinnovation.com

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Managing Team Conflict

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Managing Team Conflict

GUEST POST from David Burkus

Conflict within a team is an inevitable part of any work environment. The diverse perspectives, ideas, and solutions that team members bring to the table can often lead to disagreements and conflicts. However, it’s important to remember that team conflict isn’t necessarily a bad thing. In fact, it can be beneficial in many ways. It can help identify blind spots, explore different solutions, and find innovative ways to deliver on objectives. The key lies in managing these conflicts effectively.

Effective conflict management can lead to a more engaged team, improved performance, and overall growth. In this article, we will outline how to manage team conflict. We will delve into five key tactics: finding the root cause of the conflict, defining acceptable criteria, questioning assumptions, examining the impact of each solution, and switching perspectives to understand opposing viewpoints.

1. Find the Root Cause

Team Conflicts often arise from differing ideas about the best solution to a problem. Therefore, the first step in managing team conflict is to examine the problem and agree on its root cause. This involves finding common ground around how the team found itself in the current situation. It’s crucial to understand that before discussing solutions, the team must agree on what the problem is.

There are several techniques that can be used to analyze the root cause of a conflict. These include fishbone diagrams or the five whys method. These techniques can help the team to dig deeper into the problem and identify the underlying cause. Once the root cause is identified, it becomes easier to address the conflict and find a solution.

2. Define Acceptable Criteria

Once the root cause of team conflict has been identified, the next step is to set criteria for success before discussing solutions. This involves agreeing on the criteria that will define a successful solution. It’s important to discuss constraints such as time, cost, and responsibility. These factors often play a significant role in determining the feasibility of a solution.

It’s worth noting that disagreements about criteria can lead to conflict. Therefore, it’s important to define these upfront. By setting clear criteria, the team can ensure that everyone is on the same page and that the proposed solutions align with the agreed-upon success criteria.

3. Question Assumptions

Another important tactic in managing team conflict is to question assumptions. This involves gaining a deeper understanding and finding common ground by questioning assumptions about the world, individual capacities, and team capabilities. It’s crucial to avoid criticizing or dismissing ideas outright. Instead, ask for thoughts on specific aspects and encourage open discussion.

By questioning assumptions, people may rethink their solutions or discover flaws in their own thinking. This can lead to more innovative solutions and a better understanding of the problem at hand. It also fosters a culture of open communication and mutual respect within the team.

4. Examine the Impact

When considering potential solutions to a team conflict, it’s important to examine the impact of each solution. This involves exploring the potential consequences and trade-offs of implementing a particular solution. Consider the impact on other divisions, clients, society, and the media. Recognizing that every solution has trade-offs and unintended consequences is a crucial part of the decision-making process.

Examining the impact helps people realize the potential flaws or benefits of their ideas. It also encourages team members to think critically about their proposed solutions and consider the bigger picture. This can lead to more informed decision-making and better conflict resolution.

5. Switch Perspectives

The final tactic in managing team conflict is to switch perspectives. This involves considering opposing viewpoints and championing different ideas. Encourage team members to take on the perspective of others and understand their reasoning. This can help to gain empathy and find common ground.

By considering different viewpoints, a more suitable solution may be found, or a more productive conversation can take place. This not only helps in resolving the current conflict but also fosters a culture of empathy and understanding within the team, which can prevent future conflicts.

Managing conflict effectively is crucial for the growth and success of a team. It helps teams to grow, improve performance, and create a more engaging work experience. Managed well, conflict is what helps every member of the team do their best work ever.

Image credit: Pixabay

Originally published on DavidBurkus.com on January 6, 2024

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Transforming Leadership to Reshape the Future of Innovation

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Exclusive Interview with Brian Solis

Effective leadership serves as the crucial catalyst for both successful innovation and the profound transformation of any collective entity, be it an organization, a team, or even a country. Leaders are responsible for setting a compelling vision, articulating the ‘why’ behind the need for change, and fostering a culture where calculated risk-taking, experimentation, and learning from failure are not just tolerated, but actively encouraged. By championing new ideas, allocating resources strategically, empowering individuals, and navigating the inherent uncertainties of uncharted territory, leaders create the necessary environment for groundbreaking concepts to emerge and take root. Ultimately, it is the foresight, resilience, and guidance of strong leadership that enables groups to move beyond the status quo, adapt to evolving landscapes, and consciously shape a more innovative and prosperous future.

