Sensemaker

The recent waves of sweeping layoffs in large tech companies are deeply unfortunate and painful, but not surprising. We’ve talked about the fallacy of the ‘wartime’ CEO, and the free flowing capital markets that made tech companies believe that growth was never-ending. Those companies could overinvest, manage poorly, and largely ignore what wasn’t working. When...

In my early days of working with Talentism I encountered the distinction drawn between unleashing potential, and changing people. “Not trying to change people, that’s nice,” I thought, but it wasn’t an element that immediately drew me in. Over time, as I’ve applied Talentism concepts and frameworks to the real world, I’ve come to see...

At Talentism we often reference the idea that context, rather than a static slate of strengths, is what you’re good at. This is in opposition to general wisdom, which posits that skills are the things you’re good at. In this latter framework, people are a blank slate. They go to school and get training at...

Fabio was introduced to Talentism in 2019, when he was invited to receive complimentary Clarity Coaching as a component of the training program for a new cohort of coaches. He immediately saw the appeal in a coaching approach that wasn’t rooted in simply making a client feel better or providing advice, but rather was about...

Of the many challenges that our clients encounter, a persistent one is the frustration that founders and leaders experience when they attempt to move from “doing the thing” themselves, to enabling others to execute. In some cases our clients are perplexed by how difficult this is. In others, they don’t even realize how much their...

We have the benefit of talking to hundreds of executives every month about their fears and challenges, and unsurprisingly, themes emerge. We’re hearing that people expect their leaders to be coaches, not “just” managers. What does that mean, and how do you do it? Talentism defines management as a responsibility that achieves goals through the...

In the flurry of intentions and goal setting for 2023, we’re talking about blind spots. Because no matter how disciplined you may be, your blind spots sit alongside you, undermining those goals. And you have no idea.  Scientifically, the concept of the blind spot originates with our eyes, where the optic nerve intersects with the...

My partner Matt has loved cooking since he was a child. But in college, he studied advertising and marketing, then got a job at the local radio station followed by a big think tank in Washington DC. For more than five years he stayed in a relatively low-level position, doing the basic job requirements but...

Talentism ran an analysis a few years ago of 90 failed strategic initiatives and missed plans at growth companies. More than 80% of CEOs at those companies blamed bad hiring: employees with a lack of capabilities or character, or both. In a pre-pandemic study, it appeared that laziness was endemic in the workforce. 75% of...

The human species didn’t plan to use fire. Fire happened. It was probably scary. And then someone or some group decided to see what they could do with it. The wheel didn’t happen because a genius set out to make one. Someone made a mistake and got confused. Instead of dropping the whole business and...