Perspectives
The Five Whys of Taylor Swift
One of the things I like about design thinking is the vast array of tools available in the proverbial toolbox, particularly the ones that help uncover underlying themes. These tools allow us to understand and empathize with people in meaningful, human ways. One...
Transitions
I am going to get very honest here. As a single mom and business owner summer is the most difficult time of the year. A time where I feel like I have done nothing well because I’ve been trying to do everything well. Time and fun with my kids between lazer focused...
Behavior Ripples
I recently stumbled onto a quote from Yale professor Nicholas Christakis: “We’ve shown that altruistic behavior ripples through networks, and so does meanness. Networks will magnify whatever they are seeded with. They will magnify Ebola and fascism and unhappiness and...
What we can learn from Rick Rubin on communication, boundaries, and wanting people to like us
“Can we make it less cold?” I was listening to legendary record producer Rick Rubin’s appearance on the Dax Shepard podcast, and Rick uttered that simple phrase. Out loud. I could feel my body tense up, and the runaway train that is my brain was well out of the...
It’s Time to Clear the Clutter
It’s Time to Clear the Clutter I have long advocated for focus and simplicity. The desire to purge that which is no longer useful (thank you Marie Condo) has led to evaluation and action across every area of my life. Does this bring me joy? Does this still serve me?...
Gifts
I was about 15 years into my career when my coach asked me what my super power was – silence. I had always struggled to identify my gift, my super power, what made me special. My older sister and others were such naturals. Their gifts were so apparent. She is clearly...
Supporting Sustainability Leaders
When I was in graduate school at Case Western Reserve University in the now MPOD program, one of our core areas of study was sustainability. It was my first exposure to concepts like the triple bottom line and the beautiful book Cradle to Cradle by William McDonough....
Email: The Great Unburdening
Email. Over the past 2 years we have had so many conversations with clients regarding email. The once useful communication tool, today, seems to be a primary cause of stress and frustration. Email combined with other “helpful” communication tools are inundating...
Words Matter
If you have spent any amount of time with me you have probably noticed that words matter to me. One of my most impactful memories from graduate school at Case Western Reserve University was when David Cooperrider introduced the idea that words create worlds. I have...
Getting Curious About Culture
What do you want your culture to be like? What micro actions are currently eroding or contributing to the culture you desire? Understanding what is serving or doing a disservice to a healthy and happy culture is an invaluable element to building a successful organization. When is the last time you “checked in” on your culture?
Did You Feed Your Soul Today?
I know it’s important to begin each day with self-care — simple rituals that get your mind and body right. Meditation. Exercise. Spiritual pursuits. Journaling. Intentionally carving out that time is so critically important to being a happy and productive human.
Except I don’t do it. It’s far easier for me to hop out of bed and race down the litany of to-do’s and handling “this one little work thing”. Before long, morning has turned to afternoon and the hamster wheel is still spinning. Oftentimes I’ve given away the best of my energy and brainpower to things that don’t require much of either.
The Super League: How Failing to Understand All Stakeholders Torpedoes Innovation
My only real exposure to soccer came in the second grade, where I spent a brief period of time running around in the bee swarm that is a childrens' soccer game. The majority of that season, however, was spent in in chicken pox isolation, so it was a bit odd to get a...
Innovation Lessons from a Challenging Year
The definition of innovation is to introduce something new. A simple definition for an incredibly difficult and complex task. Difficult at least for most of us. Oftentimes innovation happens out of necessity or a need to solve a challenge to make life easier, more...
Innovation Ecosystem
An ecosystem is defined as “the interconnectedness of organisms with each other and their environment”. The Switch Innovation Ecosystem looks at the powerful interconnection of insight, strategy, design, innovation, and system.
What is Design Thinking?
What is Design Thinking? Design thinking is not so much "a thing", but more so "a way". Below are sourced excerpts that explain design thinking in more detail and provide links to original articles. "Design thinking is an innovative problem-solving process rooted in a...
The Value of Pause
This week I had the opportunity to join a group of women for a Wild Morning retreat, part of the Women in the Wild program from Vibrant Living and Leadership. It was only two hours. Two, glorious hours of quiet, connection, community and reflection. We sat together....
Design Thinking, Organizational Development, and Dungeons & Dragons
The idea for this article has been percolating in my head for many months, and it’s something I’ve been hesitant to write for a long time. But here it is. I play Dungeons and Dragons. Even better, I believe that D&D has tremendous power to make organizations...
Change Takes Everyone
A culture change isn’t any different than other change initiative and benefits from involving the entire organization in the conversation – defining, designing and making change. How can you get your entire system involved? Town Hall Meetings Surveys Focus Groups Task...
What is Culture Anyway?
I have found over the years that the definition of culture is diverse. For some it means social activities, foosball tables and beer; for some it is about the building, the decor and the “look”; and for others it is about how people are treated within the four walls of the organization – the values, the behaviors, the norms within the group.
We believe that culture is the wholistic experience of an organization and that the most successful organization, those where people want to be and work, are those that consider four elements of their culture …
Making Mistakes Matures the Brain
Saw this Forbes article and it got me thinking about the Miles Davis quote, "If you're not making mistakes, it's a mistake." Too often, failure is positioned as a negative instead of a positive step forward toward inevitable success. "Making mistakes matures the...
Changing a Culture
Building culture is a fascinating thing, especially as a consultant. From the outside, you have perspective that helps in highlighting elements that a leadership team may have become blind to. But it also means it is difficult to shepherd the process for change. To...
What Does Your Organization Sound Like? Part II: Harmony, Jacob Collier, and Herbie Hancock
I discovered Jacob Collier recently, and then I saw he had made this video about harmony for Wired — and it features the legendary Herbie Hancock. What a fantastic breakdown of a complicated topic – and done in a way that resonates with each target audience. There is...
What Does Your Organization Sound Like? Part I: Equalization and Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody
Recently I had a chance to catch up with the brilliant and insightful Valdis Krebs, who does all sorts of fascinating work on social network analysis. After one if his talks in Europe, an attendee approached him and posed this query: “It’s great to see what an...
Stop Weaponizing HR Assessments
I love HR assessments. They provide interesting insights to personalities, behaviors and skills. They make for interesting conversation around the water cooler or dinner table. But while lots of organizations run assessments, many of those same organizations are...
A Punch is Just a Punch — Leadership Lessons from Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee once said, “a punch is just a punch.” (Not to be confused with Freud’s apocryphal quote “sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.”) Bruce was essentially talking about the learning process and the winding path to expertise. The journey to becoming an expert...