Strategic Minds

Highly effective managers don’t rely on titles, tactics, or endless to-do lists. They lead with intention. Today, Rich Horwath is joined by Ashley Herd, former Chief People Officer, founder and author of The Manager Method, to unpack what truly drives managerial effectiveness in today’s complex workplace. Ashley introduces the idea of a “career quilt,” encouraging leaders to see diverse experiences as strategic assets rather than detours. She shares how stepping back from linear career thinking enables managers to make clearer decisions, build stronger relationships, and align daily work with long-term goals. The discussion centers on Ashley’s Pause–Consider–Act framework, a practical tool for navigating difficult conversations, prioritizing effectively, and leading more humanely. The result is a repeatable approach that helps managers drive results, strengthen engagement, and avoid burnout.   🔑 Key Quotes: “ One of the ways to move away from being tactical is to think big picture — what are our eventual goals?” “When you're in HR, I actually think it's incredibly important to be strategic no matter what your role is.” “I focus on what I want my life to be like and what kind of value I think I can bring to others?” “The number one driver of employee engagement is whether someone's direct manager explains to them why their role matters, why their work matters, and if they're successful in that role, how that impacts the overall organization, customers.”   🏆 Winsights: Today’s Winsight comes from Meg Whitman, former CEO of eBay, who reminds us that strategy is as much about exclusion as it is about inclusion. In a world defined by endless to-do lists and constant demands, the real constraint leaders face isn’t ambition…it’s time. Strategic advantage comes from deciding what not to do. Which products won’t be offered? Which customers won’t be targeted? Which internal initiatives will be deprioritized so resources can be focused where they matter most? Great strategy isn’t about doing more. It’s about making deliberate trade-offs that concentrate effort, energy, and investment on the few priorities that drive disproportionate value. Be intentional not only about what you pursue but equally clear about what you choose to leave behind.   🔗 Guest Links: Connect with Ashley Herd:   Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashleyherd/ Website: https://managermethod.com The Manager Method by Ashley Herd: https://www.managermethod.com/book 🚀 Resources from Rich Horwath, Host of Strategic Minds: 🌐 Strategic Thinking Institute Website 👤 Rich Horwath on LinkedIn 🎥 Rich Horwath on YouTube 🐦 Rich Horwath on X 📸 Rich Horwath on Instagram 📘 STRATEGIC Book 🧠 Strategic Fitness System 📬 Free Strategic Thinker Newsletter 🧪 Strategic Quotient (SQ) Assessment 🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts 🎧 Listen on Spotify

Dr. Jason Selk, a renowned performance coach and former sports psychologist for the St. Louis Cardinals, shares insights on building mental toughness. He emphasizes that elite performance relies on training, not just motivation. Selk discusses the importance of high standards, process goals, and identity statements in enhancing self-image. Daily mental workouts and starting the day with the most important task can shift focus and boost success. He also highlights visualization as a key tool for leaders to maximize their potential.

Reflecting on the past year, insights from countless leaders reveal that true strategy means having the insight that leads to advantage. Curiosity fuels this process, and a year-in-review framework helps identify successes and failures. Practical tips include managing energy, establishing morning rituals, and auditing meetings for value. Additionally, monitoring competition and practicing strategic skills are crucial. By focusing on clarity in plans and leadership principles, organizations can foster growth and adaptability for the future.

