New Possibilities for High Performing Leaders

We are the only species capable of imagining.

Imagination is our superpower. It’s important for so many reasons.

Imagination helps you set impossible goals.

It helps you see what doesn’t yet exist.

And — maybe most importantly — imagination is the spark for innovation.

Innovation is what we crave in business.

It keeps us relevant, creative, and alive.

Most people think innovation means doing something entirely new or ‘sending the man to the moon.’ kinda thing.

The most powerful kind of innovation doesn’t need to begin with invention.

It begins with iteration.

Iterative innovation is the process of using imagination to see what already exists — differently.

It’s taking something that works and asking, How might this evolve?

A rethink with fresh eyes.

That’s where the magic lies.

What does a Turntable have to do with innovative iteration?

The record player was revolutionary for its time. You could listen to music again and again — perfectly, predictably. [My first album was Shake it Up by the CARS.]

The record player took what was once live, fleeting, and imperfect…and made it repeatable. Innovation.

Until someone broke the rules.

According to Chat, a 12-year-old, "Grand Wizzard Theodore," accidentally brushed his hand against a spinning record — and instead of stopping the song, he created a new sound.

That “mistake” became scratching — and a new music genre, Hip Hop, was born.

The turntable hadn’t changed. Its use had.

What was built for playback became an instrument for performance.

And the job description of a DJ forever reimagined.

Hip Hop is now a new multi-billion-dollar industry.

That’s iterative innovation — the courage to touch something that already works and imagine it differently.

Businesses — like music — can get stuck on repeat.

We perfect what works, optimize for efficiency, and protect it from disruption.

But perfection, over time, becomes brittle.

Brittle systems, a term coined by Seth Godin, break not because they’re weak, but because they refuse to bend.

• Netflix didn't invent movie rentals - Netflix reimagined them.

• Apple didn't invent the phone - Apple redefined its purpose

• At Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, we went up against Google, Facebook, and the biggest publishing houses for media dollars. To survive, we needed to reimagine media sales game to have any real success. Back then, we became trailblazers for sponsorships/integrations and product development and partnerships packaged -- e.g. McCormick’s Martha Stewart Living Egg Dying App, Personalized M&Ms with exclusive Martha Stewart Colors. Each was wrapped in a big media buy that helped us punch above our weight.

In business and personally, growth requires movement, change, new thinking.

High performing leaders understand that sometimes what your business needs most isn’t a new strategy or product, but a new way to use what’s already there. Leaders who respond instead of react, and who cultivate habits that sustain long-term performance, are better equipped to iterate successfully without burning out. This mindset allows them to continuously refine what works, just as top achievers redefine success on their own terms.

🚀 Before You Plan 2026…Scratch the Record

As you start thinking about 2026 planning, I'd like to challenge you:

Don’t start by adding.
Start iterating.

Look at who you serve, how you serve and what you.

Five Questions to Spark Iterative Innovation

1. Where are you repeating what works instead of reimagining what’s possible? Routines and systems keep business stable — but they can also make it stale. Notice where repetition has replaced curiosity.

2. What assumptions are you holding about how your clients/product/service? What if those assumptions are outdated — Is your audience ready for something not entirely new but better?

3. If you stripped your product or service down to its purpose, how else could you deliver it?
   Iteration starts by zooming out. When you reconnect to why it exists, new hows reveal themselves.

4. What if you invited your clients into the remix? Ask your favorite clients: What’s one thing we could do differently that would surprise and delight you? Let them be co-creators in your evolution.

5. If you started from possibility instead of protection, what would you try? Every great iteration begins with permission — to play, to test, to imagine. What’s one “safe risk” you could take this quarter to stretch what already works?

Before you write another plan or set another goal, take an hour to scratch your record.

Look at what you’ve already built — and imagine what it would sound like when played differently.

Because 2026 success doesn’t need new. A remix might be your breakthrough.

Here’s to imagination in motion.
Here’s to your next iteration.

If you want to get answers to those questions faster, with more impact and get help with fostering an environment where fresh eyes can create, let’s work together 1:1 or bring me in to workshop with your team. Let's reimagine what's possible and begin reverse engineering a plan for it.