BLAXLAND CONSULTING LIMITED

𝗛𝗲𝗹𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗰𝗼𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗩𝗖𝗣 – 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗶𝗱-𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗲-𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 

Diane is a senior adviser to private equity portfolio companies.  She helps investors and portcos to deliver robust growth against value creation plans - including via post-merger integration.  She has a sweet spot in Tech-enabled B2B Services including Professional Services in the UK and EMEA.

Her experience includes:

- pre-deal MDD and post-deal operating reviews of portcos - eg for Blackstone, Mercia, Silverfleet, LDC, Rockpool, Foresight
- rapid recovery of post-merger integration and transformation, ahead of an IPO (backed by TPG)
- commercial risk analysis for a PE portco, triggering an exit via secondary buyout (backed by ICG)
- recovery of an off-shore proposition, re-positioning for growth ahead of a merger
- design and global rollout of a post-merger data integration model.

Her skills include P&L management, business strategy, sales, operations, business transformation, and change management – drawing on her experience in startups, scaleups and global business.

Founder

Career Coaching by Diane Blaxland

🚩 How will you know if my Career Coaching is right for you? Five quick signs: 

•	there is a gap emerging between your career and your satisfaction level 
•	addressing the gap is increasingly important to you 
•	there are risks if you do something, and risks if you do nothing 
•	you have some advice, but you want to take a wider, longer term view 
•	talking it through with an experienced executive feels like a good place to start 

#ExpertLeaders #Careers #PersonalDevelopment

Catalysis Advisory Ltd

𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗣𝗘 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗰𝗼 𝗕𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗲𝘀:
🔺 𝗽𝗿𝗲-𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 - 𝗕𝟮𝗕𝟮𝗖 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵 (𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲)
🔺 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁-𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗶𝗱-𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 - 𝗕𝟮𝗕 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗘𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀
🔺 𝗽𝗿𝗲-𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗕𝟮𝗕 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵, 𝗕𝟮𝗚𝟮𝗖 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵, 𝗕𝟮𝗕𝟮𝗖 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵, 𝗕𝟮𝗕𝟮𝗖 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗕𝟮𝗚 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵

Business Advisor

Johnson Controls Inc

$5b EMEA region of $20b Business Services division of $40b Fortune100 listed company

Director Change Management, EMEA

Blaxland Consulting

Advising clients on operational and commercial change.

CPA Global

£100m global Business Services company, backed by Private Equity

Director Strategy

Williams Lea

£20m Division of this £1b global Business Services company, part of DAX30 company DeutschePost

Managing Director 

Clifford Chance LLP

£100m+ M&A practice of this £1bn global Professional Services firm

Head Business Development Operations

Blake Dawson Waldron

A$350m international Professional Services firm (now part of £1b Ashurst LLP)

Business Development, Sales & Marketing management

CEO & Founder Expert Leaders™ | Career Direction & CV Coaching | £1B PSF | $40B Fortune100 | PE scaleups | London Business School

I help professionals step into clarity, confidence, and growth - especially when navigating complex career transitions in challenging or unfamiliar markets.

My clients are technically brilliant, ambitious … and many are internationally experienced. They’re often MBAs, engineers, M&A/finance experts, consultants, lawyers, or technology & data/AI specialists. 

They're ready to step into senior leadership, but something isn’t landing. Their pitch isn’t quite resonating. The growth opportunities they seek feel just out of reach.

That’s where I come in.

With more than 10 years in senior leadership - including as Managing Director responsible for 550 people - I’ve led growth, transformation, and turnaround across organisations from under £10m to over $5Bn. 

I’ve advised private equity investors and portfolio companies on operations, building robust solutions to complex problems. 

And I bring that same level of focus, clarity, and strategic thinking into my coaching practice.

My sweet spot lies in tech-enabled B2B services - including engineering, data/AI, finance, legal, and consulting. 

Highlights of my work include: 

▪️Steering post-merger integration for a $6Bn PE-backed global professional services firm, resolving operational failures, client complaints, and transformation across 15 countries.
▪️Leading the recovery of a £1bn NHS Trust’s lab project post-dispute, bringing together investors, clinicians, scientists, suppliers, and engineers to co-create a viable solution.
▪️Delivering commercial risk analysis that identified a -70% risk to a target exit valuation for a PE-backed £100m B2B services firm, unlocking a £1Bn exit in under three months.
▪️Repositioning a struggling new BPO offshore (India) proposition for profitable growth, delivering 50% savings to the client in a new £3m contract while also tripling profit margins.
▪️Rolling out a post-merger Sales/Marketing/Finance integration model for a £1Bn global professional services firm across 30 offices in 20 countries, deployed to 4,000+ staff.

All of that senior experience now feeds directly into my career coaching.

Many of my clients are mid-career or post-MBA, and sense a need to reframe their narrative, sharpen their presence, and navigate a system that may not easily understand their value. 

We don’t just talk. We rehearse. We edit. We test. We build influence from the inside out.

Whether you're preparing for interview, pitching for promotion, or making a full pivot, I’ll help you to tailor your story, build trust, and move forward with strategic clarity.

🎯 Diane Blaxland

FREE LinkedIn Mini-Course (Link Below) | Showing You How To Generate High-Quality Leads On LinkedIn The Right Way Without Being Spammy Or Paying For Ads | LinkedIn Trainer

🤦‍♂️ Are you struggling to generate quality leads on LinkedIn, no matter what you do?

😔 Are you posting content on LinkedIn but still no leads (there’s a reason why)?

❓ Would you like a simple, authentic system that actually works – and not be spammy?

I totally understand your frustration! And it’s not even your fault. 

LinkedIn is a brilliant platform to generate leads but you have to use it differently than any other social media network to get it to work for you. 

I was in your shoes, frustrated with LinkedIn with no results… and even gave up on LinkedIn at one point. 

But when I finally cracked the code, LinkedIn became a lead machine for me. 

