When I lived in Singapore, I joined a stand-up paddleboard yoga class.
We’d anchor in the ocean and try to hold yoga poses on foam boards drifting with the tide.
If you think balancing on land is tricky, try doing it while riding constant waves.
I spent a lot of time climbing back onto that board.
When I think about the world we’re in now, I can’t help but see the analogy.
We’re all trying to stay balanced on constantly shifting ground.
There’s a lot of talk about uncertainty lately—and a wistful desire for “precedented times.”
In March 2020, I predicted we would be working from home for way longer than “just three weeks.”
Now I’ll make another prediction: uncertainty is here to stay.
Whether the waves come from tech shifts (hi, AI), public health crises (seeya, Covid), or one of many other disruptors—
change isn’t a moment. It’s the environment.
A new skillset for a new world
Which makes navigating your own change—whether for yourself or your organization—especially tricky.
It’s like balancing on that paddleboard in the sea: the surface won’t stop moving just because you need to get your bearings.
So we need a new skillset.
Not just a mix of old tools—like paddling and yoga (and, in my case, swimming 😅)—but an upgraded operating system.
Flourishing now is about how you combine what you already know with what’s newly needed.
Not to just stay afloat—but to stay standing.
Thriving through constant change isn’t about having the right plan.
It’s about having the right capacities.
It takes more than five-year plans or strategic frameworks. It takes:
- Design thinking to meet complexity with creativity
- Internal capacity-building to stay grounded and adaptive
- Biological awareness —knowing how our nervous system reacts under stress
Staying steady when the wave crashes
Say new tariffs blow up your business model. Or you’re laid off.
Your brain doesn’t wait for context—it kicks into survival mode. That’s biology.
The trick to navigating from creativity, not stress, is this:
A small, intentional action—what I call an experiment—is both what moves you forward and helps you get your best thinking back online.
Survival state or creative state?
If you're like most senior leaders or high achievers, you’ve gotten very good at leading from survival mode.
You can still get results.
But here’s the question:
Is that really your most intentional momentum? Your most resonant leadership?
Because for me—and for every leader I work with—the answer is always the same:
- Better ideas
- Clearer insight
- More aligned action
They come after we reset—and after we move forward with curiosity, not certainty.
We’re not just meant to survive the waves.
We’re meant to ride them well.
These are skills for work—and life
All of my programs and memberships—individual and organizational—are built to strengthen these capacities.
Because these aren’t just good skills to have.
They’re foundational for the world we’re living in.
My goal: to build a growing community of people committed to living, working, and leading in this way.
It’s not just a business goal. It’s personal.
Because it’s so much easier to operate from creativity and resourced capacity when you’re surrounded by others doing the same.
And the world?
It needs our best actions right now.
Because hose “precedented times”?
They only ever existed in our imaginations.
Just like my expectation that I’d stay dry and poised during paddleboard yoga. 😉
🌊 Try this: Ride the wave, don’t build the boat
This week, in honor of American independence, try declaring your freedom from perfection! When you’re in the middle of something uncertain, resist the urge to over-plan.
Instead, ask yourself:
What’s one thing I could do this week to get new data—about the situation or about myself?
Notice I said “do”—not ponder, model, or think about.
Action—especially small, curious action—is how we get grounded and gain traction.
It’s easy to believe uncertainty requires a solid plan.
But uncertainty calls for adaptable experiments.
Here’s what that might look like:
📉 Tariffs wreck your business model?
Reach out to three past customers with a revised—but rough—offer.
Don’t polish it. Just see what kind of signal comes back.
🧭 Laid off unexpectedly?
Try telling your story to a friend or mentor in a new way.
Not your final pitch—just a sketch to see what feels true and what gets a spark.
The goal isn’t a perfect answer.
The goal is to learn, while in motion.
New offer(s!) alert
I work with individuals and organizations who want to ride the waves better—not just react, but move with clarity and creativity.
If you’re building something new and craving more momentum, something’s coming for you this month.
👉 Reply with “ME” and I’ll make sure you’re the first to hear when my next course opens.
Leading in an organization?
👉I'd love your input on a product I'm creating just for leaders and their teams. Let’s chat.
Wishing you a joyful (and experimental) 4th of July. Small sparks > big explosions.
