In this episode, I’m joined by Jacob Aldridge, an international business advisor and keynote speaker who’s calling in from Malaysia – where he can literally see Singapore from his window! Jacob and his family recently made a massive “Yes, And” decision: they packed up their life, became full-time travelers, and now “worldschool” their daughter while
Image credit: xavigm99Your Team Isn’t Fine. They’re Just Quiet About it.No one’s complaining. Work is getting done. Engagement scores don’t look terrible.And yet… energy is flat. Initiative is down. People are doing “enough,” but not leaning in.That’s what makes this moment so dangerous—disengagement today is rarely loud. It’s polite. It’s quiet. And because of that,
Credit to gustavofrazaoWhen leaders talk about AI right now, the tone is usually optimistic. Excited, even.They’re the ones leading it, after all.But underneath that optimism? Something else. A concern that their people aren’t getting on board as quickly – or as enthusiastically – as they’d hoped.You can hear it in the language:“I 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 our people
It’s Probably Not What You ThinkHere’s what I’ve realized after 30+ years of teaching, speaking, and – let’s be honest – procrastinating: My persistent “Yes, but…” isn’t fear of failure. It’s not laziness. It’s not lack of motivation.It’s boredom. It’s rejection. It’s frustration. It’s awkwardness.For most of my career, I’ve been saying some version of:
I’ve watched the Bill Murray movie “Groundhog Day” over and over and over (ironic, right…?).I always loved the movie, but it wasn’t until years later while reading a book on screenplay writing that I discovered something fascinating that blew my mind: The entire script is structured around the Kübler-Ross “Five Stages of Grief” model.Phil Connors
Image credit: IrinaKashaeva”We’re going in another direction this year.”Seven words. One email. A gig I thought was locked in, gone. Blurgh.I stared at my screen. Felt that familiar tightness in my chest. The one that whispers, “You’re falling behind.”2025 wasn’t catastrophic, but it wasn’t great either. Inquiries came in, but momentum? That disappeared somewhere between
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