My first employer was the kind of place any young graduate would dream of working at. Prestigious name, big glass offices, a brand that carried weight at every dinner table. It was the sort of job that made parents proud and LinkedIn bios glow. The truth though, as I discovered within nine … [Read more...]
The Illusion of Fractional Leadership
There’s a growing romance in business circles around the idea of “fractional” leadership - a head of marketing who works two days a week, a product lead who divides their time across three ventures, or a strategy executive who parachutes in for a few hours of wisdom and then disappears into the next … [Read more...]
The Difference Between Making and Designing
There comes a point in every creative person’s journey when instinct stops being enough. You can have the eye, the talent, the intuition, and even the charm of good taste, but without structure, intention, and reflection, all of that brilliance remains suspended in chance. It might work today, … [Read more...]
The Illusion of Career Planning
I often tell my students that trying to plan your entire career is one of the biggest mistakes smart people make. It feels responsible, even intelligent, to map it all out - the next job, the next city, the next milestone. We’re taught that clarity comes from certainty. But in reality, clarity comes … [Read more...]
The Game Is Won in the Mind Before It Is Won on the Field
No matter how dazzling your game, if you don’t win the match, it doesn’t count for much. Sports, like life and leadership, remind us that brilliance without results can be entertaining, even memorable, but it is not defining. The scoreboard has the final say. The crowd may rise to applaud a … [Read more...]
The Seduction of Habit
Most of what we do in life is not the result of conscious choice. It is not because we have carefully thought it through, weighed the alternatives, or acted with deliberate conviction. It is simply habit. The way we tie our shoes, the way we check our phones, the way we respond in meetings, even … [Read more...]
First Value, Then Worth
When people step into the professional world for the first time, the conversations they have often start in the wrong place. Too many begin with money. Some begin with certainty about what they believe they deserve, others with resignation to take whatever is offered. Both positions, while … [Read more...]
The Pendulum of Awe and Dismissal: Why We Need a Clearer Lens on AI
The most fascinating thing about artificial intelligence right now is not the technology itself, but how we are responding to it. Walk into any conversation about AI and you’ll notice the pendulum swing violently between two extremes. On one side, it is hailed as the arrival of something akin to … [Read more...]
The Disappearing User Researcher in the Age of AI
It began with a simple, powerful LinkedIn post by Urooj: a raw provocation about the evolving role of user research. He asked, what happens to traditional user research in a world where behavioural data is available instantly and at scale? What role do researchers play when insights are … [Read more...]