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Experience Transformation: Aligning Ikigai, Flow, and Operational Excellence
BY DR ARUL ARULESWARAN
In today’s fast-changing world, organisations face increasing pressure to deliver exceptional results while fostering a culture of purpose and engagement. Transformation is no longer just about achieving short-term goals; it is about creating lasting value by aligning purpose (Ikigai), engagement (Flow), and operational excellence. This alignment is the key to sustainable success, enabling organisations to achieve a step-change in service delivery while nurturing a culture of continuous improvement.
This article explores how organisations can integrate Ikigai, Flow, and Operational Excellence into a cohesive transformation strategy. It focuses on the Experience phase of the E3 framework, where organisations realise the tangible outcomes of their efforts and create a culture that sustains these improvements over time. By the end, you’ll have the tools and inspiration to build a transformation roadmap for your organisation, ensuring that purpose-driven execution becomes a reality.
The Experience Phase: Realising Purpose-Driven Transformation
The Experience phase of the E3 framework is where transformation efforts culminate in measurable outcomes and cultural change. It is the phase where organisations move beyond execution to fully realise their purpose and create lasting impact. At its core, the Experience phase is about achieving two key objectives:
1. Step-Change in Service Delivery: Delivering tangible improvements in performance, productivity, and customer satisfaction.
2. Culture of Continuous Improvement: Embedding purpose, engagement, and operational excellence into the organisation’s DNA.
Source: Macrovector from Freepik
4. Focus and Minimisation of Distractions
» In today’s fast-paced work environments, distractions are one of the biggest barriers to achieving Flow. Organisations must create spaces and systems that enable deep work, such as dedicated focus hours, quiet zones, or tools that minimise unnecessary notifications.
5. Social Connection and Collaboration
» While Flow is often seen as an individual experience, it can also occur in teams. Collaborative Flow happens when groups work together seamlessly, leveraging each other’s strengths to achieve shared goals. For example, Pixar’s creative teams foster collaborative Flow by engaging in brainstorming sessions where every idea is valued and built upon.
Benefits
of Flow in Transformation
When organisations prioritise Flow, the benefits extend beyond individual performance:
» Higher Productivity: Employees in Flow are up to five times more productive than those who are disengaged (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990).
» Innovation and Creativity: Flow fosters a state of deep focus and exploration, enabling employees to generate novel ideas and solutions.
» Employee Well-Being: Flow is intrinsically rewarding, reducing stress and burnout while increasing job satisfaction.
By embedding Flow into their culture, organisations can unlock the full potential of their workforce, driving both individual and collective success.
Operational Excellence: The Framework for Sustainability
While Ikigai provides purpose and Flow drives engagement, Operational Excellence ensures that transformation efforts are executed efficiently and effectively. Operational Excellence is not just about adopting best practices; it’s about creating a mindset of continuous improvement, where every process, decision, and action is aligned with delivering maximum value to customers and stakeholders.
In the Experience phase of the E3 framework, Operational Excellence serves as the foundation for sustaining transformation. It provides the tools, methodologies, and discipline needed to maintain high performance and adapt to changing circumstances.
Core Principles of Operational Excellence
Operational Excellence is built on a set of principles that guide organisations toward sustained success:
1. Customer-Centricity
» At its core, Operational Excellence is about delivering value to customers. Organisations must continuously evaluate their processes and outputs to ensure they meet or exceed customer expectations.
» For example, Amazon’s obsession with customer satisfaction drives its operational strategies, from its fast delivery systems to its seamless returns process.
2. Continuous
Improvement
» The philosophy of Kaizen—small, incremental improvements—lies at the heart of Operational Excellence. By encouraging employees to identify inefficiencies and propose solutions, organisations can build a culture of continuous improvement (Imai, 1986).
» Toyota’s production system exemplifies this principle, where every worker is empowered to stop the assembly line if they identify a defect, ensuring quality at every stage.
3. Data-Driven Decision Making
» Operational Excellence relies on data to identify bottlenecks, measure performance, and guide improvements. Tools like Six Sigma use statistical analysis to reduce variability and improve process quality (George, 2002).
» For example, General Electric’s adoption of Six Sigma in the 1990s resulted in billions of dollars in cost savings and efficiency gains.
4. Elimination of Waste
» Lean methodologies focus on eliminating waste in all forms—whether it’s time, resources, or effort. By streamlining workflows and removing non-value-adding activities, organisations can optimise efficiency.