And now, I mainly work with service providers and coaches, showing them the secrets I uncovered so that LinkedIn can start working for them too…

…and I’d love to help you crack LinkedIn as well.

Having worked with businesses around the globe 🌍 I realised there are 3 main challenges you and others have when generating leads on LinkedIn:

❌ Being spammy, boring, and not knowing how to stand out
❌ Thinking that posting on LinkedIn is the only and best way to get leads
❌ Lack of a simple proven strategy to generate highly targeted leads

To solve these challenges, I teach a simple 5 step system that helps you:

✔️ Stand out without being spammy (no one like being spammed)
✔️ Stop wasting time posting all the time with little to no results to show from it
✔️ Put the right strategy in place to get your ideal clients wanting to talk with you

It's called the 💪🏼 LinkedIn LEADS Method 💪🏼 and it shows you how to generate high quality leads without paying for ads, being boring, or being spammy.

Here's actual results from some of my clients 👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼

🏆 One of my coaching clients wasn’t sure LinkedIn would work for them and didn’t even have a profile. Within 4 weeks of working with me they had landed 3 new clients.

🏆 Another client of mine, a Qualified Financial Adviser, closed over 💰 $30,000 of business within 8 weeks of working with me. 

🏆 And another client, a B2B consultant and service provider, went from ZERO on LinkedIn to closing multiple deals worth over 💰 $50,000 within 3 months.

👉🏼 𝗪𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀? 👈🏼

Send me a direct message ✉️ here on LinkedIn and let’s have a chat.

Or check out my FREE LinkedIn Course - the link is in my bio above.

Jason Osborn

6 Mental Models That Separate Visionary Leaders From Busy Managers.

Managers Optimize the Present. Leaders Architect the Future.

I work with business owners who are incredible at execution.
But they're stuck in operational mode and wonder why growth stalls.

The difference isn't work ethic. It's how they think.
These six mental models shift your brain from firefighting to strategic advantage:

🔷 Second Order Thinking
Managers ask: "Will this work?"
Leaders ask: "Then what happens?"

Before your next decision, ask "and then what?" three times.
Map three downstream consequences.

🔷 Inversion
Managers plan for success.
Leaders plan to avoid failure first.

Instead of "How do we win?" ask "What would definitely make us lose?"
Then systematically eliminate those paths.

🔷 Leverage Points
Managers spread effort evenly.
Leaders concentrate force on hinge points.

One strategic hire beats five adequate ones.
Identify the one project that would 10x your results.

Cut three low leverage activities to focus on it.

🔷 Optionality
Managers lock into plans.
Leaders keep options open.

Run pilots before full rollouts.
Every move creates more future choices, not fewer.

🔷 Systems Thinking
Managers fix problems.
Leaders redesign systems.

When sales drop, managers motivate the team.
Leaders examine the entire pipeline and fix root causes.

Next problem: Map the entire system around it.

🔷 Probabilistic Thinking
Managers want guarantees.
Leaders operate in probabilities.

Don't ask "Will this work?" Ask "What's the range of outcomes?"
Make bets where upside outweighs downside by 3:1 or better.

Here's what I've noticed:
Most business owners are trapped in manager mode.
Not because they can't think strategically.
Because they never learned the mental models that enable it.

Your move:
Pick one model that challenges how you currently think.
Apply it to one decision this week.
Watch how different your choices become.
Which model will you start with?

♻️ Repost this to help someone shift from managing to leading.
👉 Follow Jason Osborn for more business, growth, and LinkedIn marketing tips.

FREE LinkedIn Mini-Course | Showing You How To Generate High-Quality Leads On LinkedIn The Right Way Without Being Spammy Or Paying For Ads | LinkedIn Trainer | LinkedIn Profile | Lead Generation

Ideas Don't Come Out Fully Formed. They Only Become Clear as You Work on Them.

You Just Have to Get Started.

I see business owners waiting for the perfect idea before they start.
They want clarity before commitment.
They want the complete picture before the first step.

That's not how ideas work.
Zuckerberg didn't launch Facebook with a master plan.

He started with a simple idea and figured it out as he built.
The clarity came from the work, not before it.

🔷 Why Waiting for Clarity Kills Ideas

You think you need to see the entire staircase before taking the first step.
But ideas don't reveal themselves in boardrooms.

They reveal themselves in execution.

→ The first version is always messy
→ The path only becomes visible as you walk it
→ Clarity is a result of action, not a prerequisite for it

Most people wait for perfect clarity and never start.
The ones who succeed start before they're ready.

🔷 Ideas Evolve Through Work

Zuckerberg's original idea was a college directory.
It became a global social network through thousands of iterations.

Not because he saw the end from the beginning.
Because he kept building and adapting.

Every version revealed what the next version should be.
That's how all great ideas develop.

🔷 Starting Creates Momentum

The hardest part isn't building. It's starting.
Once you start, momentum builds. Feedback arrives. Clarity emerges.

But none of that happens while you're still planning.

→ Ship the rough draft
→ Launch the beta version
→ Test the unfinished idea

Imperfect action beats perfect planning every time.

Here's what I've learned working with business owners:
The ones who succeed aren't the ones with the best ideas.
They're the ones who start before they feel ready.

They figure it out as they go.
They let the work reveal the clarity.

Your move:

What idea are you waiting to perfect before you start?

Start it this week. Imperfectly. Incompletely.
Let the work show you what it needs to become.

Ideas don't get clear in your head.
They get clear in your hands.

♻️ Repost this to help someone stop planning and start building.
👉 Follow Jason Osborn for more business, growth, and LinkedIn marketing tips.

8 Self Talk Patterns Holding You Back.

And What to Say Instead.

The voice in your head is either your biggest ally or your worst enemy.
Most people let that voice sabotage them for years without realizing it.
Time to rewrite the script.

🔷 1. The Perfectionist's Trap
Holding you back: "I'm not good enough"
Say instead: "I'm learning and improving every day"

This lie keeps you small and safe.
Progress beats perfection. Always.