Today we will start with Gemini’s summarization of the global innovation community’s shared understanding surrounding the intersection of innovation, leadership, and the future above and dive deep into what it takes to make a leadership mindshift with our special guest.

Helping Leaders Make the Mindshift the Future Requires

I recently had the opportunity to interview Brian Solis, a world-renowned futurist, keynote speaker, and author of over 60 industry-leading research publications and 8 best-selling books exploring disruptive trends, corporate innovation, business transformation, and consumer behavior. Forbes has called him “one of the more creative and brilliant business minds of our time” and The Conference Board described Brian as “the futurist we all need now.”

Brian serves as the Head of Global Innovation at ServiceNow where he leads vision, strategy, and program innovation for the company’s global Innovation Centers. Brian also studies disruptive technologies, emergent trends, and market shifts to advise business executives on innovation and transformation strategies.

Brian continues to publish business and technology thought leadership in industry publications such as CIO, Forbes, and Worth, and has consistently been recognized as one of the world’s leading thinkers in innovation, business transformation, and leadership for over two decades. .

Below is the text of my interview with Brian and a preview of the kinds of insights you’ll find in Mindshift: Transform Leadership, Drive Innovation, and Reshape the Future presented in a Q&A format:

1. Let’s set the stage. Why is someone’s mindset so important and what is a mindshift?

Your mindset is the operating system for how you experience and interact with the world. It influences how you perceive reality, react to change, and ultimately determine the role you play in shaping the future.

A mindshift isn’t just a minor adjustment — it’s a fundamental rewiring of how we see, think, and operate. It’s the moment when you realize you don’t have to accept the status quo and instead begin to create new possibilities.

We’re living in an era where exponential change is the new normal. AI, automation, digital transformation — these aren’t just trends; they’re fundamentally reshaping industries and societies. Those who cling to legacy thinking will struggle. Those who embrace a mindshift — who become adaptable, curious, and proactive — will thrive.

A mindshift is about moving from passive observer to active architect of the future. Unlearn old patterns, embrace new perspectives, and take intentional action to drive meaningful change. It’s a choice. It’s a responsibility. And, ultimately, it’s a competitive advantage.

2. Why is it so easy for leaders to downplay potential disruptions?

Leaders often don’t see disruption coming—not because they’re unaware, but because they’re focused on optimizing the present. This comes at the cost designing the future. I call this the “other ROI,” which signifies return on ignorance. Ask, “what happens if I’m not asking different questions?” or “what’s the cost of not investing in alternate futures?” Many companies and executives operate in a legacy mindset, where efficiency, risk avoidance, and short-term gains take priority.

This creates a dangerous blind spot. Disruption doesn’t announce itself with a press release. It starts small, at the edges — emerging consumer behaviors, shifts in expectations, technological advancements that seem niche or “not our problem.” By the time these trends become impossible to ignore, it’s often too late.

Kodak is a classic example. They invented the digital camera but failed to embrace it because they were too invested in their film business. Taxi companies dismissed Uber as a niche alternative until it completely redefined the transportation industry. Blockbuster dismissed streaming early on, etc.

The irony? The very disruption leaders fear is also their biggest opportunity. Those who develop a mindshift — who cultivate foresight, agility, and a culture of continuous learning—don’t just react to disruption. They create it.

3. Classic question: Are leaders born or made, and why or how?

Leaders are made. Leadership is not a title, and it’s not something you inherit. It’s a mindset. It’s a set of behaviors and choices that anyone — at any level — can develop.

Yes, some people are naturally more charismatic or decisive or confident or vocal, but leadership isn’t about personality traits. It’s about genuine vision, courage, empathy, and the ability to inspire action.

