Taxplow

Command premium fees for your accounting and tax practice using AI

Founder

Bizpayo

Co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer (CSO)

Howard Advisory, LLC

Growth and Profit Advisor

Gartner

Senior Analyst

Helping accountants get to their first $1M and beyond

My story begins years ago when I had an advisory firm but was struggling to increase margins.

I was a one person practice 100% remote.

I was trying to be everything to everyone.

I did not have a niche.

I did not have an ideal client.

I took any business that would hire me.

I did not stand out among the thousands of other consulting firms.

I competed mostly on low price. 

My friends and family would always see a stressed-out, black circles under eyes, 80+ hours/wk working person would have zero personal life.

I took a hard look at my business and found a lot of waste.

Too many services and too many different kinds of clients.

I decided that I needed to focus.

I began to focus on how I could productize my services.

With a business partner I helped develop an automated payment and Google reviews platform (BizPayO) that helps accountants get paid faster, without the expensive fees and which snagged a Google Review after every successful payment.

Through the payment app I found that most accountants were not charging enough.

That inspired me to launch a second SaaS company, a pricing application (Taxplow) that shows accountants what they should be charging based on the services they offer, their location, the client’s situation, and a couple dozen other key data points.

But the problem is bigger than this.

Accountants needs help differentiating themselves and coming up with a unique offering.

One that would help create a moat around their business.

So they would not become just another H&R Block or low-cost accounting firm that would position them as just a commodity.

I'm now sharing everything I learned over the years.

How to to run a 100% remote accounting firm and create a truly unique offering.

If you are an entrepreneurial accountant or tax pro, join me and follow along my journey.

My mission is to create one million, 100% remote, diversified solopreneurs by 2026.

All aboard. 🚆

Marc Howard

General Manager | Strategic Leadership, Operations, Team Development | I Help Companies Drive 15%+ Growth & Build Elite Teams.

I’m Carlos Cody, an Executive Operations Leader at Amazon specializing in scaling people, systems, and performance across large-scale supply chain and fulfillment networks.

My leadership brand is simple:

Scaling Systems. Developing Leaders. Driving Profitable Growth.

That’s how I approach every operation, team, and challenge by aligning people, process, and performance to deliver sustainable results.

Over the years, I’ve led multi-site operations with full P&L accountability, driving measurable improvements in productivity, safety, and cost efficiency while cultivating a culture of ownership and excellence. I believe true operational success starts with people because when leaders grow, systems improve, and results compound.

Core Strengths & Focus Areas:

- Strategic Leadership: Turning business objectives into executable strategies that scale.
- Operational Excellence: Optimizing systems and processes to improve efficiency and quality.
- People Development: Building and equipping leaders who multiply impact across teams.
- P&L & KPI Ownership: Driving profitability through precision, consistency, and accountability.
- Continuous Improvement: Leveraging Lean and Six Sigma methods to sustain performance gains.
- Culture & Engagement: Creating environments where people feel valued, aligned, and driven to win.

At Amazon, I lead leaders in high-volume, complex environments where strategy must meet execution every day. My focus is building scalable systems, empowering leaders, and sustaining performance through clarity, discipline, and trust.

I’m preparing for the next phase of my career advancing toward Director- and VP-level leadership, where I can shape enterprise strategy, develop future leaders, and build organizations that thrive long term.

If you’re passionate about leadership, culture, and operational excellence, let’s connect. I’m always open to conversations that inspire growth, transformation, and leadership.

Carlos Cody

Top talent isn’t afraid of high standards.
They’re terrified of low ones.
Because nothing kills ambition faster than a leader who settles.
Or worse a leader who’s too scared to raise the bar.

Here’s the part most people won’t admit:
You don’t lose great people because you expect too much.
You lose them because you expect too little and tolerate too much.
Challenge the Standard = Raise the bar without breaking the people.

Real growth requires three uncomfortable things:
Stretching targets — goals that make you sweat, not sleep.
Questioning assumptions — especially the ones that built yesterday’s success.

Saying the forbidden sentence: Good isn’t good enough anymore.


But here’s the nuance weak leaders never learn:
Stretching grows people.
Overcompensating breaks people.
Executives can tell the difference.
Amateurs can’t.
If you want a high-performance team, stop protecting comfort.
Start protecting standards.