🔷 2. The Comparison Spiral
Holding you back: "Everyone else has it figured out"
Say instead: "We're all figuring this out as we go"

They don't have it figured out.
They're just better at hiding the struggle.
You're not behind.

🔷 3. The Procrastinator's Shield
Holding you back: "I'll start when I'm ready"
Say instead: "I'll learn by doing"

Ready is a myth that keeps you waiting forever.
Action creates clarity, not the other way around.

🔷 4. The Identity Crisis
Holding you back: "I always mess things up"
Say instead: "I made a mistake, and I'm learning from it"

One mistake becomes your identity when you talk like this.
You are not your failures.

🔷 5. The Fixed Mindset
Holding you back: "I can't do this"
Say instead: "I can't do this yet"

That one word changes everything.
Growth becomes possible.

🔷 6. The People Pleaser's Prison
Holding you back: "What will people think?"
Say instead: "What do I think?"

Living for others' opinions is exhausting and pointless.
Your opinion of yourself matters most.

🔷 7. The Timing Excuse
Holding you back: "I'm too old/young/late"
Say instead: "My timing is my own"

Timing excuses keep you stuck in place.
Colonel Sanders started KFC at 62. You've got time.

🔷 8. The Comparison Timeline
Holding you back: "I should be further along"
Say instead: "I'm exactly where I need to be"
Comparison to an imaginary timeline kills joy and momentum.

Your journey is yours alone.
Your inner voice shapes your outer world.

Change the conversation in your head and watch your life change with it.
Self talk isn't just thoughts.

It's the blueprint for who you become.
Which pattern do you need to rewrite?

♻️ Repost to help someone stop holding themselves back.
👉 Follow Jason Osborn for more business, growth, and LinkedIn marketing tips.

8 Self-Talk Patterns Holding You Back

Strategy Isn't About Predicting the Future.

It's About Creating Options That Allow You to Act Decisively When Moments Arrive.

Most people think strategy means having a detailed plan.
It doesn't.

Plans break the moment reality shows up.
Strategy is about positioning yourself so you have choices when opportunities or problems appear.

The people who win aren't the ones who predicted what would happen.
They're the ones who built optionality into everything they do.
So when the moment arrived, they could move while everyone else was paralyzed.

🔷 Options beat predictions every time

You can't predict which client will say yes.
But you can have ten conversations instead of one.

You can't predict which product will take off.
But you can test three variations and see what resonates.

You can't predict when opportunity knocks.
But you can keep your calendar flexible enough to answer the door.

The more options you have, the less you need to be right about the future.

🔷 Decisiveness requires preparation
People think being decisive means making fast decisions.
It doesn't.

It means you've already done the work to create clear options.
So when the moment comes, you don't hesitate.

How to prepare:
→ Build relationships before you need them
→ Learn skills before the job requires them
→ Save money before the opportunity appears
→ Create systems before things get chaotic

Decisiveness looks like confidence.
But it's really just preparation meeting opportunity.

🔷 Most people build prisons, not strategies
They commit everything to one path.
One client. One revenue stream. One skill. One plan.
Then when that path closes, they're stuck.
No options. No moves. Just panic.

Strategic people do the opposite:
→ They diversify their relationships
→ They diversify their income
→ They diversify their skills
→ They diversify their time

Not because they're unfocused.
Because they know the future is unpredictable.
And options are the only real insurance policy.

🔷 The timing you can't control
You don't know when the market will shift.
You don't know when the opportunity will appear.
You don't know when the crisis will hit.
But you can be ready for all three.

That's what strategy actually is.
Not a prediction. Not a rigid plan.
It's building a position where you have multiple ways to win.

Your strategy check:
If your biggest client left tomorrow, do you have options?
If your industry shifts next month, can you pivot?
If opportunity knocked today, are you ready to move?
If the answer is no, you don't have a strategy.

You have a hope.
Strategy gives you the ability to act when it matters.

Not because you saw it coming.
Because you built options before you needed them.

What options are you building today?

♻️ Repost to help someone rebuild their drive today.
👉 Follow Jason Osborn for more business, growth, and LinkedIn marketing tips.

People Don't Buy What You Do. They Buy Why You Do It.

Most Business Owners Lead With Features. They Should Lead With Purpose.

I see business owners pitch their services the same way.
"We offer X solution with Y features at Z price."

Then they wonder why prospects don't connect.
The problem isn't the offer.
It's that nobody cares what you do until they understand why you do it.

Sinek proved this with the Golden Circle.
Most companies communicate from the outside in: What, How, Why.
The best companies do the opposite: Why, How, What.

🔷 Starting With What Doesn't Work

When you lead with what you do, you sound like everyone else.

"We provide marketing services."
"We sell software solutions."
"We offer consulting."

Cool. So does everyone else in your space.
There's no emotional connection. No reason to care.
Features are forgettable. Purpose is memorable.

🔷 Starting With Why Changes Everything

When you lead with why, people lean in.

→ "We believe small businesses deserve the same marketing power as Fortune 500 companies."
→ "We think outdated software shouldn't slow down great teams."
→ "We exist because leaders need honest feedback, not yes men."

Now you're not just another vendor.
You're someone with a mission they might share.

People don't buy products. They buy belief systems.

🔷 Why This Matters in Business

Your why attracts the right clients and repels the wrong ones.
When you're clear about why you exist, you filter for alignment.

The clients who share your why become your best customers.
The ones who don't? They were never going to be satisfied anyway.

→ Your why becomes your differentiator
→ Your why attracts people who believe what you believe
→ Your why makes price objections disappear
Features compete on logic. Purpose competes on emotion.

Your move:
Stop leading with what you do.
Start with why you do it.

Why does your business exist beyond making money?
What problem in the world bothers you enough to solve it?
That's your why.
Lead with that.
What's your why?