Nature has spent billions of years perfecting strategy, and those lessons can help leaders think more clearly about innovation. Rich Horwath sits down with Ines Garcia, author of Nature’s Blueprint for Business, in this episode of Strategic Minds Podcast to explore how ecosystem principles can strengthen the way organizations work and grow. She shows why leaders must stay attuned and responsive to their environment, just as ecosystems do when they face tension and change. Ideas like ecotones and “bending without breaking” highlight how the space between teams can spark the most innovation. Listeners gain a new lens for strategy and instead of adding complexity, tap into natural patterns that have been refined over billions of years. The result is smarter innovation, stronger collaboration, and environments where people and ideas can truly flourish. 🔑 Key Quotes: “Biomimicry is, Jenin-Bernion says, innovation inspired by nature.” “The opportunity for where things meet is an opportunity, a space to create, to collect materials and exchange nutrients.” “We often use value stream mapping to look at within the organizational boundaries, ideally across your value chain, how can you reduce waste of time, right?” “If after an injury or stress, then have the ability to learn from that into what you’re becoming rather than going back. Even staying still is going backwards.” “I think that we should quiet our cleverness and observe the natural patterns that govern us.” “I would encourage leaders to breathe in and look outside.” “We are in this time of moving from competitive advantage to collaborative advantage.” “Ninety percent of the materials that we use in our products are wasted. Imagine if you keep them within your value chain or don’t even put them there to start. What a savings of energy, transport, effort, materials cost.” 🏆 Winsight: Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, “Nature has made up her mind that what cannot defend itself shall not be defended.” It’s a powerful reminder for leaders: advantage isn’t something we claim, it's something we build. Organizations thrive when they invest in capabilities that genuinely strengthen their position. As you assess your business, ask whether you’re developing the skills, knowledge, and systems that create a defensible moat. Are you sharpening differentiation or simply maintaining activity? Strategic advantage requires intention, not inertia. If we’re not actively creating the capabilities that separate us from the competition, we limit our ability to shape the position we want in the market. The question for leaders becomes simple: Are we building what we need to defend, and deserve, our future advantage?   🔗 Links: Connect with Ines Garcia: Ines Garcia's website Nature’s Blueprint for Business (Book) Ines Garcia on LinkedIn 🚀 Resources from Rich Horwath, Host of Strategic Minds: 🌐 Strategic Thinking Institute Website 👤 Rich Horwath on LinkedIn 🎥 Rich Horwath on YouTube 🐦 Rich Horwath on X 📸 Rich Horwath on Instagram 📘 STRATEGIC Book 🧠 Strategic Fitness System 📬 Free Strategic Thinker Newsletter 🧪 Strategic Quotient (SQ) Assessment 🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts 🎧 Listen on Spotify

In this episode of Strategic Minds Podcast, Rich sits down with Derin McMains to explore how elite athletes develop clarity, resilience, and composure—and how business leaders can do the same. Drawing from his career in professional baseball and mental performance coaching across major sports, Derin breaks down the “mental game”: the crucial seconds between moments where decisions are shaped. He shares practical tools leaders can use to shift from emotion-driven reactions to process-driven responses, manage confidence, and prepare with greater intention. The discussion shows how the principles that help athletes perform under pressure can empower  executives to show up as the version their team needs most. 🔑 Key Quotes: “I define the mental game as the game you play between moments.” “Emotions are great informants and terrible dictators.” “The scoreboard doesn’t care how you feel. Fans don’t care how you feel. When I focus on confidence and feelings, I’m not focused on the task at hand.” “Let’s start with identity. How I see myself determines how I see the world.” “With every goal, it always starts with what problem you’re really trying to solve.” 🏆 Winsights:  Jack Welch once warned that when the rate of change inside a company lags the rate of change outside it, the end is already in motion. Reed Hastings echoes the same truth: organizations rarely die from moving too fast—they die from moving too slow. Together, their message is unmistakable. Leaders must cultivate a constant urgency around getting better. Value creation isn’t static, and neither is the environment we compete in. The moment we stop evolving, we start falling behind. Set aside time regularly with your team to look beyond the present and define the future state of the business. Where are you going, and what must change to get there? Strategic progress begins with intentional forward focus. 🔗 Links: Connect with Derin McMains: LinkedIn: Derin McMains on LinkedIn Podcasts: No Show Dogs & The Way 2 Play Free Instagram: @dmac_mindset X: @McMainsDmac 🚀 Resources from Rich Horwath, Host of Strategic Minds: 🌐 Strategic Thinking Institute Website 👤 Rich Horwath on LinkedIn 🎥 Rich Horwath on YouTube 🐦 Rich Horwath on X 📸 Rich Horwath on Instagram 📘 STRATEGIC Book 🧠 Strategic Fitness System 📬 Free Strategic Thinker Newsletter 🧪 Strategic Quotient (SQ) Assessment 🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts 🎧 Listen on Spotify