Every leader hits the same crossroads:
Raise the bar and grow.
Or lower the bar and decay.
There is no neutral.
Your standards are either strengthening your culture…
or silently destroying it.

If you want to lead at the next level, ask yourself today:

Where have I let comfort replace standards in myself, my team, or my expectations?

Your next promotion won’t come from working harder.
It’ll come from expecting more and its starting with yourself.
Follow along if you’re ready to build the discipline, courage, and standards real leadership demands.

Amazon Ops Leader | Executive Operations Leader | Scaling Systems, Developing Leaders & Driving Profitable Growth | Strategic Leadership, Culture & P&L Performance

I have an amazing team at work. Not only is it my birthday, but the team delivered an amazing experience.

We have a motto: work hard, have fun, make history.

We worked hard today by exceeding a goal our amazing Site Leader Cyril Senu put before us of hitting an 18K hour. Not only did my team deliver, they lived out our mission of exceeding expectations and hit a 19.5K hour!! That was my one request for my birthday — live out our mission and exceed expectations — and they crushed it.

We played hard too. If you were a fly on the wall, you’d see that no matter the circumstances, this team is going to find ways to laugh together and make work fun. And they overdelivered by surprising me with American Deli wings for my birthday. If you know, you know… there’s one thing about me: I do not play about my wings 😆

And lastly, we’re making history by the impact this team has on our people every day — bringing their best selves, staying positive, and delivering results for our customer.

People were telling me to take the day off for my birthday, but why? When you enjoy and love what you do it’s good, but when you have a team like this that you truly enjoy working alongside, it makes it all worth it. I’ll still take some much-needed time with family and friends, but everything I wanted for today was not only met — it was exceeded in true Amazon fashion.

Thank you all for making today a great day not only for myself but for Mića McLeish… Happy Early Bday!!! 

No place like the 6!!!

#Amazon #ATL6

Most leaders don’t actually lead people.

They manage tasks.
Monitor dashboards.
Hide behind metrics and meetings.

Here’s the truth nobody wants to say out loud:
You can’t lead people you don’t know.
You can only manage them.

And nobody follows a manager by choice.

Connection isn’t soft.
Connection is strategy.
It’s the difference between positional leadership and transformational leadership.

The problem?

Most leaders obsess over output…
and ignore the humans who create it.

When I think about connection, I ask myself three hard questions:
Do people feel safe telling me the truth?
If they filter their words, you’re not trusted.
You’re feared.

Do they know I care about them, not just the metrics?
If how are you? only happens when performance drops,
you’ve already lost them.

Am I building leaders or just squeezing out more output?
Output is a short-term win.
Leaders are a long-term strategy.

Leadership multiplies when you do three things consistently:
Equip people with the skills to win
Care about their growth as humans and professionals
Create space for them to lead, even when it’s slower at first

Connection isn’t a nice extra it’s a competitive advantage.
Companies with weak connection bleed talent, energy, and results.

If you want long-term results,
stop building dependency and start building leaders.

You don’t scale by managing harder.
You scale by connecting deeper.

Because when people feel known, valued, and trusted…
they don’t just work for you 
they grow with you.

If you’re serious about becoming the kind of leader people want to follow,
not the one they follow because they’re paid to…

Start with this:
Who on my team do I need to genuinely know, support, or develop starting today?

Follow along if you want to learn the leadership practices that build trust, raise performance, and multiply leaders for the long term.

You don’t scale impact by doing more. You scale it by building leaders.

At some point, every senior leader must shift from personal execution to multiplied influence. 

Your leverage is no longer your output, it’s the strength of the leaders you develop. When you stay in the weeds too long, the leadership bench weakens. When you invest early and with intention, capacity grows without constant oversight.

People don’t stay because of pay alone. They stay because they feel seen, challenged, developed, and valued. Motivation may start momentum, but growth is what sustains it.

Long-term success is always carried by developed people.

This week, go deep with one leader instead of spreading shallow attention across many.

#Leadership #LeadershipDevelopment #Culture #Executive

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Most teams aren’t underperforming.

They’re confused.

And confused teams don’t execute.
They improvise.

The real problem?
Too many leaders are running multi-million dollar goals…
with kindergarten-level clarity.