» A healthcare provider might use Lean principles to reduce patient wait times by redesigning appointment scheduling systems and improving communication between departments.
5. Agility and Adaptability
» In today’s dynamic business environment, organisations must be able to pivot quickly in response to market demands. Agile methodologies, which emphasize iterative development and cross-functional collaboration, enable organisations to remain flexible and responsive.
» Spotify’s use of Agile principles in its product development process has allowed it to continuously innovate and maintain its position as a leader in the music streaming industry.
For example, Google’s 20% time policy, which allows employees to dedicate a portion of their time to passion projects, has been credited with fostering Flow and driving innovation (Mediratta, 2007).
3. Foster Collaboration and Psychological Safety
A culture of collaboration is essential for achieving both Flow and Operational Excellence. Teams must feel safe to share ideas, take risks, and learn from failures. Studies by Edmondson (1999) highlight the importance of psychological safety in fostering high-performing teams. Organisations can promote collaboration by:
» Creating cross-functional teams to encourage diverse perspectives.
» Recognising and rewarding collaborative efforts.
» Establishing a safe space for feedback and innovation.
4. Commit to Continuous Improvement through Operational Excellence
Operational Excellence provides the structure needed to sustain transformation over time. By embedding continuous improvement methodologies like Lean, Six Sigma, and Kaizen, organisations can drive efficiency, eliminate waste, and deliver consistent value. Key practices include:
» Daily Improvement Cycles: Encourage teams to identify and implement small, incremental changes (Imai, 1986).
» Data-Driven Decision Making: Use performance metrics to guide improvements and measure success (George, 2002).
» Employee Involvement: Engage employees at all levels in identifying inefficiencies and proposing solutions.
Toyota’s Kaizen philosophy is a prime example of how continuous improvement can become a cultural norm, enabling the company to maintain its competitive edge over decades (Liker, 2004).
5. Celebrate Success and Reinforce Values
Recognising and celebrating achievements that align with the organisation’s purpose reinforces the importance of purpose, Flow, and Operational Excellence. Celebrations can take the form of:
» Public recognition of teams or individuals who embody organisational values.
» Sharing success stories that highlight the impact of purposedriven efforts.
» Hosting regular events to reflect on progress and renew commitment to the organisation’s mission.
A study by Towers Watson (2012) found that companies with strong recognition programs experienced 31% lower voluntary turnover rates, underscoring the importance of celebrating success in building a positive culture.
Call to Action: Build Your Transformation Roadmap
Transformation is a journey, not a destination. To help your organisation embark on this journey, we encourage you to build a transformation roadmap using the E3 framework. This roadmap should include:
» Envision Phase: Define your organisation’s purpose (Ikigai) and set a clear vision for the future.
» Execute Phase: Align your efforts with purpose, foster Flow, and leverage Operational Excellence to drive results.
» Experience Phase: Realise the tangible outcomes of your efforts and create a culture of continuous improvement.
Example Roadmap Template
Phase Key Activities Outcomes
Envision Define purpose, set vision, align stakeholders Clear direction and shared commitment
Execute Implement initiatives, foster Flow, use Lean Six Sigma Measurable improvements and engaged teams
Step-change in service delivery, continuous improvement
The Experience phase of the E3 framework is where transformation becomes a reality. By aligning Ikigai, Flow, and Operational Excellence, organisations can achieve a step-change in service delivery while fostering a culture of continuous improvement. Purpose provides the foundation, engagement drives execution, and structured methodologies ensure sustainability.
Now is the time to take action. Define your organisation’s purpose, create the conditions for Flow, and adopt the principles of Operational Excellence. Build your transformation roadmap and embark on a journey that will not only achieve your goals but also create a lasting legacy of purpose-driven success.
Dr Arul Aruleswaran
Arul is currently an independent consultant working on improving the component level supply chain for a popular electric vehicle brand and also enabling the disruption of delivery services with cloud based technology solutions. He formerly was with GEODIS as the regional director of transformation and as the MD of GEODIS Malaysia. In GEODIS, he executed regional transformation initiatives with the Asia Pacific team to leapfrog disruption in the supply chain industry by creating customer value proposition, reliable services and providing accurate information to customers. He has driven transformation initiatives for government services and also assisted various Malaysian and Multi-National Organisations using the Lean Six Sigma methodology.
