Helping leaders navigate with greater clarity | National Geographic Explorer | United Nations Visionary Award Recipient | TED Speaker

Aloha, I’m Dr. Elizabeth Lindsey

I help leaders make clearer decisions when conditions keep changing.

In the Pacific, navigators call this wayfinding:
staying oriented in motion, reading what’s real, 
trusting your inner compass, and course-correcting calmly.

Many leaders are carrying high-stakes pressure:

• uncertainty without clear answers
• burnout they don’t talk about
• markets shifting faster than strategy
• the sense that the old map no longer fits

My work helps you:

• see clearly (inside and out)
• reduce decision overload and choose the next right step
• course-correct with steadiness as conditions change
• return to True North: values, meaning, alignment

I’m a National Geographic Explorer and anthropologist (PhD in ethnonavigation). 
I translate timeless wayfinding wisdom into practical frameworks for modern life.

I’m currently building a digital wayfinding companion for decision mastery. 
Planned release: mid-April 2026.

From those who’ve experienced my work:

“Elizabeth's timeless insights provided critical unlocks to our team and will no doubt do the same for a broad audience.” 

Ashley Grice, CEO BCG BrightHouse

"Elizabeth is a spellbinding presenter who embodies an inimitable coherence as a daring explorer, visionary, and courageous advocate for cultures around the world."

Dr. Chellie Spiller, Leader-in-Residence, Oxford University

"Elizabeth has greatly honored her cultural heritage. She is superbly qualified for her global quest to find and protect the essence of at-risk cultures." 

Captain Don Walsh, National Geographic, Ocean Elder

Dr. Elizabeth Lindsey

If it needs applause, it isn’t power. 
It’s performance.

Real power doesn't need to prove itself.

I watched this today with a developer 
who's built an empire over decades. 
A community leader and statesman.

He wasn't at a fundraiser or political event.

He was with his workers.

Pausing with each one. Hand to his heart. 
Quiet tips. Genuine compliments. 
Taking time to acknowledge their work.

He's more comfortable there than anywhere glitzy.

That's alignment over appearance.

This is what real power looks like:

1. It doesn't perform for an audience.
It shows up where it matters most.

2. It doesn't need volume to be heard.
Quiet confidence carries more weight 
than loud claims.

3. It doesn't chase validation.
It finds meaning in the work, 
not the applause.

You don't need to prove yourself to everyone.

You need to align with what's true for you.

The pressure to perform is universal. 
But the people who've built something real
stopped performing years ago.

They chose substance over spectacle.

The moment you stop seeking approval 
is the moment you start living.

Not louder. Not shinier.

Just aligned.

Repost this if alignment matters more than applause.

For more on building quiet strength,
join me, Dr. Elizabeth Lindsey.

Dr. Elizabeth Lindsey 

Kindness isn’t a brand.
It’s a backbone.

You can tell the difference.

Between kindness as strategy.
And kindness as a way of life.

We've professionalized connection 
to the point of exhaustion.

Every coffee is a networking opportunity.
Every conversation is personal brand building.
Every gesture has a return on investment.

And we wonder why we feel empty.

Years ago, I sat beside a woman on the metro.

I knew nothing about her.
She knew nothing about me.

I shared that I was about to leave on 
my first expedition and that I was afraid.

She listened deeply.

Then she said something I'll never forget:

"Though I may never travel like you do, I will 
be with you during the times that feel challenging."

No ask.
No angle.
No follow up.

Just presence.

That moment has stayed with me for years.

Not because it was strategic.
But because it was real.

The people who give without agenda 
aren't building a network.

They're building a life.

And that life touches others 
in ways no strategy ever could.

Repost to remind others: kindness without 
strategy is the most powerful kind.

Visual Credit: Mike Leber

For more on Brave Living, 
join me, Dr. Elizabeth Lindsey.

Most people waste years trying to prove their worth 
to those who've already decided not to see it.

Your value isn't determined by someone else's recognition.

Your capacity isn't limited by their vision.

Your potential isn't defined by their blind spots.

And that's not your problem to fix.

People stay in roles that drain them.
They chase promotions that never come.
They shrink themselves to fit someone else's vision.

Your job isn't to convince them.

Your job is to choose yourself when they don't.

This is what it looks like:

• Walking away from the company that overlooks you
• Building the thing they said wasn't possible
• Trusting your vision when no one else does
• Betting on yourself before anyone gives permission

The people who break through aren't the ones 
who finally got chosen.

They're the ones who stopped waiting.

They chose themselves first.
They built from that choice.
They never looked back.

Repost for those who want to choose themselves.

For daily insights of intentional leadership, 
join me, Dr. Elizabeth Lindsey.

If their kindness has conditions…
it was never kindness.

Some people are kind when it pays.
Others are kind because it's who they are.

You can feel the difference.

My 80-year-old CEO friend runs a vast company.
Yet, he remembers special days.
Shows up early.
Arranges everything himself.

Recently, he surprised my husband on his birthday.

He organized dinner.
Had everything prepped and ready
despite a schedule that would crush most people.

This is what matters most:

His kindness doesn't discriminate.
The janitor gets the same care as the board member.
The assistant gets the same respect as the executive.

He sees people. Not positions.

That's rare.

Most people have learned to be strategic 
with their attention.

They invest where it counts.
They network with purpose.
They’re kind when it serves them.

But authentic kindness has no agenda.

It shows up for people who can't return the favor.
It remembers the unseen and unacknowledged.
It treats human dignity as non-negotiable.

Watch for this in your life:
Who shows up when there's nothing to gain?
Who's kind to people who can't advance their career?

Those are the ones to cherish.

Share this to remind others that kindness 
without an agenda is rare and worth protecting.

For more on authentic living, 
join me, Dr. Elizabeth Lindsey.

Your value doesn't shrink when someone fails to see it.

Read that again.

Their confusion isn't your crisis.
Their doubt isn't your data.
Their inability to understand your choice 
doesn't make it wrong.