Vision isn’t a slogan on a slide.
It’s the operating system for your team’s brain.

Cast the Vision = Clarity + Conviction.
If you’re serious about leadership, start here:

If your team can’t repeat the goal in one simple sentence…
you don’t have a vision. You have noise.

If they don’t know why it matters to the business and to them…
you don’t have buy-in. You have compliance.

If they can’t see themselves winning in the story…
you don’t have ownership. You have passengers.

A leader’s vision is not what you see.
It’s what you help everyone else believe they can actually reach.

You want execution?
Stop flooding people with tasks and decks.
Give them a clear picture, a clear target, and a clear “why.”

If your team is guessing,
you’re not leading.

You’re hiding behind goals and calling it vision.

If you’re serious about becoming a leader people want to follow—not just have to follow—
start by ruthlessly simplifying your vision.

Ask yourself today:
Can every person on my team explain our goal, in one sentence, without me in the room?

If the answer is no…
your next promotion starts with fixing that.

Follow along if you’re ready to build the kind of clarity that turns teams into high performers.

How I Think About Burnout as a Peak-Season Leader

Truth: It’s a capacity problem, not a character or you problem. 

Percpetion is everything and we need to look at burnout from a different lense. Because it gets mislabeled every year.

The worse part is we all find that we say things like, should’ve been stronger. Like you’re somehow weak because peak season is pushing passed the capcity and complexity norms.

I want to be clear when I say that, burnout isn’t a character problem but, burnout is a capacity problem.

You know what to expect: 
- Volume increases 
- Stress and pace increase 10x 
- Expectations rise and multiply overnight…

And you know deep down that you feel you do not have the capacity to manage it all. 

Peak exposes one thing:
Your systems, not your worth.

I see it every year the leaders who struggle who - 
They rely on adrenaline, hustle, more effort, more hands in the pot, and winging it off of hope alone.

And I also see the leaders who dont only avoid burnout but go into 2nd gear  and they - 
They rely on clarity, prioritization, and owning their capacity by design.

Peak isn’t measuring your heart and will.
Peak is measuring your structure.

Build the capacity → burnout becomes manageable.
Ignore the capacity → burnout becomes inevitable.

Burnout doesn’t mean you’re a bad leader, it means you are a human leader.
It also means the season is demanding more capacity than the one you have built.

#leadership #leadershipdevelopment #amazon #peakseaon

The Real Peak Season Bottleneck: Overloaded Frontline Managers

Frontline managers carry the heaviest load in Peak.
Everyone knows it.
Almost no one wants to say it out loud.

They’re hiring.
They’re training.
They’re scheduling.
They’re coaching.
And somehow still expected to deliver flawless execution at Peak speed.

Axonify reports 65% say seasonal staffing is their #1 driver of burnout.
Not the work but the weight of the work.

Frontline managers are the middle of the sandwich: 
Pressure from above.
Problems from below.
Still expected to smile.

And here’s the uncomfortable truth:
If your frontline managers burn out this peak, your metrics will follow.

So what should senior leaders actually do?

How senior leaders can support frontline managers in Peak:
- Give decision rights, not more escalations. Empower them to fix problems in real time.

- Simplify expectations. Don’t stack priorities, instead rank them.

- Resource early. Staffing, tools, and support should be proactive, not reactive.

- Protect their time. Remove low-value meetings, admin loads, and things that are just noise.

- Be present. Not to police but instead to partner.

How managers can protect themselves and still deliver:
- Prioritize flow over perfection. Perfect dies in Peak. Consistent wins.

- Delegate clearly. Don’t carry everything because others might not do it right.

- Set daily direction. Clarity reduces chaos more than just pushing harder.

- Manage energy, not just tasks. Short resets pay operational dividends.

Peak doesn’t get easier.
But frontline managers shouldn’t carry it alone.

They’re not just operators.
They’re the backbone of Peak season performance.

#leadership #leadershipdevelopment #amazon #peakseason

Most leaders obsess over strategy.
But here’s the uncomfortable truth:

Strategy dies instantly in low-energy rooms.

You can have the perfect plan, the perfect deck, the perfect KPIs
but if the energy is off, the execution collapses.