How to Build Meaningful Relationships in The Virtual World
BY WILLIAM ARRUDA
How to Form Genuine Bonds in Remote Setting
Few would argue that relationships are critical for both personal well-being and organisational success. In fact, relationships are the currency of business, enabling innovation, progress, and overall success. But beyond the professional gains, relationships are inherently good for people, providing support, motivation, and a sense of belonging in the workplace. Research consistently highlights the benefits of strong work relationships:
» The Niagara Institute notes, "Employees who develop close relationships at work report nearly 50% higher job satisfaction, are more likely to stay longer at their company, and go above and beyond in their roles."
» Quantum Workplace states that, “Relationships with coworkers are a top driver of employee engagement, with 77% of employees listing them as a priority.”
» Positive work relationships contribute to better mental health and reduced stress, according to studies cited on Positive Psychology’s website.
Building relationships is a skill that everyone must master, regardless of their role. Effective relationship-building requires time, effort, and strong emotional intelligence (EQ) skills. But building relationships in the virtual world comes with a host of additional challenges, requiring a more deliberate and thoughtful approach. Here’s how to build real, meaningful relationships in the virtual world:
Create Organic Opportunities
The idea of creating organic opportunities might sound like an oxymoron, but it's essential in a virtual setting. In-person relationship building often happens naturally, thanks to spontaneous encounters in hallways, company cafes, and at the proverbial water cooler. These casual interactions are where bonds are formed and strengthened. In the virtual world, though, these moments need to be deliberately created—or they simply won’t happen.
One way to foster these organic interactions is by setting up virtual water cooler sessions. Jenna Guarneri, CEO of JMG PR said, “At JMG, we created a water cooler talk session, called Sip the Tea which gives interns and employees the space to get to know each other and discuss things like the latest pop culture gossip, trends, and favorite movies.” These programmed sessions mimic the casual conversations that would naturally occur in an office, helping to build rapport and camaraderie among team members.
The Problem with Avoidance
BY GREGG VANOUREK
What we avoid doesn't go away
Avoidance is a natural coping mechanism that can protect us from danger. But when it’s overused, as in putting off difficult tasks or dodging hard conversations, it can backfire and make things worse.
It’s a common phenomenon. A manager avoids dealing with a worker’s toxic behavior because it’s a high performer. A worker avoids asking for a raise because it’s uncomfortable. A husband ignores growing signs of his wife’s dissatisfaction. A wife settles for a lack of connection and intimacy. Both partners feel unappreciated but never express their needs.
When you’re in avoidance mode, you’re deliberately steering clear of thoughts, feelings, or situations that are unpleasant, difficult, or threatening. For now, you may be reducing your discomfort or anxiety, but you’re sure to pay a price for it down the road.
There are many things you might be avoiding. Conflict. Uncertainty. Difficult people. Uncomfortable emotions. Troubling health signs. Mounting debt and hard conversations about money.
Your avoidance may bring short-term relief, but over time it often causes more harm than good.
The Problem with Avoidance
Here are some of the main repercussions of avoidance and why they matter.
Avoidance leaves the core problem unaddressed. Nothing actually gets resolved. The issue remains, often metastasizing.
“What you resist not only persists, but will grow in size.” — Carl Jung, Swiss psychiatrist
Avoidance can aggravate anxiety. Why? Because delaying action usually invites further trouble. As you lose control, your anxiety rises.
“Avoidance coping causes anxiety to snowball because when people use avoidance coping they typically end up experiencing more of the very thing they were trying to escape.” — Alice Boyes, PhD, author, The Anxiety Toolkit
Your avoidance frustrates others. They may feel ignored or dismissed, and they’ll resent having to deal with the fallout alone.
Avoidance often invites new conflicts. When you sidestep things, unresolved issues tend to resurface in other areas. So, it can bring more tensions into relationships, including resentment.
Source: Rawpixel.com from Freepik
Avoidance can generate a vicious circle. The more you avoid, the harder it becomes to face things. You end up reinforcing a bad habit while allowing negative consequences.
Avoidance can become a way of life. You can become the kind of person who avoids hard things. That will limit your growth and impair your capacity to deal with challenges. And this will drive good people away.
Avoidance undermines your confidence and sense of power and agency. You end up taking a passive role instead of intentionally and boldly crafting your life and work.
