Design for Awareness: What Flight Simulators Teach Us About Human Interaction
In sales, fundraising, or leadership, your job is to reduce confusion and increase clarity, to design every interaction so others feel safe moving forward. Designing conversations for awareness through simplifying, making meaning, and offering predictability move people to act.
The Three Words That Changed Everything
One of the most powerful influence tools in human decision-making is also one of the simplest: Contrast. And when you understand how contrast works, you start to see it everywhere — in great advertising, in great fundraising, in great leadership communication.
The Fastest Way to Understand Anyone in Sales, Fundraising, or Leadership
To become highly effective in sales, fundraising, or leadership, there is one skill that separates the top performers from everyone else. Understanding people. That’s where the DISC personality framework comes in.
The Inner Game of Influence
The inner game of influence is your ability to: Recognize your own biases and patterns; Regulate your emotional responses under pressure; Remain teachable; Unlearn habits that no longer serve you; Step into a larger identity before you feel ready
The Counterintuitive Leadership Move That Makes People More Committed
Have you ever asked someone to take on a task or project and wondered if they’d actually follow through? What if the real key to increasing commitment is something completely counterintuitive-giving them the option to do nothing?
How Culture and Generation Determine Which Brain Listens First
Persuasion breaks down most often not because a message is weak but because it creates unnecessary mental effort.
How to Use Real Power in Business and Politics, Without Making More Noise
From boardrooms to ballot boxes, we don’t need more noise. We need more people who know how to hold, honor, and use their interpersonal power, ethically, intentionally, and unapologetically.
You Can’t Shortcut Growth — But You Can Shortcut Your Presentation
When it comes to giving a presentation — whether you’re standing on a conference stage, pitching a potential donor, leading a board meeting, or sharing a quarterly update — there are a few solid shortcuts you can take… and a lot you can’t.
The One-Line Shift That Opens Doors (Instead of Slamming Them Shut)
You know that moment when you say to someone, “Do you have a second?” or “We need to talk”—and you can almost feel the tension rise? Because what you’ve actually triggered isn’t curiosity, it’s caution.
The Subtle Skill That Turns Confusing Conversations Into Collaborative Breakthroughs
If you’ve ever been in a conversation, whether with a donor, a client, a colleague, or even a family member, where someone says something that just doesn’t land, you’re not alone. If there’s a misunderstanding, mirror the moment to signal curiosity and request clarity.