In this episode of Strategic Minds, host Rich Horwath speaks with legendary strategist and bestselling author Geoffrey A. Moore, whose landmark books - Crossing the Chasm, Zone to Win, and Dealing with Darwin - have transformed how leaders approach innovation, disruption, and go-to-market strategy. Moore shares how storytelling, pattern recognition, and intellectual curiosity shaped his unique approach to strategic frameworks - tools that help executives make smarter decisions in high-risk, low-data environments. Together, they unpack how frameworks act as disruptive catalysts, enabling leaders to synthesize complexity, uncover trapped value, and allocate resources more strategically. Through examples from Salesforce, Microsoft, and Amazon, Moore explains the power of “zoning the enterprise” - aligning performance, productivity, incubation and transformation zones to optimize investment, leadership focus, and execution. His insights reveal why frameworks are not formulas but languages of strategic alignment, empowering leaders to think clearly and act decisively amid rapid business transformation.   🔑 Key Quotes “The first part of strategy is context. The second part of the strategy is, okay, where do I apply force to have… it’s like, where’s the fulcrum?” “I think what Microsoft did under Bill Gates, and Balmer doesn’t get any credit, which is not fair — Gates and Balmer and now Satya — they’ve never been the disruptor. They’ve always been the fast follower, but they’ve been amazing at fast following.” “I think of it as a pyramid a bit — with business models at the top, and then the business model gives rise to the operating model, and the operating model gives rise to the infrastructure model.” “I do think you ought to have a library of frameworks. I think you ought to bring them out and kind of say, ‘Is this helping or not?’” “And resource allocation really is the essence. This is the deliverable from strategy.”   🏆 Winsights Our Winsight today comes from Charles Darwin, the English naturalist, who said: “It’s not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the ones most responsive to change.” As you think about your business, your leadership, and your performance, ask yourself: How open to change and evolution am I? We don’t want to repeat the same patterns year after year or rely on tactics that no longer serve us. Strategic leaders evolve — they adapt, improve, and think differently to drive growth for themselves and their organizations.   🔗 Links: Connect with Geoffrey A Moore: Website: https://geoffreyamoore.com/ LinkedIn: Geoffrey A Moore on LinkedIn Books: Crossing the Chasm: Marketing and Selling Technology Products to Mainstream Customers Zone to Win: Organizing to Compete in an Age of Disruption Dealing with Darwin: How great Companies Innovate at Every Stage of Evolution The Infinite Staircase: What the Universe Tells Us about Life, Ethics, and Morality 🚀 Resources from Rich Horwath, Host of Strategic Minds: 🌐 Strategic Thinking Institute Website 👤 Rich Horwath on LinkedIn 🎥 Rich Horwath on YouTube 🐦 Rich Horwath on X 📸 Rich Horwath on Instagram 📘 STRATEGIC Book 🧠 Strategic Fitness System 📬 Free Strategic Thinker Newsletter 🧪 Strategic Quotient (SQ) Assessment 🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts 🎧 Listen on Spotify

Dr. Mark Guadagnoli, a neuroscientist and performance coach known for his Challenge Point Framework, shares insights on enhancing performance through embracing challenges. He explains that the optimal challenge point boosts resilience and learning. Mark emphasizes that true growth comes from either winning or learning from experiences. He discusses the importance of psychological safety in teams and how leaders can reframe failure positively. With practical strategies for high-pressure situations, he highlights commitment and humility as the keys to sustained improvement.

Dr. Rita McGrath, a Columbia Business School professor and expert on strategy, shares insights on navigating disruption in organizations. She discusses the importance of systematic disengagement—encouraging leaders to stop outdated practices and focus on what truly matters. Inflection points and their impact on possibilities are explored, alongside the need for early warning systems. Rita urges companies to shift from rigid industries to adaptable arenas, emphasizing the value of diverse perspectives and qualitative indicators for future success.

Stephen Wunker, an innovation strategist and author, shares his insights on the transformative power of AI in organizations. He uses the octopus as a metaphor for distributed intelligence—where agility at the edges connects with core alignment. Wunker discusses AI's potential to liberate managers from admin tasks, enhance creativity, and empower frontline teams to make decisions within smart guardrails. He stresses the importance of change management and clear responsibilities to counteract the confusion that AI can create. Organizations must adapt swiftly or risk disruption.

Dr. Max McKeown, a strategist and innovation expert, shares his insights on shaping the future through strategic thinking. He emphasizes that strategy is about action and adaptability, blending creativity and results. Max introduces the concept of 'Speed Strategy' for quick alignment in teams and highlights the importance of fostering a culture of innovation. He discusses visual mapping techniques to enhance engagement and promote idea-sharing, as well as the traits of strategic thinkers, focusing on the need for a rhythm between slow and quick strategic actions.