♻️ Repost this to help someone discover their purpose.
👉 Follow Jason Osborn for more business, growth, and LinkedIn marketing tips.

Peace Doesn't Come From Control. 

It Comes From Clarity About What's Truly Worth Your Energy and What's Not.

I used to think I needed to control everything to feel at peace.
Control the outcomes. Control other people's opinions. Control every variable.
Turns out, that's the fastest way to destroy your peace entirely.

Because you can't control most things. And trying to is exhausting.
What changed everything for me was realizing peace isn't about control.

It's about clarity.
Clarity on what deserves your energy and what doesn't.
Most people are anxious not because they're failing at control.

They're anxious because they're spending energy on things that don't matter.
Things they can't influence. Things that won't move the needle. Things that drain them without return.

The moment you get clear on what's actually worth your energy? Everything shifts.

You stop fighting battles that don't need fighting.
You stop caring about opinions that don't affect your path.
You stop trying to force outcomes that aren't yours to force.

And suddenly, you have peace. Not because you control everything. Because you're clear about where your energy belongs.

Here's what clarity looks like in practice:

🔷 You stop reacting to every email like it's urgent
Most aren't. Most can wait. Most don't need you at all.
Clarity helps you see the difference between urgent and important.

🔷 You stop caring what people think who aren't in the arena with you
Their opinions cost them nothing. Your action costs you everything.
Clarity shows you whose feedback matters and whose doesn't.

🔷 You stop trying to change people who don't want to change
You can't save everyone. You can't convince everyone. You can't fix everyone.
Clarity frees you from trying to do the impossible.

🔷 You stop saying yes to things that don't align with your goals
Every yes to something that doesn't matter is a no to something that does.
Clarity protects your time like the valuable resource it is.

The peace comes when you realize you don't need to control everything.

You just need to be clear about the few things that actually matter.
And let everything else go.

Most people carry anxiety about 47 things they can't control.
Then wonder why they feel overwhelmed constantly.

The ones who have peace? They're focused on the three things they can control.
And they've made peace with letting the rest unfold however it unfolds.

That's not giving up. That's clarity.

Ask yourself right now: What are you spending energy on that isn't worth it?
What are you trying to control that you can't?
What would happen if you just let that go?

Peace isn't on the other side of controlling everything.
It's on the other side of clarity about what matters.
Most people waste their entire lives trying to control things that don't.

What will you let go of today?

♻️ Repost to help someone gain more control and peace.
👉 Follow Jason Osborn for more business, growth, and LinkedIn marketing tips.

The Money Always Catches Up to The Activity.

But Only If The Right Activity Is Consistent.

I see people grinding 80 hour weeks and wondering why they're broke.
Then I see others working 20 focused hours and printing money.

The difference isn't effort. It's not even talent.
It's whether they're doing the right activities consistently.

Wrong activity done consistently? You stay busy and broke.
Right activity done inconsistently? You get random lucky breaks.
Right activity done consistently? Money becomes inevitable.

Most people never stop to ask if they're working on the right things.
They just work harder on whatever's in front of them.

Here's what I've learned separates high value from low value work:

High value activities compound over time:
→ Building relationships with decision makers
→ Creating systems that generate without you
→ Solving expensive problems for paying customers
→ Marketing directly to your ideal client
These might not feel urgent. But they compound into real money.

Low value activities feel productive but go nowhere:
→ Checking email 47 times per day
→ Perfecting things nobody will see
→ Attending meetings that could be messages
→ Busy work that looks important but moves nothing forward

Here's where most people get it wrong.
They find one high value activity that works.
Do it once. Get a result. Then move on to something else.

Or they do it for two weeks, don't see immediate money, and quit.

Consistency on the right thing compounds into inevitable results.
Inconsistency on everything keeps you stuck permanently.

Ask yourself right now: What's your highest value activity that directly generates money?
How many days this month have you actually done it?
If the answer is less than 20, that's your problem.

Not your market. Not your offer. Your consistency.

Stop doing 47 things inconsistently.

Start doing one high value thing daily without exception.
Track it. Protect it. Make it non negotiable.
The money will catch up, but only if you stay consistent long enough for it to find you.

Most people change activities before the money arrives.
Then they wonder why they're always starting over.

♻️ Repost to help someone choose the right activities.
👉 Follow Jason Osborn for more business, growth, and LinkedIn marketing tips.

The Invisible Currency of LinkedIn...

It's Not Impressions. 

It's Conversations.

Most leaders are chasing vanity metrics while missing real value.

I see it constantly. People celebrating 10,000 views on a post.
Then wondering why they got zero business from it.

Here's what nobody tells you about LinkedIn success:
Impressions feel good. Conversations pay bills.

The currency exchange rate is brutal but honest.

1,000 impressions = potential awareness that disappears instantly.
10 meaningful conversations = actual business opportunities forming.
1 deep relationship = multiple deals over years.

Most people are optimizing for the wrong thing entirely.

They obsess over post views, follower count, like numbers, and connection requests sent.
Meanwhile, the people actually building business are tracking something completely different:

Comments that turn into DMs. DMs that become phone calls. Phone calls that become meetings. Meetings that become partnerships.

That's the real pathway. Not the vanity metrics dashboard.

Here's how to tell if an interaction has actual value:

Low value interactions look impressive but go nowhere. Generic "great post" comments that anyone could leave. Emoji reactions without any context or thought. One way broadcasting where you talk and nobody responds.

High value interactions feel smaller but compound. Questions that reveal someone's actual pain points. Stories shared in response to yours that create connection. Disagreements that lead to real discussions and understanding. Follow up messages referencing your specific content days later.

The second group is what builds businesses on LinkedIn.

You know you're succeeding when people reference your posts in real conversations. When your content gets quoted in other people's posts without tagging you. When strangers reach out with specific business questions only you can answer. When opportunities emerge from people who've been following your work.

None of that shows up in your analytics dashboard.
All of it shows up in your bank account eventually.