When you leave what others call success, 
they'll question you. 

When you pivot in ways 
they don't recognize, they'll dismiss you. 

When you choose differently, 
they'll tell you you're making a mistake.

None of that changes what you know to be true.

It's important to remember what helps 
when others can't see your worth:

1. Stop translating yourself for people 
who aren't listening.

2. Trust the discomfort that led you to change.

3. Remember: their lens is shaped 
by their fears, not your future.

4. Let your next move be the explanation.

5. Build toward what calls you, 
not what convinces them.

You don't need permission to trust yourself.
You don't need consensus to move forward.
You don't need their understanding to know your value.

The people who matter will see it.
The rest will catch up later.
Or they won't.

Either way, you keep going.

Remind others that their value isn't up for debate.

For more on quiet strength, 
join me, Dr. Elizabeth Lindsey.

Every expert you admire was once
exactly where you are.
Convinced they were too late.

The worst part about starting over isn't the failure.
It's watching everyone else succeed
while you're back at zero.

You're comparing their excellence to your beginning.

The only difference is they stopped treating beginners like a problem to solve.

They treated it like a place to learn from.

Being a beginner means you're brave enough to be terrible at something that matters.

Most people never give themselves that chance.

They'd rather stay good at something they've outgrown than be bad at something they want.

But mastery doesn't begin with skill.
It begins with courage.

Courage to not know.
Courage to look foolish.
Courage to ask obvious questions.

Without that courage, you'll quit before you start.

You're never going to feel ready.

Beginners don't feel ready.
They feel uncertain.

And they show up anyway.

What are you giving yourself courage to fail at?

Repost to remind others: starting over isn't falling behind.

For more on courage and growth,
join me, Dr. Elizabeth Lindsey.

Trust isn't built in a day.
But it can be lost in one.

Most leaders forget this.

They swap people like parts.
Then act surprised when no one stays.

Many of us know the feeling…

Working hard while others take credit.
Solving problems no one notices.
Staying late without acknowledgement.

It's not about wanting praise.
It's about being seen.

People don't disengage overnight.

They disengage after months of feeling invisible.
After their ideas get ignored.
After their effort goes unnoticed.

They stop volunteering.
They stop caring.
They start looking.

By the time you notice, they're gone.

Real acknowledgment isn't complicated:

1. Name the specific thing they did
2. Explain the impact it had
3. Say it in front of others

Not generic praise.
Not annual reviews.
Not gift cards.

Actual recognition of their work.

Growth isn't a perk.
It's proof someone matters.

When people feel valued, they stay.
When they feel replaceable, they leave.

Share this as a reminder:
People leave places where they feel invisible.

For more on intentional leadership, 
join me, Dr. Elizabeth Lindsey.

You don't need different courage.
You need the same courage.
Twice.

The courage to leave what's not for you anymore 
is the same courage that will help you 
find your way to what is.

Most people think walking away is the hard part.

It's not.

The hard part is trusting yourself after you've left.

Because leaving creates a gap.

And in that gap, you'll question everything:

- Did I make the right choice?
- Am I capable of what comes next?
- What if I can't find my way?

After years of starting over, 
this is what I've learned:

The courage you used to leave didn't disappear.
It's still there.
You just have to use it again.

Not to walk away this time.
But to walk toward what you seek.

3 truths about courage after the leap:

1. It doesn't get easier. You get stronger.
2. The fear of staying wrong 
is worse than the fear of starting new.
3. You already proved you can do hard things.

The identity you're leaving behind 
isn't who you are.

It's who you were.

And the courage to let that go 
is the same courage that will build what's next.

You don't need to find new strength.
You need to trust the strength you've already shown.

Is there something you recently left behind?

Repost to remind others: 
courage doesn't run out, it redirects.

Visual credit: BossBabe

For more on Mastery and Mindset, 
join me, Dr. Elizabeth Lindsey.

Your life changes when your circle changes.
Start with these five.

Most people don't lose momentum
because they lack talent.

They lose it because their circle s
topped challenging them.

Not in skills. In courage.
In how high you're willing to reach.

You need people who make you braver and better.

5 types of people who elevate you:

1. The Inspired

They see possibility when you see obstacles.
Their belief in what's possible pulls you forward.

2. The Passionate

They care deeply. Their energy is contagious.
They remind you that work without meaning is just motion.

3. The Motivated

They take action. They don't just talk about change. They create it.
Their discipline becomes your standard.

4. The Grateful

They see what's working. They ground you when everything feels uncertain.
Their perspective steadies you when pressure builds.

5. The Open-Minded

They challenge your thinking. They ask the questions you're avoiding.
Their questions reveal blind spots you didn't know you had.

These people don't make the journey easier.
They make you better.

The Audit

Write down the 5 people you spend the most time with.

Ask: Do they expand my thinking or reinforce my limits?

Identify one person who challenges you.
Spend more time with them.

Identify one person who drains you.
Create distance.

Find one gap in your circle.
Seek out someone who fills it.

Your circle isn't decoration. It's navigation.

When was the last time you audited yours?

Repost to remind others: who you surround yourself 
with shapes who you become.

For more on alignment and intentional leadership, 
join me, Dr. Elizabeth Lindsey.

You carry a fire inside you.
You've always had it.
Even when you couldn't name it.

It's the thing that makes you reach higher.
The thing that won't let you settle.
The thing that keeps you awake at night.

That fire isn't restless ambition.
It's your compass.

The moment you stop treating it like something to 
manage and start using it to light your path forward...

Everything shifts.

You stop waiting for permission.
You stop second-guessing your vision.
You stop making yourself smaller to fit into rooms
that were never built for you.

The fire you carry does three things:

1. It shows you the path others can't see yet.
2. It gives you the courage to walk it first.
3. It becomes a beacon to light the way for many.

People who change things don't dim their intensity.
They don't apologize for seeing further.
They don't shrink their vision to match consensus.