The best leaders are not limited to those who have climbed the corporate ladder. They’re the ones who create ladders for others. They lift others up. They see problems others ignore, challenge assumptions, and take action when no one else will.

If leadership were purely an inborn trait, we wouldn’t see individuals from unexpected backgrounds rise to the occasion. Look at someone like Satya Nadella, who transformed Microsoft not just by making smart business moves, but by shifting its culture from one of competition to one of collaboration and innovation. Or look at the CEO of ServiceNow, Bill McDermott, who bought a deli at 16 and then sold Xeros copiers door-to-door after college.

The good news? Leadership is a skill. And like any skill, it can be developed — through self-awareness, learning, resilience, and a commitment to constant growth.

4. What are some of the best ways for people to become more self-aware?

Self-awareness is the foundation of a mindshift. Without it, we’re running on autopilot, reinforcing the very patterns that hold us back, but thinking we’re growing.

The first step is intentional reflection. Most of us operate in a reactive state, responding to emails, putting out fires, and navigating daily demands without ever stopping to ask: Why do I think this way? Why do I act this way? What assumptions am I carrying?

Here are some practical ways to build self-awareness:

Journaling – Write down your thoughts, decisions, and reactions. Over time, patterns emerge.
Feedback loops – Actively seek input from mentors, colleagues, and even those who challenge you.
Mindfulness practices – Simply taking a few moments to observe your thoughts rather than react to them can be transformative.
Personality and strengths assessments – Tools like StrengthsFinder or the Enneagram can provide valuable insights into your natural tendencies.
Board of Directors – Change who your surround yourself with. Without realizing, we often keep the company of those who keep us right where we are.
The “Why?” method – When you make a decision or hold a strong opinion, ask “Why?” five times. You might be surprised at the subconscious beliefs driving your actions.

5. What makes it hard for people to be optimistic? Or for some, to avoid being too optimistic?

Optimism is a powerful force — but it has to be grounded in reality.

Many people struggle with optimism because they’re conditioned to focus on risks and worst-case scenarios. We live in a world where negativity is amplified — headlines focus on crises, social media fuels outrage, and many corporate cultures reward problem-spotting over possibility-seeking.

On the other hand, unchecked optimism can be dangerous. If we ignore reality, we risk falling into wishful thinking, assuming everything will work out without taking the necessary action to make it work out.

The key is pragmatic optimism — the ability to see opportunities while also acknowledging challenges. It’s the belief that the future can be better, but only if we take responsibility for shaping it.

6. Most of our audience is aware of the Fixed vs. Growth Mindset concept, but are there key aspects of this concept that tend to be overlooked or underestimated?

Yes — many people misunderstand how to actually develop a growth mindset.

It’s easy to say, “I believe I can grow,” but without action, nothing changes.

Talking about taking action is not taking action. Thinking and dreaming about it, reading about it, learning from others who do it, planning for it, none of this is taking action.

The real key is deliberate discomfort. Growth doesn’t happen in our comfort zones—it happens when we actively seek out challenges that stretch us. You have to start with disrupting yourself.

Another overlooked aspect is environment. You can’t sustain a growth mindset if you’re surrounded by people who reinforce fixed thinking. Leaders must cultivate environments where learning, experimentation, and even failure are embraced.

A growth mindset isn’t just about believing in potential — it’s about practicing resilience, adaptability, and curiosity every single day.

7. What is the role of transcendence in achieving mindshift or the relationship between them?

I tell the story about transcendence and Maslov in the book. If you’re reading this now, I hope you read the book!

Transcendence is about breaking free from the mental constraints of the past. It’s about seeing beyond immediate challenges and into what’s possible.

A mindshift happens when we transcend our habitual ways of thinking, seeing, and being. It requires stepping outside our ego, our fears, and our assumptions to view the world—and our role in it — through a fresh lens.

Great leaders transcend the present to create the future. They don’t just accept reality; they challenge and redefine it. They become it.