So how do you start earning conversation currency instead of chasing views?
⚡ Ask questions you genuinely want answered
⚡ Share failures alongside successes
⚡ Respond like you're having coffee together
⚡ Follow up interesting exchanges with DMs

Stop optimizing for eyes. Start optimizing for conversations.
The money follows the relationships, not the reach.

♻️ Repost to help someone better understand LinkedIn growth.
👉 Follow Jason Osborn for more business, growth, and LinkedIn marketing tips.

Jeff Bezos' Approach to Reversible vs Non Reversible Decisions.

Most Leaders Treat Every Decision Like It's Permanent. That's Why They're Slow.

I see business owners stuck in endless meetings.
Every decision gets the same treatment.

Committee approvals. Analysis paralysis. Waiting for perfect information.
Meanwhile, their competition moves.

Bezos built Amazon using a framework that separates fast decisions from slow ones.

It's called the Two Door Framework.
Here's how it works:

🔷 The Problem With How Most Leaders Decide

Every decision gets the same treatment.
Endless meetings, committee approvals, analysis paralysis.

The result: Your competition moves while you're still in the conference room.
Speed matters more than perfection in most decisions.
But most leaders don't know which decisions require speed and which require deliberation.

🔷 Bezos' Two Door Framework Explained
There are two types of decisions in business:

→ Type 1 (One Way Door): Irreversible or nearly irreversible. High stakes. Hard to undo.

→ Type 2 (Two Way Door): Reversible. Easy to walk back. Low cost to change course.

Most decisions are Type 2.

Most leaders treat them like Type 1.

That's the problem.

🔷 Type 1 Decisions: The One Way Door

These require careful deliberation and stakeholder input.

Examples:

✓ Acquiring another company
✓ Pivoting your entire business model
✓ Hiring a C suite executive
✓ Major capital investments

The approach: Slow down. Gather data. Consult experts. Get it right.

🔷 Type 2 Decisions: The Two Way Door

These should be made fast by individuals or small groups.

Examples:

✓ Testing a new marketing channel
✓ Trying a pricing experiment
✓ Launching a feature beta
✓ Changing a process

The approach: Make the call. Test it. If it doesn't work, walk back through the door.

Move fast.

🔷 Why This Framework Matters

Most organizations slow down as they grow.
Why? They start treating Type 2 decisions like Type 1 decisions.

The cost:

→ Innovation stalls
→ Competitors move faster
→ Teams get frustrated waiting for approval
→ Opportunities pass you by

Speed is a competitive advantage.
This framework protects it.

🔷 How to Apply This in Your Business

Before making any decision, ask yourself:

→ Can this be reversed if we're wrong?
→ What's the actual cost of being wrong?
→ How much will delay cost us?

If it's reversible and low cost, make the decision now.
If it's irreversible and high stakes, slow down.

The Real Danger Isn't Bad Decisions:
It's moving too slowly on reversible ones.

Bezos' insight: "If you're good at course correcting, being wrong may be less costly than you think. Being slow is going to be expensive for sure."
Speed compounds. Hesitation costs.
Know which door you're walking through.

♻️ Repost this to help someone move faster on what matters.
👉 Follow Jason Osborn for more business, growth, and LinkedIn marketing tips.

Jeff Bezos' Approach to Decisions

The 9 Phrases That Keep Smart People From Getting Promoted.

And What to Say Instead.

I see this pattern constantly in companies.
Smart, capable people stuck at the same level for years.

Not because they can't do the work.
Because their words signal they're stuck in execution mode.

Leaders promote strategists who drive outcomes, not task completers.
Small language shifts create massive perception changes.

Here's what's quietly costing you promotions:

🔷 Phrases That Signal Limited Ownership

❌ Don't say: "That's not my job"
✅ Say instead: "I can help connect you with the right person"

❌ Don't say: "I just work here"
✅ Say instead: "Here's how I'd approach that challenge"

❌ Don't say: "I do what I'm told"
✅ Say instead: "I identified a better approach. Here's why"

Why this matters: Leaders promote problem solvers, not task completers.

The moment you say "that's not my job," you've told leadership you think small.

🔷 Phrases That Hide Your Impact

❌ Don't say: "We achieved the goal"
✅ Say instead: "I led the initiative that delivered [specific result]"

❌ Don't say: "The team did great work"
✅ Say instead: "I coordinated five departments to complete this ahead of schedule"

❌ Don't say: "It was a group effort"
✅ Say instead: "I drove alignment across stakeholders to secure approval"

Collaboration matters, absolutely.
But invisible contributors don't get promoted.
If you can't articulate your specific contribution, neither can your boss during promotion discussions.

🔷 Phrases That Block Strategic Thinking
❌ Don't say: "I'm too busy"
✅ Say instead: "Let me reprioritize. What's most critical?"

❌ Don't say: "That's above my pay grade"
✅ Say instead: "I see the strategic challenge. Here's my recommendation"

❌ Don't say: "I need someone to tell me what to do"
✅ Say instead: "I've outlined three options with trade offs"

Your language tells leaders whether you think like your current role or your next one.

Every time you deflect with "I'm too busy," you signal you can't handle more responsibility.
Every time you say "above my pay grade," you reinforce that's exactly where you belong.

Here's the uncomfortable truth most people miss:
Promotions aren't about working harder at your current level.
They're about demonstrating you already think at the next level.

Your words either prove that or disprove it every single day.

Most people think performance gets them promoted.

Performance gets you noticed.
Language gets you promoted.

Because leadership can't promote someone who sounds like they need constant direction.
They promote people who sound like they can lead others.

Small shifts compound into completely different career trajectories.
The person who says "that's not my job" stays where they are.
The person who says "here's how I'd solve that" gets promoted.

Which phrases are you using right now?

♻️ Repost this to help someone unlock their next promotion.
👉 Follow Jason Osborn for more business, growth, and LinkedIn marketing tips.

