In today’s complex, fast-moving business environment, the ability to influence others is no longer a “nice to have” leadership trait—it is foundational to strategic success. As organizations continue to operate in increasingly matrixed structures, with heightened ambiguity, speed, and global interdependence, leaders must influence without relying solely on authority. Influence is about gaining traction for […]

In the age of knowledge, ideas are the foundation of success in almost every field. You can have the greatest idea in the world, but if you can’t persuade anyone else to follow your vision, your influence and impact will be greatly diminished. And that’s why communication is no longer considered a “soft skill” among […]

A year ago, I wrote a piece here about how people were really using gen AI. That article seemed to hit a note: It was popular, featured in viral posts, and the beautiful accompanying infographic has been shared far and wide. The use cases split almost equally between personal and business needs, with roughly half spanning both. Since then, the […]

When Alex walked into my office and said she was overwhelmed, I thought: OK, she needs my help. She needs answers. I listened, asked a few clarifying questions, and then did what I’ve been trained to do—fix it. I grabbed a pen, broke the problem into parts, and offered strategies: delegating more, calendar blocking, prioritization. […]

A senior executive I worked with—let’s call her Marisol—had spent years building trust, driving impact, and delivering results, only to find her role suddenly eliminated during a company restructuring. There was no discussion, no transition plan. Just a few polite reassurances, a severance package, and a carefully worded email later, and that was it. But […]

In the past few years, artificial intelligence has gone from being the prerogative of technical teams to a general use tool. While AI once worked behind the scenes—powering consumer products, for instance, or shaping social media feeds—now the general public interacts directly with virtual assistants and generative AI-based chatbots. This increase in usage has also […]

Unlike a company, which can expand capacity to meet increasing demand, a leader is constrained by nature: As they say, there are only so many hours in a day. Many people think they can increase their productivity by working harder. But that, in due course, is a losing game. They tire, their overall output falls, and they […]

Artificial intelligence has created a striking paradox. Consider that in a 2023 Gartner survey, 79% of corporate strategists said that the use of AI, automation, and analytics would be critical to their success over the next two years. But only 20% of them reported using AI in their daily activities. AI’s success hinges not only on its […]

Management of long-term, complex, large-scale change has a reputation of not delivering the anticipated benefits. A primary reason for this is that leaders generally fail to consider how to approach change in a way that matches their intent. Consider Ling Yen*, a client of ours and finance director at an industrial manufacturing company. She sat […]

The wisdom of learning from failure is incontrovertible. Yet organizations that do it well are extraordinarily rare. This gap is not due to a lack of commitment to learning. Managers in the vast majority of enterprises that I have studied over the past 20 years—pharmaceutical, financial services, product design, telecommunications, and construction companies; hospitals; and […]