Avoidance feeds your fears. It gives them power over you and makes you defensive and overly cautious. A recipe for mediocrity, or worse.
“It is not fear that stops you from doing the brave and true thing in your daily life. Rather, the problem is avoidance. You want to feel comfortable so you avoid doing or saying the thing that will evoke fear and other difficult emotions. Avoidance will make you feel less vulnerable in the short run but, it will never make you less afraid.” — Dr. Harriet Lerner, clinical psychologist
Avoidance can lead to numbing behaviors. Things like bingewatching, over-eating, over-working, or drinking. When doing things like this in excess, you’re taking refuge in distraction. Avoidance is a form of escapism.
Avoidance can inhibit your personal growth and prevent you from living up to your potential. When you duck challenges, you prevent yourself from developing problem-solving skills, emotional strength, and resilience.
Avoidance leads to complacency. Are you overly reliant on familiar routines? Falling into a rut?
Avoidance leads to missed opportunities. Difficult tasks, though often stressful, often lead to valuable experiences, connections, and surprising and substantial rewards.
Avoidance can lead to painful regret. Will you be haunted by “what ifs” in the future, and will you lament missed chances or unresolved problems? These can weigh heavily on you over time.
Conclusion
Though avoidance is natural, it often makes things worse. It fuels frustration, anxiety, conflict, and bad habits. Your confidence plummets, and your sense of agency dissipates.
What if you started addressing things head on, taking the bull by the horns? One decision, one action at a time, you can change the trajectory of your life.
This article was originally published on Gregg Vanourek's LinkedIn.
Gregg Vanourek
Gregg Vanourek is an executive, changemaker, and award-winning author who trains, teaches, and speaks on leadership, entrepreneurship, and life and work design. He runs Gregg Vanourek LLC, a training venture focused on leading self, leading others, and leading change. Gregg is co-author of three books, including Triple Crown Leadership (a winner of the International Book Awards) and LIFE Entrepreneurs (a manifesto for integrating our life and work with purpose and passion).
How to Avoid Dysfunction Junction and Find Team Synergy
BY STEPHANIE BOWN
Tips to Overcome Team Dysfunction and Build Lasting Synergy
Even at the highest levels of leadership, dysfunction can quietly erode performance. It can appear in subtle ways— fractured communication, unproductive meetings, competing agendas, or a pervasive sense of inertia. The boardroom is not immune. In fact, where the stakes are highest and perspectives most diverse, boards can find themselves stalled at what I call ‘Dysfunction Junction’.
I have worked closely with executive teams and boards across industries, and it’s rarely a matter of inadequate skill or lack of intent. More often, it’s the result of dysfunctional dynamics. For any team, including boards, to be successful, paying attention to their dynamic is as important as the work of the board. Governance professionals are usually highly capable individuals. But capability alone does not create a cohesive board. Without clarity of purpose, alignment of roles, and a shared behavioural standard, the board can inadvertently become a site of tension rather than cohesion.
The antidote? Board synergy—when members apply rigorous intellectual curiosity and leverage their collective capacity for the greater good of the organisation. Here are five key principles to avoid dysfunction and build team synergy in the boardroom.
Source: Freepik
You're on Speed: Why Slow Conversations Feel Unbearable Now
BY JULIET FUNT
Source: Freepik
How Technology is Reshaping Our Patience
The other day, I was talking with a senior executive about an important strategic matter, and I had the bizarre—yet totally familiar urge—to put him on 1.5x speed.
Not because he was boring. Not because he was unclear. Just because my brain is becoming wired that way.
Granted, I’m a Manhattan gal who’s now living in the South, and my pained desire for conversational acceleration is a crosscultural reality. But it’s not just me, and it's not just a regional difference. It’s a change in our brains coming about from the way that we listen to content on podcasts and audiobooks.
Like the way we instinctively try to pinch-zoom a newspaper photo, the impulse to “digitally modify” real life is creeping into how we interact with people. That subtle pressure to accelerate everything? It’s everywhere. I’m noticing that my own nervous system is no longer as tolerant of the human pace of communication.
This quickening in our wiring has upsides. We can absorb political coverage, audiobooks, and podcasts more efficiently. We track trends quickly. But it’s also eroding something and increasing a kind of endless pressure, the pressure to consume more and more, the pressure to tick up our battle rhythm at every moment.