They use their fire to illuminate what's possible.

Your fire has been waiting for you to trust it.
To follow it without apology.
To let it burn bright enough to serve the world.

You don't need to become someone else.
You already carry everything you need.

The only question is:
will you use it?

Share these insights to remind others:
Their fire is their compass.

Visual Credit: Case Kenny

For more on Mastery and Mindset,
join me, Dr. Elizabeth Lindsey.

Your legacy isn't your title.
It's how people feel 
when you leave the room.

Some years ago, I learned something on a canoe 
that changed how I see leadership.

Onboard, we are only as safe as the weakest link. 
One person's uncertainty can destabilize everyone. 

But when the navigator remains steady, calm, 
generous with guidance,
the entire crew finds their courage.

Organizations are no different.

In navigation, we learn that true power 
doesn't announce itself. It shows up 
in quiet presence and a generous spirit.

When conditions shift and storms approach, 
the navigator who remains steady, who turns 
inward rather than performs outward,
gives their crew the courage to do the same.

The leaders people remember aren't the loudest 
in the room. They're the ones who made others 
feel steadier. Braver. More capable.

I've watched this in boardrooms and on canoes.

They remain calm, ask thoughtful questions, 
and make space for others to find their own strength.

If you're in transition right now, 
questioning what you'll be remembered for, 
this matters more than you think.

Your resume will be forgotten.
Your title will be reassigned.

But the way you made someone feel
becomes part of who they are.

You don't need a bigger platform to leave a mark. 
You need a more generous presence.

Remind others that their presence is their legacy.

For more insights on clarity and purpose, 
join me, Dr. Elizabeth Lindsey.

Your old habits crave comfort.
Your new standards demand better.
Pick one.

The hardest battle is between both.

Most people think change is about 
adding something. It's not.
It's about loss.

Every time you raise the bar, 
something has to fall away.

The version of you that said 'yes' to everything. 
The identity you built around being needed. 
The comfort of knowing exactly who you are.

Change asks you to grieve while you grow.

And nobody talks about that part.

We're told to level up, transform, become. 
But we're not told that becoming 
requires unbecoming first.

3 things I've learned:

1. The old habit served you once.

It wasn't wrong. 
It kept you safe, accepted, loved. 
Honor what it gave you before you let it go.

2. The discomfort isn't a sign you're failing.

It's a sign you're between identities. 
That feeling of not quite fitting anywhere
is growth happening in real time.

3. You don't replace habits all at once.

You grieve one. Then build one. 
Then grieve another.
It's slow. It's messy. It's supposed to be.

The battle isn't about willpower.
It's about making space for who you're becoming.

Repost this to remind others that 
change requires loss before it creates growth.

For more on navigating transitions, 
join me, Dr. Elizabeth Lindsey.

Start before you feel ready.
Scared is fine.
Messy is normal.

You don't need to be prepared.
You need to be willing.

Two truths about starting:

1. Messy action beats perfect planning.

Your first attempt won't be polished.
It won't be impressive.
It might even fail.

But it will teach you what no amount of preparation can.

Start with what you have right now.
Take one small step today, not tomorrow.
Let imperfection teach you.

2. Exhaustion isn't a stop sign.

You're tired because you're carrying too much, 
not because you lack capacity.

Starting doesn't require full energy reserves.
It requires one decision.

Choose the smallest possible next move.
Build momentum before you build the plan.
Movement creates the energy for rest.

I led my first National Geographic expedition 
after losing my husband.

No financial security.
No experience leading at that scale.
Just a commitment to begin.

I was terrified.
I was unprepared.
But I started anyway.

That expedition taught me 
what years of planning never could have.

The people who move forward aren't smarter 
or more prepared. They just decided to start 
before they felt ready.

What's one messy step you can take?

Repost to remind others: 
starting imperfect beats waiting forever.

For more on Brave Living, 
join me, Dr. Elizabeth Lindsey.

The strongest people I know
aren't the ones who never break.

They're the ones who stopped trying
to control how others see them.

Most people think mental strength means
building walls higher.

It's not.

It's about needing fewer people
to validate your worth.

For more years than I can count,
I put the opinions of others 
ahead of my own.

It always ended badly.

I spent valuable energy
taking every slight personally.
Every delayed response.
Every meeting where I wasn't heard.

Replaying conversations.
Analyzing tone.
Wondering what I did wrong.

Then something shifted.

I stopped needing life to be fair
and started working with what was real.

I learned to feel angry
without becoming the anger.

To walk into boardroom chaos
with the calm of someone who knows
their value isn't up for debate.

I quit explaining myself
to people determined 
to misunderstand me.

Started focusing on solutions
while others stayed stuck in problems.

The revelation:

Mental strength isn't about
how much pressure you can withstand.

It's about recognizing
what deserves your energy
and what doesn't.

It's knowing when to walk away
without needing applause
for your boundaries.

Real resilience is quiet.

It's believing in your path
when the room falls silent.

Repost for those ready to stop
performing strength 
and start embodying it.

For daily insights on intentional leadership,
join me, Dr. Elizabeth Lindsey.

"May you never lose the drive 
to pursue the things you love 
no matter how hard it gets."

It's important to remember
you're not alone.

It gets hard for all of us.

At different points.
And in different ways.

The question isn't whether it will get hard.
It's whether you'll keep going anyway.

I've led expeditions far beyond my abilities. 
The difficulty wasn't the point. 
The pursuit was.

1. The drive doesn't disappear. 
It gets buried under doubt.

2. Hard doesn't mean impossible. 
It means you're stretching.

3. What you love 
will ask everything of you. 

4. You don't need certainty. 
You need commitment.

5. The exhaustion is real. 
So is your capacity.

6. Alignment matters 
more than ease.

7. Your compass still works, 
even when you can't see the path.

The things worth pursuing don't get easier.

You get stronger, clearer, steadier.

And that's how you keep the drive alive.

