The AI Wake-Up Call for Consultants
AI isn’t killing consulting—it’s exposing it. If your business model relies on slide decks and boilerplate insight, it’s time to evolve. Here’s what the Reddit backlash and GenAI stumbles are really telling us.
Dan Olson
25-year change leader who scaled a consulting firm to the Inc. 500/5000, now helping others navigate transformation and complexity.
The Rise of Shadow AI: How Unregulated Tools Are Reshaping Your Org
Shadow AI is spreading quietly across your org—reshaping workflows, risking data, and shifting culture. If you’re not tracking it, you’re not managing change. Here’s what it is, why it matters, and how to lead before it leads you.
Change Practitioners: Steal These 5 Plays from the CX Playbook
Change management has a lot to learn from customer experience. From journey maps to service recovery, CX has mastered empathy at scale. It’s time we stole their best moves.
How Smart Tools Are Redefining Enterprise Change Management
A new generation of tools is reshaping how we manage enterprise change: scaling coaching, tracking saturation, embedding behavior, and building capability. This article maps what’s emerging and how to start using it, even without a software budget.
Let’s Circle Back
Corporate jargon has its own dialect—and "let's circle back" is its anthem. This post breaks down the real meaning behind the phrases that stall change, bury decisions, and keep us endlessly syncing on things we’re never going to do.
Captain’s Log: A Daily Journaling Habit for Change Leaders
Change work moves fast—and without reflection, your impact gets lost. A Captain’s Log is a simple daily habit to track what worked, what didn’t, and what to do differently. It’s not sentimental. It’s strategic. Pause, log, and learn.
The 18-Month Shelf Life of Enterprise Change Management
ECM functions often disappear within 18 months—reorg’d, absorbed, or shut down. After seeing this pattern across roles and industries, it’s clear the discipline endures not through structure, but through the people who keep doing the work.
Vibe Change Management
Vibe isn’t fluff—it’s fuel. This article explores how mood, energy, and emotional tone can make or break your change strategy—and why learning to manage the vibe might be your most powerful lever yet.
You’re Already Doing the Work of a Chief of Staff. Why Not Get Help?
You don’t need a full-time Chief of Staff—you need just-in-time clarity, context, and leverage. With the right AI setup, you can build that support system yourself.
![This Town Hall Was Proudly Sponsored by [REDACTED]](/content/images/size/w1304/format/webp/2025/06/ohyeah.png)
This Town Hall Was Proudly Sponsored by [REDACTED]
Town halls should build trust and foster real dialogue. Too often, they’re scripted updates. Done right, they create space for honest questions and shared understanding.
Thriving in the Middle Seat
The “middle seat” in change work—too senior for pure execution, too junior for strategy—can feel invisible and exhausting. But with the right framing, it’s one of the most valuable vantage points in the organization.
How Fractional and Freelance Pros Stay Sane in the Chaos
Whether you're a fractional freelancer or embedded in one complex org, staying organized isn’t optional—it’s survival. This article introduces a simple system to help you manage email, files, and notes inside your client’s environment—so you can stay sharp, reliable, and sane.
What to Do When You're the Whole Change Department
When you’re the only change lead on a major initiative, success isn’t about doing it all—it’s about scaling what matters.
What Freelancers Know That In-House Change Teams Don’t
What freelancers get right about change work, and what in-house teams can steal. Lessons from the edge of the org chart.
Nothing Travels Faster Than Gossip in a Reorg
In every organization, there are two communication plans: the one you draft... and the one whispered over coffee before the deck even loads. Guess which one works faster.
The Open Secret of Change Management: It’s Mostly Politics
Change doesn’t fail because of frameworks. It fails when you ignore power, politics, and the people who decide what moves forward.