And when the preset on our phones or computers is accelerated, we forget to categorise the kind of listening that’s before us. With contemplative or introspective content, there must be space in between for us to personalise what's being said. Not every video or audio file is the same.
I’m curious: what will researchers find in 5 or 10 years? Will we become less tolerant of each other’s pacing in general? Will it feel viscerally impossible to listen to a child, an older person, or someone forming creative thought in real time?
I'm particularly concerned about this trend for leaders. Most of us operate with a lot of internal power. We already drive harder and faster than most of the world, and that has served us. But having that natural tendency to be constantly caffeinated may make us more and more intolerant to slowness, and will absolutely have an effect on our reachability by others. It will further increase the power distance that prevents people from being honest with us, or being intimate with us, or sharing a nascent creative idea in its early stages.
The phenomenon known as “popcorn brain” describes how overstimulation from fast digital inputs—like social media, video snippets, and even sped-up podcasts—can fragment our attention and train the brain to crave instant gratification. More of that dopamine that we love so much. Neuroscientists are observing that this shift may shorten attention spans and increase baseline stress levels.
And yet, not all the news is bad. A recent study published in BMC Medical Education found that listening to educational content at 1.5x or even 2x speed did not significantly affect comprehension or long-term retention among medical students. So yes—our brains can handle the learning pace. But the bigger question might be: at what cost?
So here’s what I’m suggesting we experiment with:
» Varied Pace for Varied Content: Choosing to slow down certain content—especially when it’s rich, subtle, or challenging.
» Regulation through Speed Control: Abstaining from a jacked-up pace if the body happens to need a restorative cadence.
» Embracing 1.0 Speed: Making space in conversations for the natural rhythm of human expression and remembering how to lean into it.
With powerful new tech, the greatest value comes when we stay in control. We must step back and see how our relationship with technology is changing us, and we must always take back the wheel.
Where have you noticed this tension? Have you too found yourself reaching for the fast-forward button on real life?
This was also published on Juliet Funt's LinkedIn.
Juliet Funt
Juliet Funt is the founder and CEO at JFG (Juliet Funt Group), which is a consulting and training firm built upon the popular teaching of CEO Juliet Funt, author of A Minute to Think.
Don't Chase KPIs, Create Momentum: The Initial Push
BY BEN FOO
Why your team hits KPIs and still feels stuck—and what to do about it.
This is the first in a three-part article series on leadership, culture, and creating momentum. Whether you're leading a team of two or an organisation of two thousand, the principles in this series are about what truly moves people and organisations forward.
In Part 1, we lay the foundation: why momentum matters more than KPIs, how it begins with vision, and what leaders must do in the earliest stages to create movement.
In Part 2, we’ll shift the focus to people—what great leaders actually do to earn trust, drive alignment, and build unstoppable energy in their teams.
In Part 3, we close the loop by talking about sustainability: what it takes to maintain momentum, protect the culture, and keep the flywheel spinning long after the leader steps out of the spotlight.
It took me years into my career to understand what the point of being a leader was. It’s about building momentum.
What is momentum? Craig Groeschel, host of the Craig Groeschel Leadership Podcast defines it this way, “Momentum is the force that propels your organisation forward and is greater than the sum of all your leadership, strategy and resources combined.”
It is movement. And it stems first from vision. Without vision, there won’t be momentum. Without momentum, the vision will not materialise.
Every KPI seeks to create some form of momentum. The same for every annual business planning session, core values integration program, bonus scheme, L&D program, strategy and implementation workshop, culture immersion onboarding for employees, etc.
You can hit every target and still lose the war. Why?
Because KPIs don’t move people. Momentum does.
I’ve seen it in teams, in turnarounds, in seasons of acceleration — and when things stall.
Every CEO seeks to create momentum, knowingly or not. It is the CEO’s greatest ally. An organisation without the right momentum is a leader’s toughest battle.
With it, things start to move on their own.
1. Moving the Boulder
Whether you are CEO or an assistant manager without any direct reports, this applies to you. Being an intentional leader means that you innately take complete ownership and accountability of moving your area of responsibility forward. To move the needle, as I would always remind my team. There’s no such thing as “business as usual” and keeping the status quo.
A leader’s role is to carry the mindset of moving the needle for the organisation and ensuring tangible noticeable positive differences are seen and felt where they have immediate influence. This mental state positions you into a starting position to move in the right direction. It is the start of creating momentum and the energy originates from you. The leader of the unit.
