Image credit: iqonceptHere’s something I learned from 20+ years of improv: The scenes that fall flat aren’t usually missing skill. They’re missing commitment.The performers are hedging. Playing not to fail instead of playing to win. Trying to be acceptable rather than authentic.I see the exact same pattern in teams navigating change. And the fix isn’t

Stop Playing Not to Fail: Why Teams Get Stuck During Change

One of the most famous lines in Game of Thrones comes from Littlefinger:“Chaos isn’t a pit. Chaos is a ladder.”I love the show. (Well… most of it. IYKYK…) and think about it often. My social media algorithms like to pop clips up into my feed, and this quote came up recently.And that made me realize

Change Isn’t a Pit. It’s a Ladder.

“Go big or go home!”Sounds great in a sneaker commercial. But for most of us, that advice does more harm than good.This week I’m giving you something a little different than my usual “brilliant insights” (i.e., ramblings…): an excerpt from my upcoming book.This section is about why small steps beat massive action – and how

The Night I Bombed on Stage (And What It Taught Me About Leadership)

When everything feels messy, most leaders reach for more tactics and more meetings. In this conversation, I sit down with Maartje van Krieken – engineer, skipper, crisis strategist, and host of The Business Emergency Room Podcast – to talk about how to triage chaos, make cleaner decisions, and realign people and processes without burning everyone

Say “Yes, And!” to Navigating Chaos with Maartje van Krieken

Avish’s Feedback from APWA WashingtonWhat happens when you teach improv to 400+ public works professionals?Magic. Pure magic.Last week at the American Public Works Association Washington chapter conference, I watched engineers, project managers, and department heads transform their approach to impossible situations. All with two simple words.“Yes, And.”Here’s what resonated most with these incredible public servants:The

Two Words That Help Public Works Teams Solve the Impossible

I sat down with keynote speaker, leadership trainer, and singer-songwriter Rachel Druckenmiller to explore what it really means to live and work UNMUTED. Rachel shares how she invented roles inside a corporate job, navigated a near-career-ending pivot right before the pandemic, and eventually brought her voice – literally – onto the keynote stage. We talk

Say “Yes, And!” to Living UNMUTED with Rachel Druckenmiller