Executives underestimate this every single day:

Energy is a performance lever.
Maybe the most important one.

You don’t get high performance from exhausted, depleted, or discouraged people.
You get compliance, minimal effort, and slow collapse.

Cultivating energy is not soft leadership.
It’s operational intelligence.

It looks like this:
• Encouraging the team when they’re tired
Not with empty hype—but with real confidence, clarity, and belief.

• Celebrating real wins
Not the slide-deck victories.
The gritty, unglamorous wins that actually moved the business forward.

• Setting a tone of belief, not fear
Fear gets short-term effort.
Belief gets long-term commitment.

And here’s the hard part:

Leadership lives in the tension of raising standards and lifting spirits.
We don’t choose one.
We master both.

Your people are not machines.
They’re humans carrying pressure you never see.

Protect their energy.
Fuel their confidence.
And watch your execution rise without forcing it.

A high-energy team can outperform a more talented low-energy team any day.

Because energy fuels pace, ownership, creativity, and resilience.

If your team is flat, frustrated, or fatigued
your strategy never had a chance.

If you want to be the kind of leader people want to run through walls for, ask yourself today:
Am I cultivating energy, or quietly draining it?

Follow along if you want more leadership frameworks that build belief, raise performance, and create teams that don’t just hit goals
they exceed them.

If I could tell every leader in the world one truth about Peak season, it would be this:

The pressure isn’t the real enemy.
Entering the day unprepared is.

Q4 in logistics, operations, and fulfillment is unforgiving.
The volume is real.
The hours are long.
The pace is relentless.
And the weight of everyone’s expectations hits you before you get out of bed.

Most leaders let the day lead them.
They wake up and immediately drown in emails, Slack messages, fires, confusion, and noise.

But here’s the truth I want millions of leaders to understand.
If you don’t lead your inner world first, everything else will lead it for you.

And no leader can afford that in Peak.

But listen this isn’t about a long, complicated morning routine.
It’s not a 2-hour ritual.
It’s not about perfection.

It’s about 15 minutes or up to 1 hour that realigns you with the leader you want to be…
before the building pulls you into the leader you don’t want to become.

Here’s the daily reset I teach and practice:

- A mindset reset:
I check my thoughts, emotions, and attitude before the day has the chance to hijack them.

- A quick workout:
Even 10–20 minutes strengthens my discipline so stress doesn’t own my body.

- Feed the mind:
Audible or reading to elevate my perspective before problems shrink it.

- Purpose & values review:
So I show up as a grounded leader, not a reactive one.

- Identity decision:
I choose who I will be today, not who pressure tries to turn me into.

Because here’s the lesson leaders everywhere need to hear
If you don’t lead your thoughts, emotions, and attitude…
Peak will lead them for you and Peak doesn’t care about your peace, purpose, or potential.

But when you give yourself even 15 minutes of alignment, you walk into the day with clarity, not stress..
and you become the leader your people rise with, not run from.

This is the leadership reset that scales.
This is how leaders multiply their impact.
This is how millions can lead with more peace, presence, and power even in the hardest seasons.

What’s one small thing you do each day to reset yourself before stepping into a heavy week or shift?

Share it below...your routine might change another leader’s life.

#leadership #leadershipdevelopment #leader #amazon #PeakPower

Most leaders love talking about vision.
But here’s the truth that separates amateurs from operators:
Vision without execution is a fantasy.
Execution without vision is chaos.
Both extremes destroy teams.
Both expose weak leadership fast.

Execution isn’t magic.
It isn’t motivation.
It isn’t try harder.
Execution is Systems + Ownership + Rhythm.

But most leaders never slow down long enough to ask the real questions:
1. Do we have simple, visible systems to run the plan?
If the team needs a decoder ring to understand the workflow,
your system isn’t a system — it’s a suggestion.

2. Does every leader know the key inputs they own?
If everyone owns everything, no one owns anything.
Execution collapses in ambiguity.

3. Do we inspect what we expect daily?
Not weekly.
Not when we remember.
Daily.

Because uninspected work becomes unpredictable work.
And here’s the real kicker:
Leaders don’t just talk results.
They build systems that PRODUCE them on good days and bad ones.