Source: Freepik
Source: Freepik
Energy is in constant movement. Recognize that you can create energy from within and leverage external influences to generate inspiration and emotions with your team to replicate positive energy. Momentum can only happen when you win people over towards the vision. If you’re not CEO, as many aren’t, it is about winning your team and/or your stakeholders, be in other colleagues, towards your interpretation of the greater organisation vision for your area of responsibility.
It is not easy though. Creating momentum is like moving a giant boulder uphill. It is all resistance at the beginning. It is heavy. It is lonely. It is thankless. Worst of all, you look stupid trying to move a giant boulder uphill, as it is with creating momentum in the organisation.
It is not possible to create and then build-up momentum by yourself. You need a few core champions onboard the bus of momentum for some movement to happen. These are the ones who believe in you enough to stay close even when things look ridiculous, when the vision sounds too big, or when the rest of the organisation is watching from the sidelines. These champions are rarely the loudest. Often, they’re the steady, loyal, and brave ones who are willing to try with you.
At the beginning, it feels like one step forward, two steps back. You’ll get derailed. Firefighting will happen. People will laugh. Some will mock the effort. But this is the hardest and most important part of building momentum — to keep going despite the ridicule, the silence, the slow progress. To keep showing up with conviction, belief, and relentless consistency.
Find your quick wins. They don’t have to be big milestones but small ones that are quick and achievable for the key people in your bandwagon to feel a sense of accomplishment. This is important, not so much for the task itself but the buy-in and emotional triumph you want to create to influence more core champions. It is a “recruitment strategy” to convert the naysayers. Do it quick to build your credibility, confidence in your vision and to change the “language” that it cannot be done to one of belief.
I remember when I joined an organisation with the mandate to reverse a declining revenue trend and strengthen the brand image of the company. It would be a monumental 3-year transformation plan, in my estimation then but I needed my stakeholders across other departments to look at the plan positively and quickly. A small, quick win but significant one was to secure an outdoor “Spectacular” billboard that carried only one simple headline for the brand to stamp its market leadership position. It was a significant small win that immediately won the hearts of the stakeholders because it reminded them of the pride in working for the brand and company again. Once a small and quick win is accomplished, I did not hesitate to inform the entire organisation about it, attributing it to the transformation plan
and the team that made it happen. We converted some naysayers that day.
Small and frequent quick wins are essential to create momentum because little by little, it compounds over time to create a powerful and simple impression to the rest of the organisationthe vision is working and it feels good to be on a winning team, so join us. Slowly, you start to win people over. One becomes two. Two becomes five. Then ten. The resistance doesn’t vanish, but it shifts.
Efforts begin to compound. Belief spreads. And you hit what Malcolm Gladwell refers to as the tipping point. That moment when the boulder begins to roll — not because you’re pushing harder — but because gravity has finally joined the effort.
Momentum, once created, takes on a life of its own. But it’s fragile. Distractions, internal politics, toxic people — these are the true killers of momentum. Not competitors. Not market shifts.
2. Vision Doesn’t Move People — Until It Gets Personal
Yes, KPIs matter. They help us measure progress. But they are not what drives people to give their best. KPIs might change behavior momentarily, but they don’t sustain belief. And without belief, there’s no buy-in, energy, nor momentum.
We lose the plot when we obsess over targets without asking the deeper question: Why should my team care about this? If people don’t understand how the KPI connects to something meaningful — something that matters to them — it becomes another task on the list. A number to hit. A box to tick, without ownership or drive.
Start by asking what success actually looks and feels like for your people. What would make them feel proud? What kind of recognition would resonate? What rewards would energise and excite them?
Source: Freepik
That’s the carrot. That’s what gets people moving. The KPI only becomes relevant once the carrot is visible and desirable to the individual.
And for that to happen, leaders need to create an environment — an ecosystem — where everything connects: the vision, the KPIs, the rewards, the feedback, and the personal meaning. It’s not one element in isolation. It’s all of them working together to create movement in the right direction.
But here’s where it is often overlooked.
When a company is going through a change or facing a turnaround, the reflex is to gather everyone for a planning retreat. Come up with a new vision statement. Craft a bold BHAG. Brainstorm initiatives. Draw out timelines and task lists.