Not by avoiding the hard parts.
By remembering why you started.

I'd love to know what keeps you going 
when things get hard.

Share to remind others: 
that the pursuit is worth it.

For more on courage, alignment, 
and inner steadiness, join me, 
Dr. Elizabeth Lindsey.

You don't need permission.
You need belief.
And a system that holds you steady.

The blueprint isn't complicated.
It's believing in yourself when the path isn't clear.

The cheat code isn't sexy.
It's discipline and consistency when no one's watching.

Most people wait for external validation.
They wait for the right moment and perfect plan.
Someone to tell them they're ready.

This is what I believe changes everything:

You already have what it takes.
You just need to trust it.

5 ways to build belief and stay consistent:

1. Readiness is a myth. Momentum is real.
Belief grows through action, not waiting.

2. Create non-negotiables.
Discipline isn't motivation. It's structure.

3. What you measure, you trust. 
What you trust, you repeat.
Consistency compounds when you see progress.

4. Remove decision fatigue.
Build systems that make the right choice automatic.

5. Anchor to your values.
When belief wavers, your compass steadies you.

You don't need a rescue.
You need to remember who you are.

Which of these could you act on?

Repost to remind others: 
belief is built, not borrowed.

Visual credit: House of Investors

For more on intentional leadership 
and personal mastery, join me, 
Dr. Elizabeth Lindsey.

We're drowning in opportunity.
We've convinced ourselves that 
"more" equals "success." 

More projects. 
More meetings. 
More features.

We wear our exhaustion like a badge of honor.

But this is a lie.

If you look closely at the things that change the world, you won't find a list of 100 things done reasonably well.

You'll find one thing done spectacularly.

I once worked with a leader who said "no" to nearly every opportunity that crossed her desk. Her team thought she was missing out.

But while others were scattered across a dozen initiatives, she was building something that actually mattered.

That precision changed everything.

Focus is not about what you add. It is about what you cut away.

It's the courage to look at a hundred good ideas and say "no" to ninety-nine of them, just to protect the one idea that truly matters.

Stop trying to do everything.

Ask yourself: What is the one thing that, if I did it with complete focus, would make everything else easier or irrelevant?

Then protect it with everything you have.

Most of the pressure is imagined.
Most of the power isn't.

You're scanning the horizon for threats.
Market shifts. AI disruption. Budget cuts.
The list keeps growing.

And somewhere in that scan, 
you stopped looking inward.

Here's what happens when everything feels like 
it's working against you:

You forget what you've already survived.

The disruption you navigated in 2020.
The pivot you made when the industry shifted.
The confidence you lost and found again.

You're not fragile.

When you start something rigorous, 
you're convinced it will break you. 
You underestimate your own capacity.

The work is hard.
But you're harder.

You're probably overestimating 
what's going on against you and 
underestimating what is within you.

The threats are real.
The pressure is real.
The exhaustion is real.

But so is your capacity.

You've built more than you remember.
You've adapted more than you realize.
You've endured more than you give yourself credit for.

The external noise doesn't define your capability.

What's one thing you've survived that you forgot 
you're strong enough to handle?

Repost to remind others: 
the threats are real, but so is your strength.

For more on navigating uncertainty with clarity 
and quiet strength, join me, Dr. Elizabeth Lindsey.

It's scary because it's new.
Not because you're incapable.

I'm making a pivot in my life.
Leaving a role I've had for 17 years.
Developing the idea for a new company.

The hesitation is real.
It isn't proof I can't do it.

It's proof I'm stepping into unfamiliar territory.

As an Explorer, I've stepped into unfamiliar territories often.

Many of us confuse newness with inability.

"I'm scared, so I must not be ready."
"I'm uncertain, so I must lack what it takes."
"I'm uncomfortable, so I should stay where I am."

It's not true.

Fear doesn't measure your capability.
It measures the gap between what you know 
and what's next.

The gap is supposed to be there.

Every transition requires you 
to move through unfamiliar ground.

Every pivot asks you to trust yourself 
before you have proof.

The discomfort isn't a warning sign.
It's a sign you're growing.

You're not incapable.
You're just standing at the edge of something new.

It takes more courage to move forward 
than to stay where you are.

Remind others that their next chapter 
is waiting on the other side of that fear.

For more on making transitions with clarity, 
join me, Dr. Elizabeth Lindsey.

Want to grow your business? Craft and share a story that connects with your customers. DM me to learn how.

This is what happens when you learn something new. 

It’s 6:25 am. I am sitting in my green chair.

I get my phone out of my pocket and put it in front of my face.  It tells me that it can't recognize my face, so I type in my pass code. The home screen is full of apps, and I take a second to find the app I want to open. 

It’s the Kindle app.  It opens to page 263 of 481. I am about 57% done. 

The book I am reading is called Very Good Copy, by Eddy Shleyner. It’s about copywriting. Copywriting is the discipline of writing ads, advertisements, and website content to sell products. 

The chapter I am about to read is called Writing Immersive Stories.  It begins with a story about a hospital visit. Eddie talks about his experience just before and right after surgery. He then breaks down a technique for writing stories called “realism.” 

He offers two more examples. I read them. I can’t stop. The technique is so effective that my mind won’t let me put my phone down. 

I finish the chapter, and I feel empowered. Inspired.  Excited.  I learned something new today.

Learning something will make you feel that way, excited, empowered. But that is not the end of it. When you apply what you learn and get results, the feelings of success and accomplishment can often overwhelm you and send you jumping up and down like a little kid. 

The key is to apply the learning.  And over the years, that’s what I’ve done. 

When I learned communication and writing, I:

🔹 Improved the lives of thousands of my readers
🔹 Built an audience of 55k+ people 
🔹 Written 850+ posts

When I learned product management, I: 

🔹 Led $10M + enterprise software modernization projects
🔹 Mentored and coached dozens of product managers
🔹 Build 18+ software products

When I learned strategic thinking, I: 

🔹 Reduced time-to-market from months to weeks for a Fortune 500 client
🔹 Saved companies over $100M+ in operating expenses
🔹 Enhanced customer service efficiency by 30%

And much more. 