When you run the full C5 cycle long enough:
Cast → Challenge → Connect → Cultivate → Convert —
you stop chasing targets and start creating a culture that beats them.

Consistently.
Predictably.
Sustainably.

If your team is inconsistent,
your systems are inconsistent.
If your execution is chaotic,
your ownership is unclear.
And if your results are unpredictable…
your leadership rhythm is broken.
Execution isn’t about intensity.
It’s about clarity, simplicity, and daily discipline.

If you’re serious about becoming a leader who doesn’t just set goals
but actually delivers them, ask yourself today:

What system can I simplify, what input can I clarify,
and what rhythm can I tighten — starting now?

Follow along if you want the frameworks that help leaders go from vision… to execution… to unstoppable results.

Your Peak Numbers Matter. Who You Become Matters More.

By Friday, it’s easy to only ask one question:
Did we hit the target?

But high-level leadership isn’t just measured in metrics.
It’s measured in who you become while chasing them.

Every Thursday and Friday during Peak, I ask myself three questions:
1. Did I protect safety and respect  even when I was stressed?
Because pressure is not an excuse to abandon principles.

2. Did I build trust or break trust with my team?
Every conversation either grows confidence… or drains it.

3. What did this week teach me about my leadership?
Performance is what I do.
Reflection is how I grow.

Here’s the truth:
Peak will end.
But the leader you shape in this season is the one you take into every season after.

And for me, it’s deeper than surviving Q4.

I’m not just trying to get through Peak.
I’m trying to become the kind of leader who can impact a million people over my lifetime not by titles, not by speeches, but by how I show up when things get heavy.

Leadership isn’t proven in perfect weeks.
Leadership is proven in pressured ones.

Drop one word that describes how you finished this week:
STRETCHED, STRONGER, or WISER.

#leadership #leadershipdevelopment #amazon #PeakPower

How to Keep Your Best People From Checking Out in Q4

Q4 turns up the heat on everyone:
More volume.
More speed.
More pressure.
More eyes on the results.

But here’s the part no one likes to say out loud:

Your people don’t disengage because work got harder.
They disengage because of how their leader shows up when it does.

And in Q4, leaders usually fall into one of three categories:

1️⃣ The Doom-and-Gloom Leader
Everything is urgent.
Everything is falling apart.
Every conversation is stress, pressure, and catastrophe.

This leader doesn’t inspire effort.
They drain it.
Your best people don’t check out — they escape.

2️⃣ The Happy-Go-Lucky Leader
Always “positive.”
Always “upbeat.”
Always pretending everything is fine.

Blind to issues.
Avoidant of discomfort.
Disconnected from the reality everyone else is feeling.

This leader creates false optimism… and real frustration.

3️⃣ The Whole Leader (The One People Stay For)
This leader is the difference-maker.

They acknowledge the pressure honestly.
They don’t sugarcoat the season.
They don’t spiral into negativity.

They stay calm.
They stay focused.
They lead from clarity, not emotion.

And instead of pretending the stress isn’t real, they guide people through it.

Here’s how Whole Leaders keep their teams engaged in Q4:
Address reality clearly: Yes, this is a heavy season. Here’s what matters most today.

- Protect the environment: Reduce chaos. Remove friction. Create flow early.
- Provide direction, not noise: Specific next steps, not general pressure.
- Offer support without coddling: “What do you need to win?”
- Model calm urgency: Assertive, not anxious. Focused, not frantic.
- Give meaningful recognition: Highlight behaviors that help the team move forward.
- Empower ownership: Trust your people with real responsibility and clear guardrails.

Whole Leaders don’t deny the pressure instead they lead people through it with clarity, calm, and action.

That’s who people follow.
That’s who people stay for in Q4.
That’s who keeps the team from mentally checking out.

#leadership #leadershipdevelopment #amazon #peakseason

Peak Doesn’t Create Conflict. It Reveals It.

In Peak, voices get louder.
Patience gets shorter.
People snap faster.
Small issues become big ones overnight.

The building doesn’t suddenly become chaotic 
the pressure just exposes what was already underneath.

Last week I watched a tense moment unfold on the floor:

Two people snapping at each other.
Team stressed.
Volume behind.
Everyone operating from emotion instead of clarity.

Years ago, I would’ve matched that energy
raised my voice, quick reactions, moved faster than my thinking.