Why Apple Designs Backwards.

The 4 Step Product Framework That Changed Everything.

Most companies start with technology, then find customers.
This creates products nobody asked for.
Features pile up. Complexity wins.
The customer experience becomes an afterthought, not the foundation.

Time wasted: 6 to 18 months building the wrong thing.
Apple does it backwards:

🔷 Start With the Customer Experience You Want to Create
Not the features. Not the technology. The experience.
Then work backwards to the technology needed.
This forces clarity. You can't hide behind features.

Every decision must serve the end experience.
Customer outcome drives every technical choice.
Technology becomes the means, not the end.

🔷 The 4 Step Backwards Framework

Step 1: Define the Perfect Experience
What should the customer feel, think, and do?

Step 2: Design the Interface
How will they interact with it? Keep it simple.

Step 3: Build the Technology
Now create what's needed to deliver Steps 1 and 2.

Step 4: Remove Everything Else
Cut features that don't serve the core experience.

🔷 Why This Works Better
Backwards design prevents feature bloat.
You build only what matters. Decisions become clearer.
Teams align around customer outcomes, not technical capabilities.
The result feels inevitable, not complicated.

ROI: Products that people actually want to use.

🔷 Apply It Tomorrow
Start your next project with these questions:
→ What experience are we creating?
→ How will customers feel when it works perfectly?
→ What's the simplest way to deliver that?
Then build backwards from those answers.

Here's what I've seen:
Most business owners I work with start with "We can build this."
Apple starts with "Customers should feel this."
One leads to complexity nobody wants.
The other leads to simplicity people love.

Your move this week:
Pick one product or service you're building.
Define the perfect customer experience first.
Then work backwards to build only what serves that.
Watch how many unnecessary features disappear.

The best products aren't the most complex.
They're the most focused on what actually matters to customers.
Which product are you designing backwards first?

♻️ Repost this to help someone build what customers actually want.
👉 Follow Jason Osborn for more business, growth, and LinkedIn marketing tips.

Your LinkedIn Strategy Is Backwards.

Why "Posting Consistently" Without This Framework Is Costing You Opportunities.

Everyone tells you to post daily on LinkedIn.
Almost nobody tells you what to post toward.

I see business owners posting consistently for months.
Then wondering why it's not creating any opportunities.
The problem isn't consistency. It's direction.

Consistency without direction is just noise.
Here's the framework that turns activity into outcomes:

🔷 The Consistency Trap
Posting every day feels productive.
But if those posts don't connect to business goals, you're wasting time.
Most people optimize for output.
Smart operators optimize for outcomes.

The difference? A content framework that works backward from results.

🔷 Layer 1: Define Your One Commercial Outcome
What do you actually want LinkedIn to do for your business?
Book calls? Generate referrals? Attract partners?
Pick one. Everything you post should move toward it.

Most people skip this step entirely.
They post about whatever feels interesting.
Then they wonder why nothing happens.

🔷 Layer 2: Identify Your Three Proof Points
What three things must people believe about you to take action?
These become your content pillars.
Every post reinforces one of these three beliefs.

Example: If you want consulting calls, your pillars might be credibility in your space, clear methodology, proven results.

🔷 Layer 3: Create Your Content Bank
Now build 15 to 20 post ideas under each pillar.
You have 45 to 60 posts mapped to business outcomes.
Posting consistently becomes strategic, not random.

The Result:
Same time investment. Completely different return.
Your content now compounds toward a goal instead of scattering in every direction.

Here's what changed for me:
I used to post whatever felt interesting that day.
Now I post with a specific outcome in mind.
My engagement stayed the same, but my opportunities tripled.
Because people finally understood what I do and why it matters.

Your move this week:
Define one commercial outcome you want from LinkedIn.
List three things people must believe about you to take that action.
Build 5 post ideas under each belief.
Now you have 15 strategic posts instead of random thoughts.

Stop posting consistently. Start posting strategically.

♻️ Repost this to help someone stop wasting time on LinkedIn.
👉 Follow Jason Osborn for more business, growth, and LinkedIn marketing tips.

Steve Jobs's 5 Life Truths That He Left Behind For The World.

Lessons From the Man Who Built one of the Most Valuable Companies Ever.

Steve Jobs didn't leave inspirational quotes for posters.
He left documented decisions that changed entire industries.
His actions contradicted conventional wisdom repeatedly and succeeded anyway.

Here are the 5 truths he proved:

🔷 Focus Means Saying No to Good Ideas
Jobs returned to Apple in 1997 facing 350 products.
He cut them down to 10 immediately and brutally.
Revenue dropped short term. The company survived long term.

Most leaders say yes to good ideas.
Jobs said no to everything except great ones.

🔷 Customers Don't Know What They Want
Jobs never used focus groups for product development.
Market research would have killed Apple's biggest innovations.

You can't ask customers about their future needs.
You have to show them what's possible before they know to want it.

🔷 Talent Density Beats Headcount Every Time
One excellent person equals fifty average ones.
Small teams of A players built products that changed the world.
Five brilliant people beat fifty competent ones consistently.

Jobs fired people who weren't extraordinary.
Not because they were bad, but because they weren't great.

🔷 Design Is How It Works, Not How It Looks
Jobs obsessed over details customers would never consciously notice.
Design was the entire experience, not decoration added later.
This thinking created products people loved, not just used.

Most companies make things pretty.
Jobs made things feel inevitable.

🔷 Distribution Channels Determine Product Success
Jobs opened Apple Stores when everyone said retail was dead.
He controlled the entire customer experience from start to finish.
Distribution became competitive advantage, not just logistics.

Most companies let others sell their products.
Jobs owned the entire journey.

The Jobs Standard:
Uncomfortable decisions create comfortable outcomes long term.
His principles created trillion dollar value by ignoring conventional wisdom completely.
These truths work because they're hard, not comfortable.

Your move:
Which good ideas do you need to say no to this week?
Which average people are you keeping instead of finding great ones?

