Another in my ongoing series of practical observations from independent consulting. Early in my career, I would spend days refining a draft deck before bringing it to a senior leader. I'd tighten the logic, sharpen the language, and walk in feeling prepared. Then the leader would say something like: "This needs to speak more to what the board cares about, not what we’re working on." Back to square one. Another meeting scheduled. Another cycle of rebuilding something from scra

Early in a recent engagement, I was shown a meeting inventory — a list of recurring meetings, who attends each one, and how often they run. Out of curiosity, I did some quick math. Headcount per meeting. Duration. Frequency. A conservative hourly rate of $100 per person. One weekly meeting — ten people, one hour, fifty-two weeks — came to roughly $52,000 𝗮 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿. At $100 an hour per person — and that's a floor, not an average; in most organizations, the fully-loaded cost

I'll say something that might be unpopular coming from a consultant: 𝗜’𝗺 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝗳𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗱 "𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆" — 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆, 𝗜 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗶𝘁. Not because strategy doesn't matter — it does. But because in most organizations, "strategy" has become a way to sound important without saying anything actionable. Leaders craft vision statements. Decks get built. Terms like "transformation," "alignment," and "efficiency" get thrown around