Not anymore.

Today, I lead differently.

Because I’ve learned there are two kinds of leaders in Peak:
Thermometer Leaders vs. Thermostat Leaders

Thermometer Leaders
Absorb the room’s frustration
Mirror the chaos
React emotionally
Heat the whole team up

Thermostat Leaders
Set the temperature
Stay calm when others can’t
Create fairness, clarity, and direction
Cool the room down

One makes the tension worse.
One makes the team better.

My Simple Practice When Conflict Shows Up

Before reacting, I pause and ask one question:
What problem are we really trying to solve?

It stops the emotional spiral and pulls everyone back into reality.

Then I shift the focus to:
The process, not the person
The facts, not the feelings
The solution, not the story

This is how you keep culture from collapsing under pressure.

Peak doesn’t need louder leaders.
It needs steadier ones.

Have you seen more conflict this Peak?
What’s one thing that helps you cool the room instead of heat it up?

#leadership #leadershipdevelopment #amazon #PeakPower

You can be a top performer and still be invisible to the rooms that matter most.

Performance gets you noticed.
Sponsors get you chosen.

A sponsor isn’t just someone who gives advice. A sponsor is someone who speaks your name in rooms you’re not in. They don’t just coach you—they advocate for you when it counts.

Hard work builds your résumé.
Sponsors shape your trajectory.

You can be a top performer and still stall if no one with influence is willing to attach their voice to your future. That’s why the highest levels of leadership aren’t accessed by effort alone—they’re accessed by trust, credibility, and visible belief from senior leaders.

Mentors talk with you.
Sponsors talk about you.

If you want to grow, don’t just focus on doing great work. Focus on building real relationships with leaders who can see your potential, challenge your blind spots, and carry your name forward.

Promotion is rarely a solo climb.
It’s a climb made possible by people who decided to pull you up when you weren’t in the room.

#Leadership #LeadershipDevelopment #Culture #Executive

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Most leadership stress isn’t caused by people. It’s caused by unclear direction.

When the goal is not clear, everything competes with it. 

This is why execution slows down on most teams. Saying the goal once is not clarity. Clarity is built through repetition, alignment, and visible standards. Teams don’t drift because they’re lazy. They drift because they’re unfocused.

Your first job as a leader isn’t to create motion. It’s to create consistent action for a specific direction.

Simple enough one of the best things you can do to start the week is to write down the one outcome that truly matters.

Then  make sure your team hears it clearly and often.

#Leadership #LeadershipDevelopment #Culture #Executive

Most high performers aren’t blocked by opportunity.

They’re blocked by identity.

They’re trying to do leadership
before they ever become a leader.

That’s why so many smart, hungry people stay stuck at the same level:
They binge books.
They share quotes.
They chase tactics.

But they never upgrade the person doing the leading.
Here’s the simple model I use:

Tier 1 – Whole Leader (Becoming)
This is the inner game:

Identity → Who you decide to be every day
Integrity → Do your actions actually match your words?
Influence → Do people listen when you speak?
Impact → Are people and results better because of you?

If this tier is weak, no promotion, strategy, or playbook will save you.
You’ll work harder… and still feel behind.

Tier 2 – C5 Model (Doing)
This is the outer game:

Cast the vision
Challenge the standard
Connect with people
Cultivate energy
Convert vision into results

Inner work first.
Outer work second.

That’s how you build results that don’t collapse every time life, work, or leadership gets harder.

If you only collect leadership tips,
but never become a Whole Leader,

you’re not building a career.
You’re building a very busy treadmill.

If you’re serious about becoming the kind of leader people want to follow and
not just have to follow 

Stick around.

Over the next few posts, I’ll break down the Whole Leader + C5 model so you can:

Set clear direction
Raise your standards
Build other leaders
Protect your energy
Deliver results consistently

Follow if you’re done playing small and ready to become the leader you’ve been reading about.

You Can’t Coach Well If You Only Talk About Numbers

Peak stretches people, by stretching their: 
Mindset.
Patience.
Confidence.
Emotional capacity.

And the truth most leaders ignore?

You don’t get Peak performance from stressed people.
You get it from supported people.