Learning can transform you and your career in unimaginable ways. All you need is an open mind and a willingness to put what you learned into practice.

If you are: 

→ Overwhelmed by chaotic meetings
→ Under pressure to deliver outstanding results
→ Burnout from excessive workloads

🔥 Then send me a DM and we can figure out how I can help you.

Terry Danylak

Leaders act different. 
Leaders learn different.
Leaders perform different. 

🔥 Leaders think different and that’s a fact. 

Here are 12 unmistakable signs you’re already a leader:

1/ Insatiable Curiosity
Leaders always ask insightful questions. 

2/ Empathy
Leaders understand and care about the people they lead.

3/ Open Mindedness
Leaders try to understand before making decisions.

4/ Integrity
Leaders act as a moral compass for their team.

5/ High Creativity
Leaders let their imagination find the answers to problems.

6/ Humility
Leaders admit their mistakes when they are wrong.

7/ High Adaptability
Leaders aren’t afraid of uncertainty.

8/ Resilience
Leaders learn from setbacks and come back stronger. 

9/ Strong Self-Control
Leaders avoid rash decisions and take their time.

10/ Accountability
Leaders create a culture of responsibility and trust. 

11/ Relentless Focus
Leaders set goals and work hard to achieve them.

12/ Vision
Leaders look ahead and inspire others to greatness.

These signs are born out of skills that took years, sometimes decades to develop. 

Top leaders have developed all of these skills. 
And so can you.  

—

Get my best guides and infographics:
https://lnkd.in/geecrqWp

—

🦁 Follow Terry Danylak for more content like this!
♻️ Repost if this hits home for you.

Founder @ StrategyShift • I help teams move faster, waste less, and deliver more • Lean Management Consulting • Delivered $100M+ in savings for enterprises

Got an interview coming up? 
It’s best to prepare ahead of time. 

The more you study, the less nervous you’ll be. 

🔥 Save this cheat sheet and crush your next job interview.

1️⃣ Tell me about a time you went above and beyond at work.

↳ Tell a story to highlight your dedication to the company and willingness to go beyond expectations. Highlight the problem and your solutions.

2️⃣ How would you handle an unexpected deadline?

↳ Deadlines are a part and parcel of everyday work. Explain why you think deadlines are necessary. Talk about how you would reprioritize work to meet the new deadline.

3️⃣ Tell me about a time you’ve exceeded expectations. 

↳ This question is similar to the above and beyond one. Begin by describing a situation and expected results. Explain how you realized that you could do more and what you did to get it done. 

4️⃣ How do you handle working in a fast-paced environment?

↳ Some places never let up. This question is about how you handle the pressure of delivering results day in and day out. Share a story of how you’ve done it. They are looking for go-getters.

5️⃣ How would you prioritize competing tasks?

↳ This is related to the multiple projects questions. The answer to this is value. Explain how you would select the task that creates the most value. Mention how you’d ask your boss for input. 

6️⃣ What is your favourite project management methodology?

↳ This is a test of your knowledge. Your goal is to explain what you use every day to manage work. Focus on the process and explain why it’s the right methodology for your work. 

7️⃣ Describe a time when you received negative feedback.

↳ Can you handle negative feedback? Tell a story about when you received negative feedback from your boss or colleagues and share the steps you took to improve yourself as a result.

8️⃣ In what role do you see yourself in the future? 

↳ Are you looking to stay at the company and grow, or is this just a transient role for you? Every manager wants dependability. Show them that you plan on growing with the company. 

9️⃣ Tell me about a time you had to manage multiple projects. 

↳ Multitasking is a myth. Handling multiple projects is about prioritization and focusing on value creation first. Explain your prioritization framework and methodology, and why you prefer it.

🔟 Why did you leave your previous job or company? 

↳ This question is testing your integrity and honesty. They want to see if there is bad blood between you and your previous employer. Don’t speak poorly about past roles.

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There is one word that could describe how to instantly improve results:

🔥 Clarity

I was sitting in a strategy planning meeting, completely lost.

While reviewing our initiatives, a collection of intelligent-sounding sentences, I was left wondering how we could make any of this happen. 

We finished the session and went on our merry way, thinking the job was done.

Three years later, the strategy document was collecting e-dust in the cloud, while none of the initiatives had even started. 

We created a strategic intent. It had everything you’d want out of a strategy document. 

It had: 

✓ A Vision 
✓ A Mission
✓ Initiatives
✓ Objectives
✓ Areas of Focus

It had everything except clarity and the actual plan of action. 

📌 But creating strategic intent is not enough.

There are five steps in the creation of a strategic plan: 

1/ Understand the environment
2/ Create strategic intent
3/ Formulate the strategy
4/ Implement the strategy
5/ Evaluate the strategy

Creating strategic intent, step 2, is setting goals. I’d say it’s the easy part. 

”We want to grow our shoe-selling business by 20%.”

It took me 3 seconds to write this goal. 

The hard part is formulating the strategy. 

✨ Formulating the Strategy
This is about the how. How to achieve the goals you’ve set while creating strategic intent. It’s about the tactics.

There are several tools you can use to help you figure out how to achieve your strategy:

1️⃣ Impact vs. Effort Matrix
Evaluate every action item using this matrix. 
The goal is to identify tactics that will provide the biggest impact for the least effort. 

2️⃣ Explore Adjacent Areas
Look for new and uncommon ways to solve old problems. 
New channels to explore, existing capabilities to rebuild. Rank them by effort and impact. 

3️⃣ Use Sources of Power
As presented by Richard Rummelt, these are the nine tools you can use as a force multiplier to help you achieve your strategic goals.

The most useful tool I’ve employed when formulating the strategy has been the Impact vs Effort Matrix. 