Where are you following conventional wisdom instead of trusting your instinct?
Jobs didn't succeed by being safe.

He succeeded by being right when everyone else was wrong.
Which truth will you apply first?

♻️ Repost this to help someone think differently about building.
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Mark Cuban's 7 Game Changing Questions.

That Unlocked His Success (And How You Can Too).

Every billionaire has a decision making system.
Mark Cuban's? Seven brutal questions he asks daily.

Here's what separates his thinking from everyone else:

⚡ Question 1: What's the worst that can happen?
Most fear is imaginary. This question makes it concrete.
Unlocks fearless decision making and calculated risk taking.

⚡ Question 2: How can I do this for free?
Constraints breed creativity. Abundance breeds waste.
Unlocks creative resource allocation and bootstrap thinking.

⚡ Question 3: What would I pay to make this problem disappear?
If you wouldn't pay to solve it, it's not really a problem.
Unlocks true priority identification and value clarity.

⚡ Question 4: Am I solving a real problem or creating one?
Most businesses fail because they solve problems nobody has.
Unlocks market validation and demand verification.

⚡ Question 5: Can this work without me?
If it requires you forever, you built a job, not a business.
Unlocks scalable systems and true business value.

⚡ Question 6: What would a competitor do with this information?
Think like your competition before they think like you.
Unlocks strategic advantage and defensive positioning.

⚡ Question 7: Is this the best use of my time right now?
Time is the only resource you can't buy back.
Unlocks ruthless prioritization and exponential growth.

How Cuban Uses These:
✓ Asks before every major decision (not after)
✓ Writes answers down (thinking isn't enough)
✓ Reviews quarterly (are answers changing?)

The Math on This:
Cuban's daily investment: 15 minutes
His result: $5.7 billion net worth
Your investment: 15 minutes daily
Your potential return: Unlimited

What Changes:
Most people make decisions based on emotion or urgency.
Cuban makes decisions based on systematic questioning.
Most people react immediately. He thinks first, then acts deliberately.
Most people skip uncomfortable questions. He starts with them.

That's the gap between guessing and building something real.

Start With One:
Pick the question that makes you most uncomfortable.
That's probably the one you need to answer most.

Ask it before your next decision today.
Write the honest answer down where you'll see it.

Success isn't about having perfect answers.
It's about asking the right questions consistently.

Which question will you ask first?

♻️ Repost to help someone change the game.
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The 8 Communication Patterns That Made Warren Buffett a Billion Dollar Negotiator.

And How to Use Them This Week.

Buffett doesn't negotiate like most executives.
He built Berkshire Hathaway on conversation patterns anyone can replicate.

These eight techniques closed $500B+ in deals.
Here's how to use them starting Monday:

🔷 Simplify Ruthlessly
Buffett translates complexity into sixth grade language.

He never says "optimize capital allocation."
He says "buy wonderful companies at fair prices."

Your move: Rewrite your next proposal in plain English.
If a 12 year old can't understand it, simplify it.

🔷 Tell Stories
Buffett wraps concepts in memorable analogies.
Investment strategies become "economic moats" and "wonderful castles."
Stories stick. Statistics don't.

Add one story or metaphor per key point in your next pitch.

🔷 Frame Long Term
Buffett anchors every conversation to decade long outcomes.
Short term noise disappears when you discuss ten year value.

Start client meetings: "Where do you want to be in 2035?"
Watch how the conversation shifts immediately.

🔷 Admit Mistakes Fast
When wrong, he owns it immediately.
His shareholder letters detail mistakes by name.
This paradoxically builds credibility.

Next error: Send a two sentence apology within 24 hours.

🔷 Ask Questions
Buffett asks more than he tells.
"What makes this business special?" outperforms any statement.

Questions transfer ownership and uncover real concerns.
Replace three statements with questions in your next meeting.

🔷 Master Strategic Silence
He weaponizes pauses.
After stating price, he waits.

Silence creates pressure on the other party to fill space.
Practice: State your position, then stay quiet for 15 seconds.

🔷 Write Like You Talk
Read Buffett's letters aloud. They sound like conversation.
Contractions, simple words, active voice.
No one writes "utilize synergistic methodologies."

Read your emails aloud before sending.
If it sounds robotic, rewrite it.

🔷 Kill All Jargon
He bans business speak entirely.
Words like "leverage," "pivot," and "synergy" never appear.

Precision and clarity trump vocabulary signaling.
Delete any word you wouldn't say to your mother.

Here's what I've noticed:
Most business owners try to sound impressive in negotiations.
Buffett does the opposite. He sounds simple.
And simple is what people trust and remember.

Your move this week:
Pick two patterns to practice in your next conversation.
Simplify your language and ask more questions.
Watch how different the dynamic becomes.
Buffett's communication advantage isn't natural talent.

It's deliberate patterns anyone can copy.
Which pattern will you use first?

♻️ Repost this to help someone negotiate like Buffett.
👉 Follow Jason Osborn for more business, growth, and LinkedIn marketing tips.

Why Your "Unique Value Proposition" Sounds Like Everyone Else's.

And The 4 Questions That Actually Differentiate You.

"We deliver exceptional service with innovative solutions."
Congratulations. You sound exactly like your competitors.
64% of B2B value propositions are indistinguishable from each other.

They use the same buzzwords, make the same claims, promise the same vague benefits.
Your differentiation doesn't come from what you say.

It comes from what you can prove.
These four questions force specificity that competitors can't copy:

🔷 What Measurable Result Do You Create?
Generic: "We help companies improve performance."
Differentiating: "We reduce client acquisition costs by 23 to 31% within 90 days."

Notice the difference. One describes effort. The other quantifies outcome.
Replace every "we help" statement with a specific metric.
Add timeframes to every claimed result.

🔷 What Evidence Proves It?
Competitors make claims. You bring receipts.
Name the client. Show the before and after. Share the case study.

