The Uncommonly
Pragmatic Blog
Capabilities
Nine pieces of unconventional wisdom for change makers
“The earth is the center of the universe.” “The universe consists of the Milky Way galaxy.” “Heavier objects fall faster than lighter objects.” These claims all lived as conventional wisdom until disproved — by Nicolaus Copernicus (1543), Edward Hubble (1929), and Galileo Galilei (1589), respectively. Conventional wisdom can be — or seem — helpful. We…
Is your company prepared to see and address unimaginable threats?
At the recent Board Risk Committee-hosted event, “Threat Briefing: Russia’s War on Ukraine – Actions Boards Should Consider,” Richard A. Clarke, an internationally known expert on cybersecurity, shared specific consequences coming out of the current situation in Ukraine and key actions board directors and the executive team should take to get out in front of…
How to succeed in enterprise/startup partnerships
Imagine you are an enterprise CEO in a business under increasing pressure to address the demands of continued growth, a meaningful ESG strategy, a fickler and more diverse customer base, a changing regulatory environment, and all the fallouts of the pandemic. Just for starters. While the organization is full of talent who are expert at…
Five steps to spot the weak signals of disruption
Do you make time to observe and process what’s happening beyond your “must do’s” or are you measuring your daily productivity against a defined task list? When was the last time you stopped to look twice at details that just don’t seem “normal” — that may even seem outlandish or inappropriate? Do you dismiss these as trivial,…
Eight Tactics to Make Questioning a Superpower
Are you getting ready for whatever comes next as we move forward and enter the world’s post-pandemic reality? No matter the path you choose, what I hear in conversations with friends, family and colleagues is a lot of reexamination and exploration, and of old assumptions being challenged, disproven, reshaped or even cast aside. New opportunities…
How Innovation Failure Creates Success
As you pursue your own next big thing in 2020, my wish is that you will be ready to fail in pursuit of your innovation vision. That’s right: be ready to fail. And then accept and learn from your failures. The last few weeks of 2019 were a time to reflect upon the past year’s…
Use Your Superpower
Before the holiday champagne starts to flow, the calendar fills with festivities, and you pack up and head off to rest and reenergize before the start of the new year, I want to leave you with a powerful piece of advice from all of the change makers I know, those featured in The Change Maker’s…
Tips on Influence for Change Makers
I recently taped this Facebook Live interview on the Human Intelligence channel to talk about influence, and how the ability to win people over or just get them to consider a viewpoint you feel matters makes a difference. For change makers, who are trying to influence a diverse peer group to invest personal or hard-dollar…
Tips for Product Managers Enabling Innovation
In this just-released interview with podcast host Mike Fishbein we talk about how the lessons that came out of my research for The Change Maker’s Playbook applies to Product Managers — we talk about how to spot the right talent, kick bad habits, be more resourceful — and many other topics that have been road-tested…
Amy is a leader who is demanding and relentless in the pursuit of the great.
In The Change Maker’s Playbook she shares her philosophy and methods to transform ‘out-there’ ideas into new real world business models that can change businesses’ growth trajectories and how brands engage with their customers.
Kahina Van Dyke
Global Head, Digital Channels & Client Data Analytics; Standard Chartered Bank Board Member, Progressive Insurance