📌 DM me if your strategic planning process needs an outside perspective. 

This is a five-part series. 
Tune in next week to get the fourth part.

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Implementation is where strategic intent lives or dies. 

A German general, Helmuth von Moltke, once said that: 

”No plan of operations extends with any certainty beyond the first encounter with the main enemy forces.”

This, rather difficult to read, statement was later shortened by Correlli Barnett to:

”No plan survives contact with the enemy.”

📌 Strategy is not tested on paper, but in the real world. 

The enemies in this case are: 

▸ Market trends
▸ Internal politics
▸ Technology changes

And many more. 

— 

There are several tools you could adopt to make the implementation more effective. 

These are: 

✓ Effective Project Management
✓ Effective communication
✓ Key Performance Indicators. 

Each tool is designed to help you define what needs to be done and ensure the implementation stays on track. 

If used well, KPIs could become useful tools to help you measure your teams progress toward strategic goals. 

📌 DM me if your strategic planning process needs an outside perspective. 

This is a five-part series. 
Tune in next week to get the fifth part.

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Dare To Imagine. Dare To Dream.
(Lessons from Albert Einstein)

Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist. 
He is best known for developing the theory of relativity. 

1️⃣ Explore
Look around. Ask questions. The world is always changing, and old maps lead you to abandoned places.

Pay attention to:

• How people work
• What people say 
• How people think

🔥 You’ll be surprised at how much you still don’t know 

2️⃣ Stay Humble
If you’re unsure, ask questions. If you’re confident, offer an opinion. Always give credit where it’s due.

The benefits of being humble:

• People will respect you
• People will listen to what you say
• People will tell other people about you

🔥 People might believe the braggart one time, but they will follow a humble leader all the time.

3️⃣ Make It Simple
Complex solutions may look more convincing or valuable, but it’s only a mirage. Simplicity is where value lives. 

Simplicity wins because:

• It’s easy to understand
• It’s easy to implement
• It’s easy to explain

🔥 Our complex world is built with trillions of simple things chained together.

4️⃣ Ask Questions

Unsure of the answer. Ask a question.
Can’t solve the issue. Ask a question.
See something new. Ask a question.

When you ask questions, you:

• You look smarter 
• You get the right answer
• You achieve results faster

🔥 Always ask questions. Always. 

5️⃣ Keep Going
Failure is learning. And learning is success. Therefore failure is success. Try. Fail. Learn. Succeed.

Failure will:

• Teach you the right lesson
• Make you resilient to future failures
• Show you a better path to a solution

🔥 Ask yourself, how many times have I failed today? And if the answer is none, that means you haven’t learned anything today. 

—

Bonus Lesson.

6️⃣ Dare To Dream

Dare to dream.  
Dare to imagine.
Dream about a better future. 
Imagine yourself making it happen.

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5 Lessons From Albert Einstein

How to write professional emails, 
And appear competent to your colleagues.

8 Tips For Professional Email Etiquette 

Poorly written emails are: 

⇒ Hard to read
⇒ Needlessly wordy
⇒ Unclear next steps
⇒ Missing call to action

A well-written email helps you come across as:

⇒ More capable 
⇒ A strategic thinker
⇒ A strong communicator

Writing a professional, easy-to-read email takes time.

 

Here are 8 tips to help you write better emails faster:

1️⃣ Include a CTA in your subject

Make it easy for them to understand what they need to do.
Include the time it takes to do it. 

Ex: [5 Min] Review the Acme Inc. proposal

2️⃣ One topic per thread

Keep email exchanges on a related topic in one thread. 
Think of the first email as a post and subsequent emails as comments. 

3️⃣ Lead with the main point

Put the most relevant point first.
Then, provide the necessary context below. 

4️⃣ Always proofread the email

Proofread your email before hitting. 
Avoid the embarrassment of misspelled words.

5️⃣ Confirm your understanding

Summarize your understanding in the reply email.
Ensure that you understand the context and the ask. 

6️⃣ Hyperlink all links

When sending links in email, make them clickable.
Highlight the link and click Ctrl-K or Cmd-K (on Mac).

7️⃣ Change the reply-to setting

Change your default reply-to setting to “Reply.”
This will spare you a headache in the future. 

8️⃣ Keep it short

Keep emails short and sweet. 
Don’t overwhelm the recipient with unnecessary details.

Email is still King, Queen and Emperor of communication:

✅ It’s quick and accessible
✅ It’s easy to learn and use
✅ It’s the biggest value creator in business

And it will never go away. 

Use these tips to level up your email skills. 

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I have a dream that one day…
(Lessons from Martin Luther King)

Martin Luther King was an American hero and a civil rights activist. 
He was a leader of the civil rights movement from 1955 to 1968.

1️⃣ Take The First Step
The future is unknown, but your future can be shaped. Take the first step, and you will build it in your image.

Don’t be afraid to:

• Fail on your first try
• Have others laugh at you
• Try again until you succeed

🔥 A movement of a million people starts with one person’s first step.

2️⃣ Start Small
All great accomplishments start as small achievements done in a great way. Start something small, do it well, and it will turn into a great thing.

Do great small things:

• Write one scene of your novel
• Help someone cross the street
• Give a speech to colleagues at work

🔥 Every great achievement began with a tiny experiment.

3️⃣ Help Others
Happiness is not a thing you achieve. It is a state of being that comes from making other people happy. 

Help others because:

• It’s the right thing to do
• It’s the best thing you can do
• It’s the one thing that could inspire you

🔥 No one who’s helped others first has walked away unhappy from that experience. 

4️⃣ Stand Up
When unfairness and bigotry rule the world, the heroes stand up and challenge the tyranny, no matter where it comes from. 

Stand up when:

• You see injustice being done
• You’re treated unfairly by others
• You’ve others suffer and need your help

🔥 If you don’t, no one else will, and the world will become a darker place.

5️⃣ Dream Big
The one thing that will help you get through the difficult days is to have a dream. Better yet, to have a noble purpose to help your people.

