In this episode, Mary, Tom, and Sean are joined by special guest Ginny Ertl, a change management and leadership development expert, to explore why generational labels fall short as a way to understand how people actually behave at work. What starts as a discussion about Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, and Boomers quickly moves past age-based assumptions and into a more useful lens: segmentation. Drawing on needs-based thinking, the group examines why motivations, behaviors, and values explain far more than birth year — whether you’re trying to understand employees, leaders, or customers.

In this episode, Mary, Tom, and Sean look ahead to 2026 by exploring how digital health, AI-driven micro-segmentation, and workforce shifts are beginning to intersect. Rather than focusing on a single dominant trend, they discuss why understanding second-order effects — and viewing change through the eyes of customers and stakeholders — will be critical for effective strategy in the years ahead.

In this year-end discussion, the team unpacks what 2025 really highlighted about organizational strategy. They examine how high-performing teams used AI to widen the range of strategic choices, why uneven economic shifts made scenario planning a necessity, and how Nike’s distribution reset underscored the importance of understanding influence systems. The episode emphasizes that the organizations that made real progress were the ones prepared to act without perfect clarity — because they had built readiness long before they needed it.

This episode breaks down the rise and fall of Quibi — and the strategic lessons behind its rapid collapse. You’ll learn how trend shifts, assumptions, and lack of customer testing can undermine even the strongest ideas.

This episode explores why great companies fall behind — and how to avoid the same mistakes. The team breaks down the forces that cause once-dominant brands to lose their way and the practices that keep customer-aware companies on top.

This episode tackles the year-end dilemma: use it or lose it. Learn how to turn your budget surplus into strategic advantage with smart investments in insight, innovation, and team capability.

This episode explores why your best storytelling might not mention your product at all. Learn how to craft stories that build credibility, spark curiosity, and make audiences want to hear more.

This episode explores the storytelling tools that transform strategy into narratives customers believe in. From trends and personas to competitor analysis and AI, the team shows how to craft stories that resonate, persuade, and stick.

Too many B2B “stories” are just fact dumps. In this episode, we explore why real storytelling matters in strategy — and how to make your customer the hero, build around tension, and use emotion to make your message stick.

How do you price with confidence when markets shift, competitors undercut, and customers demand more for less? In this episode, the team explores how AI—combined with the right strategic tools—is making pricing smarter, more precise, and more aligned to real customer value.