Good morning, Reader—it’s Sunday, August 23. I keep thinking about how quickly a technology conversation becomes a people conversation. We talk about tools, speed, and productivity—but what we’re really deciding is how we want to work, what we’re willing to trust, and which parts of being human become more valuable when machines can do more. This week’s moments all point toward the same idea: progress doesn’t come from adopting the newest thing. It comes from creating the conditions in which...
4 days ago • 4 min read
Reader, I hope you are spending some summertime to decompress and connect with family and friends. We have had a busy few months and continue to give thanks for the opportunity to impact so many people at my talks. Over the next few weeks, you are going to see some sponsorships within this newsletter as we partner with organizations we believe in and align with. Today's issue is brought to you by 1440. You know how much I prefer being fair and balanced and free of absolutes and spin. If you...
about 1 month ago • 5 min read
Reader, He knew the plan wasn't working. He kept telling everyone it was. Twelve weeks into a company-wide initiative he'd championed publicly, the data was clear. Not trending in the wrong direction. Not slower than expected. Clear. The assumptions the plan was built on were wrong, the early results confirmed it, and every week they stayed the course was a week they couldn't get back. He knew. His leadership team knew. The people running the project knew. Nobody said anything. The Loyalty...
about 1 month ago • 4 min read
600 1st Ave, Ste 330 PMB 92768, Seattle, WA 98104-2246Unsubscribe · Preferences Reader, Have you ever been to Hong Kong? My wife, Sherry, and I just got back from our first visit for the Lions Club International Global Conference, where I delivered the opening keynote for thousands of members who gathered from 55,000 clubs and 210 countries! Having my talk simultaneously translated into 14 different languages was WILD! What an absolutely incredible organization with the kind of impact that...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
Reader, Your team stopped believing great outcomes are possible. Not because the work is hard. Because they can't picture the version of themselves that wins. The Belief Crisis When people lose belief in The Possibilities, they say things like: "We'll never catch up to the competition." "Leadership's going to kill this anyway." "It doesn't matter how hard we work, nothing changes." It sounds like pessimism. It's not. It's the absence of a future identity they can see themselves inhabiting....
2 months ago • 4 min read
Reader, Your team knows the company mission statement. They've seen it on the website. In the all-hands deck. On the wall in the break room. And they don't believe a single word of it. The Belief Crisis Not because it's untrue. Because it's not connected to anything they can see. "We exist to transform lives." "We're building the future of X." "We empower people to Y." Cool. Whose life got transformed last week? Show me the future you built. Name one person you empowered. When purpose lives...
2 months ago • 3 min read
Reader, Your team collaborates because the tool says "collaborate." Not because they believe in each other. Zoom rooms. Slack channels. Shared docs. All the infrastructure for teamwork, none of the trust. The Belief Crisis Here's what died when work went remote: the ambient knowledge of who people are. Pre-remote, you overheard the conversation about someone's sick kid. You saw them stay late to help a teammate. You learned they used to be a teacher, that they're training for a marathon, and...
3 months ago • 3 min read
Reader, I NEED YOUR HELP! I am doing some research for my next book, and I could really use your help in answering the following question. This is an anonymous poll...so please answer as truthfully as possible. Where does your organization struggle the most with belief? The Plan The People The Purpose The Possibilities I truly appreciate you taking the time to answer! Back to the newsletter:) Most leaders think their team doesn't believe in the plan because the plan isn't good enough. Wrong....
3 months ago • 2 min read
Reader, For 55 weeks, I've been sending you tactics. Better meeting frameworks. Smarter communication strategies. Productivity hacks that actually work. And every single one of them was solving the wrong problem. The Question That Broke Me Three months ago, I sat in a workshop with my friend Mike Ganino. If you don't know Mike, he's the keynote positioning guru who helps speakers figure out what the hell they actually do. He's scary good at it. Mike asked me one question: "What is the belief...
3 months ago • 4 min read