Dream big to:

• Achieve your goals
• Help others achieve theirs
• Make this world a better place

🔥 Those who have big dreams make them come true. 

—

Bonus Lesson.

6️⃣ Speak For Yourself

Don’t let the ignorant and the sinister reshape your world because you were afraid to speak up, and they weren’t.

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5 Lessons from Martin Luther King

How To Solve Complex Problems. 
Use design thinking. 

Design thinking is a set of processes used to uncover innovative solutions to complex design problems.

It was popularized by Hasso Plattner, co-founder of SAP, and others as a method for building software that was actually useful to its users. 

🔥 It can be applied to areas outside of design.

I’ve used it to solve day-to-day management and operations problems for over a decade.

The Five Stages of Design Thinking: 

1️⃣ Empathize
Assess the environment, engage with the people, understand their needs.

2️⃣ Define
Analyze your observations and define the problem to be solved. 

3️⃣ Ideate
Think of solutions to each aspect of the problem you’ve identified.

4️⃣ Prototype
Develop a prototype for a select set of solutions to test each approach.

5️⃣ Test
Test each solution by applying it in the real world scenarios.

Here’s how you can get started with Design Thinking:

▸ Think about the problem environment
▸ Identify & frame the real problem
▸ Brainstorm and ideate solutions
▸ Prototype by bringing ideas to life
▸ Test your solutions and refine them

Give Design thinking a try next time you are faced with a challenging problem. 

📌 And if you want to improve how your team thinks and delivers results, send me a DM. 

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A large chunk of every manager’s daily routine is taken up by overseeing work, ensuring the team stays on track. 

This is one functions of management. 

📌 Monitoring
Overseeing progress, collecting feedback and ensuring the team is on track. 

Effective monitoring can be the difference between getting the right results on time and wasting weeks of effort on work that creates little value. 

To be sure, monitoring is not: 

❌ Requiring constant updates
❌ Setting unrealistic expectations
❌ Looking for mistakes in every result

Those our sure signs of a micromanagement and not a great way to lead and manage a team. 

Monitoring is:

✅ Measuring process performance
✅ Establishing performance standards
✅ Taking corrective or preventative measures 

Monitoring is ensuring the work being done is leading towards a desired result.

The first step in ensuring the monitoring is done well is benchmarking. 

🔥 Benchmarking
A technique used to enhance the performance of the team by studying successful tasks and initiating improvements. 

Here’s how to start: 

1/ Assess Weaknesses
Figure out which process slows down the team.

2/ Establishing the Benchmark
Measure how long it takes to complete it.

3/ Identify Improvements
Brainstorm and identify possible improvements that could speed up team performance.

4/ Gather Data
Implement improvements and measure the rate of change to find the best improvement.

5/ Implement Change
Based on benchmarked data, implement the new process improvement.

6/ Monitor 
Monitor, measure and compare new metrics to existing benchmark. Improve as needed.

Once you have benchmarking process setup, it’s easy to measure performance and improve necessary processes. 

—

Management consists of five distinct functions:

1/ Planning
2/ Organizing
3/ Directing 
4/ Monitoring
5/ Improving

This is a five-part series. 
Tune in next week to get the fifth part.

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How to write concisely,
Without spending years trying to become a copywriter.

😬 I used to write walls of text.

There were paragraphs upon paragraphs of sentences upon sentences of words upon words that were hard to read and extremely boring. 

And nobody read my writing. 

I thought it was my fault. I thought that what I shared wasn't complete. That it wasn’t useful enough.

But then I learned the ultimate truth. It's not just the words, it's how you use them.

🔥 How you write is almost as important as what you write about.

By studying the copywriting gurus, I learned the 5 rules that changed how I write. These five rules made my content easier to read, more valuable, and more interesting.

Here they are:

1> Make It Simple
2> Cut The Fat
3> Start With A Bang
4> Keep It Short
5> Be Anglo-Saxon

Check out the tips in the carousel.

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How To Write Concisely

7 Thinking Models of Top Performers
Adopt them to improve decision making skills. 

🔥 Top performers think different. That’s a fact. 

But how do they do it? 

Charlie Munger, a premier investor and partner of Warren Buffett, employed the Inversion thinking model in his business and every day life. 

Nassim Taleb, the author of The Black Swan and Skin in the Game books, talks about second-order effects and how to apply second-order thinking in your life. 

Many other successful individuals employ,

✓ First Principles thinking
✓ Occam’s Razor
✓ Design thinking

to help them make important decisions every day. 

Here are the 7 thinking models: 

1️⃣ First Principles Thinking
Breakdown complex problems into their smaller, fundamental parts. 

2️⃣ Second Order Thinking
Think about the ripple effects of your actions and decisions in the long term. 

3️⃣ Design Thinking
An iterative process to find progressively better solutions to your problems.

4️⃣ Inversion Thinking
Identify what you don’t want to happen and find ways to avoid that outcome.

5️⃣ Thought Experiments
Explore impossible ideas without placing constraints of the real world on your thinking.

6️⃣ Occam’s Razor
Of all possible explanations, the one with the fewest assumptions is the right one. 

7️⃣ Circle of Competence
Understand where you have an edge over others so you outperform others and win.

Check out the carousel for tips on how to employ each of these models. 

📌 My Favourite is Inversion Thinking. 
It’s simple.  

Ask: What do I need to do to guarantee failure?
Then: Do the opposite. 

What thinking models do you use? 

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7 Thinking Models

Management consists of five distinct functions:

1/ Planning
2/ Organizing
3/ Directing 
4/ Monitoring
5/ Improving

While all are equally important, it is the directing part that is most often overlooked when managers ply the skills of their trade. 

📌 Directing
Communicating objectives, aligning the team to a common vision and delegating work.

The main job of this function is to create clarity.

