Epiphanies

As a Marine, I learned that success comes from deliberate and careful movements, achieved through slow, controlled actions, ultimately leading to faster and more accurate performance. Focusing on “slow is smooth and smooth is fast” emphasizes precision and minimizing unnecessary movement to maximize efficiency and effectiveness in close-quarters combat situations. But when I transitioned into the

In business, it’s easy to focus only on the immediate next step in a plan or project. I believe that excellent execution, whether in leadership, marketing, product, or transformation, goes beyond solving today’s problems but thinking about the reactive chain of events that each step triggers. A strong strategic plan anticipates how actions will ripple,

A common thread in all of the previous epiphanies is the focus on the fundamentals and root causes. Focusing on the fundamentals and core strategies is crucial for any company seeking to enhance profits and generate long-term business value. Even the most experienced manager with extensive knowledge of generating business value and growing a business

“Great Leaders Don’t Demand Innovation – They Enable It! Great Leaders Don’t Demand Innovation – They Enable It! Innovation isn’t something you can wave a magic wand to create. It’s something you build into its DNA. In this epiphany, I want to share a deeper look into what it takes to foster a culture of

In Epiphany 15, I introduced the Real World Power Triangle, a practical lens for navigating organizational change through the eyes of executive sponsors, beneficiaries, and those at risk of being disintermediated. It’s a high-impact way to ensure initiatives gain traction by acknowledging the emotional and political terrain of change. But in more complex initiatives—especially within

One of the most transformative insights in my career didn’t come from a boardroom or the Marine Corps, but from my grad school public policy course for Developing Markets. In that course, we were evaluated not just on the quality of our solutions and the depth of the policy recommendations, but on how well we

One of the most impactful leadership concepts I’ve carried from the Marine Corps into marketing and business is the idea of Commander’s Intent. In the military, before any exercise or combat operation, every Marine knows two things: Leadership is not just about barking orders or sticking rigidly to a plan. It’s about clarity—clarity of mission,

When building an agency, a startup, or any business, one of the most potent assets in the early days—and often well beyond—is the founder’s unique combination of passion and subject matter expertise. These are the founders’ superpowers. But like any superpower, they can accelerate growth and unintentionally create friction. This epiphany lesson is about how

“The effective leader must find a way to balance mission completion with the welfare of the team.” — Bill Hunt Balancing high performance with human-centric leadership is another key to successfully managing high-performing teams. At NCO school in the Marine Corps, I was taught “Mission First, Marines Always” to prioritize the care of my Marines