8. What is the relationship or overlap between futurology and mindset shifting?

Futurology isn’t about predicting the future—it’s about anticipating and preparing for it. A mindshift allows us to anticipate and shape what’s coming, rather than react to it.

A future-ready mindset means continuously questioning assumptions, scanning for emerging trends, and developing the agility to pivot before disruption forces our hand.

9. What role does storytelling play in a mindset shift for an organization instead of an individual?

Storytelling is communication and can drive cultural transformation.

Organizations shift their collective mindset when leaders craft compelling narratives that connect people to a shared vision of the future.

The most successful change initiatives are fueled by stories that inspire belief, belonging, and action.

10. From your experience, what are some of the best ways to test your story before you start to tell it?

A great story isn’t told — it’s experienced. Before launching a new narrative, whether for an organization, a product, or a movement, it’s essential to validate it in the real world. Here’s how:

Start Small, Iterate Fast – Share your story with a small, trusted audience first—mentors, team members, or even a focus group. Observe their reactions. Are they engaged? Do they lean in? Do they see themselves in the story?
The Emotional Test – A great story moves people. If it doesn’t spark curiosity, excitement, or even tension, it might need refinement. If people just nod politely, go deeper—make it more personal, more relatable, or more urgent.
Reverse Engineer It – What reaction do you want? Is your story designed to drive action? To challenge assumptions? To inspire change? If it doesn’t achieve its intended purpose, revisit the framing.
Test Across Channels – Does your story hold up in a conversation? A blog post? A social media post? A keynote? A strong narrative should be adaptable yet consistent across different mediums.
Listen for the Retell Factor – The best stories get repeated. If people remember and share your message in their own words, you’ve got something powerful. If they struggle to summarize it, it might need simplification or more emotional depth.

A story goes beyond what you say—it’s what people hear, feel, and share. Make sure it resonates before you take it to a bigger stage.

11. What’s the biggest barrier to a mindshift, and how can people overcome it?

The biggest barrier? Fear of letting go.

People often cling to outdated beliefs, behaviors, and ways of working—not because they’re effective, but because they’re comfortable. Even when the evidence is clear that change is needed, there’s a psychological safety in the familiar.

Overcoming this requires intentional unlearning. The best way to do this?

Expose yourself to new ideas and perspectives – Read outside your industry. Talk to people with different viewpoints. Travel, even if it’s just to a different part of your city. Disruption often starts with who you surround yourself with.
Challenge your own beliefs – Ask yourself: What do I assume to be true that might not be? What if the opposite were true? This exercise alone can unlock powerful insights.
Get uncomfortable, on purpose – Growth doesn’t happen in the comfort zone. Seek experiences that stretch you—whether that’s public speaking, launching a bold new initiative, or simply saying “yes” to something that scares you.
Redefine failure – Failure isn’t the opposite of success; it’s part of the process. A mindshift happens when you stop fearing failure and start learning from it.
Surround yourself with catalysts – The people around you either reinforce old thinking or help you level up. Seek out those who challenge you, inspire you, and push you to see things differently.

A mindshift doesn’t happen to you. It happens because of you. And the more intentional you are about rewiring your thinking, the more unstoppable you become.

12. What’s one thing every leader should do today to future-proof themselves?

Start with reading Mindshift! 😉

Leaders today need vision.But they also need foresight. The world is shifting too fast for traditional leadership approaches to keep up.

So here’s a challenge: Block out 30 minutes every week to explore the future.

Study emerging trends (AI, automation, shifting workforce dynamics).
Read about what’s happening outside your industry.
Watch how Gen Z and Gen Alpha are interacting with technology.
Ask, “What does this mean for me? My industry? My team?”

The leaders who thrive in the future are the ones who anticipate it today. The best way to be ready for what’s next is to start thinking like the future, right now.

Conclusion

Thank you for the great conversation Brian!

I hope everyone has enjoyed this peek into the mind of the man behind the insightful new title Mindshift: Transform Leadership, Drive Innovation, and Reshape the Future!

Image credits: Brian Solis

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