Evidence transforms marketing into proof.
Document three specific client outcomes this month.
Get permission to use names and numbers.

🔷 What Can You Do That Others Can't?
Don't list what you offer. Explain what you offer that competitors don't.
Wrong: "We have 20 years of experience."
Right: "We're the only firm with proprietary access to Fortune 500 procurement data."

True differentiation is structural, not aspirational.
Identify one capability your competitors literally cannot replicate.
Build your positioning around that single advantage.

🔷 Why Will This Advantage Last?
Sustainable differentiation comes from compounding assets.
Patents. Proprietary data. Network effects. Relationships that take years to build.
If competitors can copy your advantage in six months, it's not differentiation.
It's a head start.

Ask: "What gets stronger the longer we do this?"
Invest there relentlessly.

Generic vs Differentiating:
Generic: "Innovative solutions" → Everyone claims innovation
Differentiating: "We cut invoice processing time by 47% using our proprietary workflow"
Generic: "Client focused approach" → Meaningless without proof
Differentiating: "Our client retention rate is 94% over 5 years"
Generic: "Industry expertise" → Which industry? What expertise?
Differentiating: "We've closed 340 deals in telecom M&A, 3x more than any competitor"

Your move this week:
Answer all four questions honestly.
If you can't quantify results, you don't have differentiation yet.
If you can't prove it, it's just marketing speak.

Real differentiation is specific, provable, and hard to copy.

♻️ Repost this to help someone actually differentiate their business.
👉 Follow Jason Osborn for more business, growth, and LinkedIn marketing tips.

The Entrepreneurs Who Win Aren't the Ones With Perfect Plans.

They're the Ones Who Perfect Their Pivot.

I see business owners clinging to their original plan like it's sacred.

Market shifts. Customer needs change. Competition evolves.
But they keep executing the same strategy because "that was the plan."

That's not commitment. That's stubbornness.

The best entrepreneurs I know have pivoted multiple times.
Not because they failed. Because they adapted.

🔷 Perfect Plans Don't Survive Reality

Your business plan is a hypothesis, not a prophecy.
It's your best guess based on incomplete information.

The moment you launch, reality gives you better data.
→ Customers want something different than you built
→ The market moves faster than you expected
→ Your competitive advantage isn't what you thought

Sticking to the plan when the data says pivot is how businesses die.

🔷 Great Pivots Look Like This

Twitter started as a podcasting platform.
Instagram started as a location check in app.
Slack started as a gaming company.

None of those founders failed. They listened.

They saw what was working and doubled down.
They saw what wasn't and cut it.
That's not giving up. That's intelligent adaptation.

🔷 How to Know When to Pivot

Ask yourself honestly:
→ Is the market responding the way we expected?
→ Are we solving a problem people will pay for?
→ Is our growth coming from where we thought it would?

If the answer is no, your plan needs to change.

The faster you acknowledge it, the faster you can adapt.
Pivoting isn't admitting defeat. It's choosing survival over ego.

Here's what I've learned:

Business owners who succeed aren't more talented.
They're more willing to be wrong and adjust.
They fall in love with the problem, not the solution.
When the solution stops working, they find a better one.

Think about it:

What part of your business plan isn't working the way you expected?
Are you adapting or just hoping it gets better?
The market is giving you data every day.

Are you listening?

♻️ Repost this to help someone embrace the pivot.
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Why Amazon Wins: They Don't React to What You Want.

They Predict What You'll Want Next.

Most companies wait for customers to ask for something.
Then they build it.
Then they wonder why Amazon already shipped it six months ago.

Amazon doesn't wait for customers to ask.
They build what customers will want before customers know they want it.

That's not luck. That's a system.

Here's the Bezos playbook:

🔷 Analyze Patterns in Customer Behavior

Track buying signals before purchases actually happen.
→ Monitor search terms that don't convert yet
→ Study abandoned carts and browsing sequences
→ Map seasonal trends 18 months ahead

Amazon knows you'll need batteries before you do.
Most companies track what sold yesterday.

Amazon tracks what might sell tomorrow.

🔷 Hypothesize Future Needs

Build scenarios based on data, not gut feelings alone.

→ Create "what if" models for customer evolution
→ Test small with limited product launches first
→ Interview customers about tomorrow, not yesterday

Time investment: 2 to 3 hours monthly for scenario planning.

The question isn't "what do customers want today?"

It's "what will they want in 18 months?"

🔷 Execute Before Demand Spikes

Launch capabilities ahead of customer awareness completely.
→ Build infrastructure for problems customers haven't voiced
→ Invest in solutions 12 to 24 months early
→ Create categories that don't exist yet

Prime was built before customers asked for free shipping.
They saw the future and built for it.

Most companies wait for proof. Amazon moves on prediction.

🔷 Allocate Resources to Future, Not Just Present

Budget for prediction, not just reaction.

Old thinking: Spend based on current revenue streams only.
New thinking: Invest 20 to 30% in anticipatory capabilities.

Watch for this trap: Cutting "future" budgets during tight quarters.

That's when your competitors pull ahead.

🔷 Deploy at Scale Instantly

When prediction proves right, move fast immediately.

→ Pre built systems allow rapid expansion
→ Supply chains ready before demand arrives
→ Marketing campaigns prepared in advance

Speed compounds when you've already built the foundation.

You can't scale what you haven't prepared for.

Here's what most companies get wrong:

They study current customer needs obsessively.
They optimize for today's problems.
They react to market shifts after they happen.
Then they wonder why Amazon is always three steps ahead.

Amazon isn't smarter. They're just looking further ahead.

The question isn't whether customers will evolve.

The question is whether you'll be ready when they do.

Most companies wait until customers ask.
By then, Amazon already shipped it.

What will your customers need 12 months from now?

♻️ Repost this to help others think ahead instead of catch up.
👉 Follow Jason Osborn for more business, growth, and LinkedIn marketing tips.

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