Kevin Novak

Is America Ready for a Reset: Unity? Issue 169: July 18, 2024 We feel compelled to weigh in on recent developments. As a nation, we appear to be at a crossroads this week. The political discourse has taken another sharp turn, and the divisiveness and unsettling violence in our country keep accelerating. Let’s take a step back and think of the meta description of Americans: We are optimistic, resilient, problem-solvers. Add to that the rugged individualism that led us across…

Kevin Novak

July 17, 2024

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Ideas and Innovations Newsletter

Why Do Great Ideas Get Ignored?

Why Do Great Ideas Get Ignored? Issue 168, July 11, 2024 How great are you at getting your ideas understood and accepted? You’ve been mulling over how to solve a problem for a couple of weeks now. You’ve reviewed the facts, recognized the challenges and thought long and hard about how to ensure impressive results. It has been a struggle given so many distractions with the surface noise of meetings, emails and intermittent mental exhaustion. But yesterday you woke up…

Kevin Novak

July 11, 2024

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Ideas and Innovations Newsletter

Independence Day 2024 Reads: Become an Independent Thinker

2040’s Independence Day Reads: Become an Independent Thinker Issue 167, July 4, 2024 We’ve all got summer reading lists. Ours is understandably eclectic. In celebration of Independence Day, we thought it timely to share a selection of our most popular newsletters; what they have in common (no surprise) is independent thinking, which is a useful skill in our admittedly confusing times. If the recent presidential debate showed room for improvement in critical thinking and credibility, our readers put those themes…

Kevin Novak

July 4, 2024

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Ideas and Innovations Newsletter

Are You a Renaissance Leader?

Are You a Renaissance Leader? Issue 166, June 27, 2024 Just when you thought leaders have been disintermediated by demanding younger employees who want a seat at their bosses’ tables, these leaders are more important than ever. So much has been reported and written about working to live, life/work balance, and the quality-of-life fulfillment of remote work that managers and their roles have been shoved to the side. But in truth, leaders have their work cut out for them. The…

Kevin Novak

June 27, 2024

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Ideas and Innovations Newsletter

Mindful Management: The Power of Gratitude and Building Trust

Mindful Management: The Power of Gratitude and Building Trust Issue 165, June 20, 2024 “Do you see me? Can you hear me? I mean really see me.” This is a refrain of so many younger employees. Having been sheltered from the public for years during the pandemic, the shadow of anxiety follows them into the world at large. And the need for recognition is not exclusive to next gens. Increasingly many people feel they are wearing invisibility cloaks at work…

Kevin Novak

June 19, 2024

Whistleblowers and Trust: Revealing Courageous Leadership

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Ideas and Innovations Newsletter

Whistleblowers and Trust: Revealing Courageous Leadership

Whistleblowers and Trust: Revealing Courageous Leadership Issue 164, June 13, 2024 Who do we trust in the public forum? It’s hard to judge with cascades of misinformation and intentional disinformation swirling around on the internet, in the courts and at the rallies. It’s also hard to identify any public heroes in a polarized society. One person’s champion is another’s enemy. To say it’s confusing is an understatement. Psychology Today describes heroes as individuals who give us hope, energize us, heal…

Kevin Novak

June 13, 2024

Bursting Bubbles: Frugality, No-Buy, and Societal Trends

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Ideas and Innovations Newsletter

Bursting Bubbles: Frugality, No-Buy, and Societal Trends

Bursting Bubbles: Frugality, No-Buy, and Societal Trends Issue 163, June 6, 2024 We recently wrote about a few socioeconomic bubbles we suggested were about to burst. As fate would have it, one of our predictions about customer backlash against price hikes, inflation, asymmetrical stock market performance, and missteps by brands manifested into a renaissance of the no-buy day which was transformed into no-buy July to the no-buy year and then the no-buy challenge. Holding Back As observers of consumer behavior…

Kevin Novak

June 5, 2024

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Ideas and Innovations Newsletter

Looking Ahead: 2024 Runway

Looking Ahead: 2024 Runway Issue 162, May 30, 2024 We know that the second half of 2024 starts in a month, but we want to get a jump on what to pay attention to for the rest of this tumultuous year. As we move into summer mindsets to rest and restore, it’s a good time to process and plan for when fall arrives. Being mindful of what lies ahead ensures an ability to adapt our approaches and solutions, recognizing so…

Kevin Novak

May 29, 2024

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Ideas and Innovations Newsletter

It’s Really the Journey that Matters

It’s Really the Journey that Matters Issue 161, May 23, 2024 In our never-ending quest to understand human behavior in the context of organizational culture, we study a lot of nontraditional, surprising, and often seemingly unrelated, strange material. There is plenty written about pop psychology and behavior, but every once in a while, we discover a paradigm-shifting visionary. Dr. Robert Sapolsky’s book Behave, written in 2017 is still relevant and a seminal thought-shifting proposition. We introduced our admiration of Sapolsky…

Kevin Novak

May 22, 2024

The Trouble with Making Assumptions and Over-Generalizations

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Ideas and Innovations Newsletter

The Trouble with Making Assumptions and Over-Generalizations

The Trouble with Making Assumptions and Over-Generalizations Issue 160, May 16, 2024 We’ve noticed a disturbing trend over the past three years. To put it bluntly, organizations including governments, are making many assumptions about their stakeholders and constituents. The assumptions stem from over-generalizations, past knowledge, or due to wearing blinders. In each instance, we will discuss how you, the consumer, will bear the cost and impact of these behaviors. Failing to See the Total System Let’s take a US political…

Kevin Novak

May 16, 2024

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