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What happens when you do internal communications, organizational development, and hiring well? Mural, Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, Washington DC USA Colorado Springs was in the middle of an adolescent suicide epidemic. I was meeting teenagers after they were discharged from the hospital for a suicide attempt, one at a time, after the crisis had already happened. I knew something had to change - but I had no idea what I was about to build, or who would build it with me. T

I love the Olympics. My dad loved the Olympics and I grew up living for the every 2 years when we come together as a global community. I love the athletes epic feats of human endurance and the stories of how they got there. I love how social media has given us a glimpse behind the podium to see the heartbreaks, the grueling training schedules, and the failures that led to those 30 seconds or 3 minutes that make or break a medal placement. 2024 and 2026 have been some of my f

I still listen to the Hamilton soundtrack at least once a week. Yes, I realize that it's been 10 years and make no apologies. It's phenomenal. And I just made a deeply, startling discovery. I might need to be more like Aaron Burr. Hamilton on Broadway at the Rodgers Theater And on the topic of making confessions, I fight everything. Not metaphorically. I mean I will walk into a room, identify an injustice, and be halfway through my argument before I've even decided whether th

If you ask your employees for feedback in a survey, email, or town hall and your employees take the time to ask you real and challenging questions questions that are authentic and nuanced and reflect their concerns for the mission and trajectory of the entire organization as well as their concerns about their personal job security. Actually answer their questions. There. I just fixed your culture problem. New York Subway Most leaders avoid difficult questions because answerin

Let's talk about the entire concept of ethical and human-focused AI Here is a picture of the sun rising over the ocean. A reminder that the sun will rise tomorrow. A lot of people are cancelling ChatGPT and switching to Claude right now. Thinking it is the more "ethical" choice. And I know that no act of resistance is too small. But, also, we need to acknowledge that Claude is not ethically superior to Chatgpt. What's true about OpenAI/ChatGPT and Trump: OpenAI co-founder and

A 98% survey response rate isn't a communication metric. It's a trust metric. Tile + Street Art in Lisbon = My Heaven A 98% survey response rate isn't a communication metric. It's a trust metric. I'll tell you the number, and then I'll tell you what it actually means. 98% employee survey response rate. In an era when the average hovers around 30-40%, people usually ask me what tool I used, or what the incentive was, or how long the survey was. The answer to all of those quest

Human-Centered AI Transformation I know it seems counterintuitive - but I promise it's possible. Employees don't resist AI. They resist bad communication about AI. In the past two years, I've operationalized AI adoption communications twice - at two different organizations, with two very different workforces. Both times, we measured it. Both times, it worked. I'm sharing what I learned because the narrative in most boardrooms right now is dangerously wrong - and it's costing

Your employees aren't ignoring your communications. They're responding to them perfectly. The Science of Why People Listen Here's something they don't teach in communications school: Resistance isn't a communication failure. It's a communication result. Silence IS a response. Ask any teenager in the world texting someone they are interested in. When employees disengage from a company message, tune out a change initiative, or nod along in a town hall and then do nothing differ