There’s value in these sessions. They can set the tone and send a signal that a new direction is needed. But the real work doesn’t begin or end in a meeting room. A vision on a wall or in a slide deck doesn’t build momentum.
It’s what happens after the retreat — when people go back to their desks, their teams, their daily grind that matters most. That’s where alignment either happens or doesn’t. Too often, teams leave with a list of action items but without the emotional connection to the vision behind it. Without personal relevance, momentum fizzles out. Vision gets buried under the weight of operations. People forget the “why” and only remember the “what.”
Because here’s the truth:
Vision cannot be executed through checklists. It has to mean something to the people who are tasked to bring it to life.
A great vision is aspirational, inspirational, and deeply emotional. It paints a picture of success that’s worth striving for. But more than that, it allows each individual to see themselves in that picture.
That’s when it becomes personal.
They start to believe that their own growth, their family’s future, their values — can find a place in that vision. Because when you’re asking someone to go on a journey with you, you’re not just inviting them — you’re inviting their families, their hopes, their futures to hitch their wagon to yours.
You’re not just leading people. You’re leading lives.
And that’s why emotional resonance matters. That’s why momentum only comes when people feel something about where they’re going and who they’re going with.
When people remember how you made them feel — valued, included, part of something greater — they will go the distance for you. They will endure the grind, face the resistance, push through the unknowns.
So, if the KPI is the measure of success, then emotional buy-in is the fuel that gets us there.
Leaders who understand this spend more time building connection before chasing completion. They speak to hearts before asking for hands. Because once your people believe in the vision — once it becomes their vision too — you don’t have to push.
They’ll move.
And that’s when real momentum begins.
Ben Foo CEO & Growth Architect with 27+ years of leading business transformations, scaling profitability,
Retail, Higher Education, and Corporate Travel. Proven
scales.
New Leadership Institute headquarters set to strengthen public sector
Kuching: The construction of the new headquarters for the Leadership Institute of Sarawak Civil Service (LI), which is now 90 per cent complete, is expected to serve as a catalyst for strengthening the leadership of the state’s public sector.
LI Chief Executive Officer, Datuk Dr Azhar Ahmad, said a site visit with strategic partners from the Sarawak Centre of Performance Excellence (SCOPE) was conducted yesterday to inspect the progress of the nearly completed project.
“We expect to move into the new building by the end of this year, and the letter of handover for the current premises to the Sarawak Agriculture Institute (IPS) has also been signed,” he said when met by reporters after officiating LI’s Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebration in Semenggok on Thursday.
According to him, the new headquarters, located near the Centre of Technical Excellence (CENTEX), will serve as LI’s permanent home after operating in temporary premises for a long time.
“Previously, we operated in Simpang Tiga before moving to the Semenggok building, which belongs to IPS.
“With this new headquarters, LI is expected to expand with various new functions and facilities, supported by a dedicated team eager to plan and deliver high-quality training programmes,” he explained.
Elaborating further, he said the move is not merely a change of location, but an opportunity to expand training programmes with more advanced and conducive facilities.
“We will not only continue existing programmes, but are also likely to introduce new ones, depending on the available facilities as well as the needs and capabilities of our human resources.
“However, I want to stress that the true quality of training does not solely depend on buildings or physical equipment, because it begins from within – our attitude and commitment to change and to meet quality standards.
“Therefore, the entire LI team must work together as one unit to ensure that the transformation to the new headquarters comes with improved work culture and training programme delivery,” he said.
He added that LI also has the potential to expand collaborations with the private sector and other strategic partners in delivering development and training programmes for Sarawak’s civil servants.
“In line with the Post COVID-19 Development Strategy 2030 (PCDS 2030), LI is set to play a key role in producing a public service leadership that is not only competent but also ready to face global changes including digitalisation and artificial intelligence (AI),” he concluded.
Azhar speaks to reporters after officiating the LI’s Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebration.
Mother
by Jimmy Osbourne
It takes a special kind of someone
To turn a house into a home, To grow a boy into a man In blood, in flesh & bone.
To fill his mind with knowledge, The kind that colleges have never known; And instill his heart with love So that he can better make his own.
It takes a special kind of someone
To be there all the while— Just to see the rising son Through every tear, and every smile.
To be there through the years, Through every fear, and every trial That someone is a mother... That someone is a mother.
Overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity. It is an act of justice. It is the protection of a fundamental human right, the right to dignity and a decent life...