That’s why I use a simple 3-question micro check-in with my PAs, AMs, and AAs especially when the building is tight, emotions are high, and urgency is everywhere.

It takes 2–3 minutes, but it changes everything.

Here are the questions:
1. What’s blocking you right now?
This cuts straight to the friction — process, people, flow, clarity, anything.

2. What do you need from me?
This shifts you from watcher to partner.
It builds trust fast because you’re not asking them to survive the day alone.

3. What’s your next move?
This brings them back into action with clarity, ownership, and confidence.

When someone is overwhelmed, they don’t need a speech.
They need direction, support, and a path forward.

This is how you coach under stress.
This is how you build trust and performance at the same time.

Save these 3 questions.
Use them once today.
Then come back and tell me what changed.

#leadership #leadershipdevelopment #amazon #PeakPower

A Quick Break in the Peak Chaos... Happy Thanksgiving

Before we dive into the next Peak lesson, I want to pause for something more important.

This season is heavy.
Workloads are up.
Pressure is up.
Expectations are up.

And yet leaders, frontline managers, and teams are still showing up with grit, intention, and heart.

Today, I just want to say this - Thank you.

Thank you to the leaders who stay calm when everything speeds up.
Thank you to the frontline managers carrying more than anyone sees.
Thank you to the teams who make magic happen behind the scenes.
Thank you to everyone choosing excellence even in a high-pressure season.

Peak reveals a lot about leadership, but it also reveals a lot about character.

As we step into Thanksgiving, I hope you get a moment even a small one to breathe, rest, and appreciate how far you’ve come this year.

From my family to yours:
Happy Thanksgiving.
Stay grateful, stay grounded, and stay encouraged — the season isn’t over, but neither is your strength.

#leadership #leadershipdevelopment #amazon #peakseason

Most leaders survive Q4. A few use it to separate themselves.

Peak season exposes everything your mindset, your habits, your discipline.

If you can stay clear, steady, and focused when the pressure rises,
you don’t just make it through Q4…You rise above it.

I wrote a new piece on how to turn Peak stress into Peak power.
If you’re leading in a heavy season, you’ll want this.

Read it here 👇🏾
Make Q4 Your Breakthrough, Not Your Breakdown

#Leadership #LeadershipDevelopment #Leaders

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How the right mindset and actions can turn stress into momentum. Peak season shows up every year with a predictable rhythm. Volume rises, time compres

Open article: Make Q4 Your Breakthrough, Not Your Breakdown by Carlos Cody • 5 min read

Make Q4 Your Breakthrough, Not Your Breakdown

Tired Is Normal in Peak. Numb Is Not.

Peak brings the long nights.
The back-to-back shifts.
The constant targets.
The nonstop messages.
And the pressure that never seems to let up.

Feeling tired in this season is normal.
Feeling numb is not.

Here’s the difference most leaders never slow down long enough to recognize:

Tired

You still care.
You still feel connected.
You’re just low on energy.

Burnout

You feel disconnected.
You feel hopeless.
You feel like nothing you do matters anymore.

And burnout doesn’t show up all at once.
It creeps in slowly when leaders try to outwork their own exhaustion.

That’s why I focus on micro-recovery — small deposits into your energy that prevent the crash before it happens.

Here are three that take less than five minutes:
1. Practice Gratitude in Real Time
Look for wins.
Call out effort.
Give positive feedback the moment you see it.
Gratitude creates momentum and momentum creates energy.

2. Work Hard, But Don’t Forget Fun
Peak is intense.
A quick laugh, a light moment, a simple smile breaks tension and resets the room.
Leaders who create moments of laughter, build teams that endure.

3. Actually Take Your Breaks
Not the fake break where you’re still answering messages.
A real break.
Step away.
Breathe.
Let your mind reset before you jump into the next fire.

Because here’s the truth every leader needs to hear:
You don’t need a week off to start recovering.
You need small, daily deposits into your energy.

Peak rewards the leaders who stay steady an not the ones who burn themselves out trying to carry everything alone.

What’s one small thing you do to recharge during Peak?
Share it below, someone needs your idea.

#leadership #leadershipdevelopment #amazon #PeakPower

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taplio

The Battle

Marc Howard

Carlos Cody

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Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Carlos Cody's LinkedIn Performance

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