Clarity around: 

✓ What to do
✓ How to do it 
✓ When to do it
✓ Who to involve
✓ What is needed

If the manager’s job is to delegate work, providing clarity is the essence of effective delegation. 

But clarity alone is not a guarantee of success. 

To direct people to get results, managers should understand and learn when to use the five sources of power. 

🔹 Five Sources of Managers’ Power. 
Great managers know which kind of power should be fostered and which should be avoided.

✦ Legitimate
Derived from the position of the manager.

✦ Reward
The ability to control rewards like bonuses, vacations and salary increases.

✦ Coercive
Like dismissal or demotion. Used to deliver punishment to increase performance.

✦ Expert
Comes from experience, specialist skills, and competence in a specific area. 

✦ Respect
Derived from trust and respect the manager has earned from his team and colleagues.

Managers who understand how to delegate with clarity and when to use which source of their power climb the career ladder at neck-breaking speed. 

—

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I’m learning Spanish. It’s been a few months, and I am starting to recognize bits of other people’s conversations. 

But I can’t speak it yet. There are a few reasons. 

• I don’t know enough words
• It takes a few moments for me to remember words I already know
• I feel embarrassed when I am trying to speak

It will take time to address the first two reasons. I will have to learn more words and practice recalling them when trying to speak. 

The last reason can be addressed immediately. 

Whenever I try doing something new, my first thought is always ‘I’m going to look like a fool.’ 

It often prevents me from trying new things right away because I want to be good at it first. I don’t want others to think that I am a fool. It’s a normal human reaction, and I know many people go through it when they learn new things. 

But, I know that if I wanted to get good at something, I have to keep trying even if I feel like a fool when I'm doing it. 

Easier said than done… right? 

Wrong. 

I’ve found the easiest way to get rid of this feeling, once and for all. 

Before I try doing something new and when there are people around, I’ll say to them: “I’m learning/trying/doing this new thing, so please forgive my mistakes, and I’d appreciate any feedback.”

And 99% of times (actually 100% of the time) I get a positive response, encouragement and amazing feedback. 

The one lesson I take from all of this experience is thus:

🔥 A foolish beginner is an accomplished master in the making. 

So go out there, look foolish, and you’ll become a master in no time. 

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There is a well-known saying:
You are the average of the 5 people you hang out with.

The quote is generally attributed to Jim Rohn, the author of the 12 Pillars of Success. I first learned of this quote from Tim Ferriss, the author of The 4-Hour Work Week. 

You see, Tim was lucky. 

At 12 years old, a stranger left a voice message on his parents’ answering machine. After hearing that quote and thinking about it for days, Tim realized that the kids he was hanging out with weren’t the ones he wanted to be like. 

That message, from a stranger, changed Tim’s life.

But the idea behind this message is much older. 

In the 16th century, Sancho Panza, a squire of Don Quixote, said: “Tell me your company and I will tell you what you are.”

🔥 You are a reflection of the people you surround yourself with. 

It’s great to have friends whom you enjoy being around, but if you want to be successful, you have to up the bar a little. 

Friends who: 

➟ Teach you 
➟ Inspire you
➟ Support you
➟ Believe in you
➟ Challenge you

will make you a better person and help you succeed much faster in life. 

But even better, if you become a friend who: 

➟ Inspires them to explore
➟ Shares knowledge with them
➟ Support them in their endeavours
➟ Believe in their ability to succeed
➟ Challenge them to take on new opportunities

Then you will raise your own average and that of your friends. 

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You can create a sound, well-thought-out plan. 
But if your team can’t execute it, it’s useless.

This was the harsh reality I learned when I first created a strategic plan for my department. 

My boss took a look at it and said: 

🧨 ”Your team isn’t ready to make this happen.”

I was floored. I said: “Why? What do you mean? I thought of every angle.”

He said, “You made the plan for yourself. Not for them.”

Then he explained that my team was new and it needed to gel first before it could be expected to fulfil my expectations. 

🔥 What he was talking about was organizing a team. 
The second function of management. 

So what is organizing a team: 

✓ Coaching and mentoring
✓ Providing feedback
✓ Creating a culture

Organizing is not: 

✖ Putting people in sink or swim situations
✖ Writing performance 360-degree feedback reports
✖ Mandating they attend department events

If you want your plans to have a chance of success, organizing your team should become your number two priority. 

Here are the five areas of management:

1️⃣ Planning
2️⃣ Organizing
3️⃣ Directing
4️⃣ Monitoring
5️⃣ Improving

This is a five-part series. 
Tune in next week to get the third part.

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Innovation is still a buzzword. 
Everyone talks about it, few actually innovate. 

Peter Drucker, known as the father of modern management theory, had this to say about innovation: 

”An innovation, to be effective, has to be simple, and it has to be focused. It should do only one thing, otherwise it confuses. If it's not simple, it won’t work.”

🔥 Simple
Innovation is about simplifying things.
Taking a complex set of steps and turning them into one simple one.

🔥 Focused
Innovation is about focus. 
Solving one specific problem at a time, not all of them. 

From this definition, it stands that innovation doesn’t have to be something big and grand. 

🔥 Innovation is an improvment
No matter how big or small. As long as it solves a focused problem in a simple way. 

Innovation grows out of places that have created a culture of innovation.  

Organizations that challenge their people to innovate first create structures to help innovation thrive. 

Here are Peter Drucker’s seven steps to promote innovation:

1️⃣ Analyze the reasons for unexpected successes. 

2️⃣ Examine why the events were different from the anticipated results.

3️⃣ Examine why underperformance is accepted to challenge the status quo.

4️⃣ Determine how to take advantage of market changes. 

5️⃣ Be aware of broader changes in society to identify opportunities. 

6️⃣ Consider the impact of changes in the economy to spot new trends. 

7️⃣ Learn how new information, ideas and technology affect customers. 

If you want to create a culture of innovation in your business or organization, start with step one. 

📌 DM me if you want to improve how your team performs and delivers results. 

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The Battle

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