Everything Goes Wrong All the Time: The Solution Navigator's Creed
January 2026
Failure, disorder, and unexpected complications aren't exceptions in everyday life; they're how the world operates. Through a deliberately provocative premise, this essay explores uncertainty, entropy, resilience, and the importance of problem-solving. Rather than treating things going wrong as extraordinary events, it suggests that navigating imperfection is fundamental to progress.
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Is AI Cheating, or Just the Next Shortcut?
March 2026
Artificial intelligence can produce answers, explanations and solutions almost instantly, but does eliminating the effort also eliminate part of the learning? Comparing AI with earlier technological advances, this article explores the difference between using tools to enhance understanding and allowing convenience to replace critical thinking, judgment and the learning process itself.
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Not Everything Valuable Needs to Become a Business Opportunity
July 2026
In a professional culture where every relationship can become a networking opportunity and every accomplishment a marketing exercise, some things deserve to exist without commercial expectations. Inspired by the chapter Give Back from So You Want to Be a Consultant, this essay explores mentoring, volunteering, professional generosity and the responsibility to contribute without expecting something in return.
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Imposter Syndrome Is My Superpower
July 2026
Imposter syndrome is generally considered a professional liability, but could it also be an advantage? Drawing on decades of experience, this article challenges conventional thinking about self-doubt, suggesting that questioning one's knowledge and abilities can encourage preparation, curiosity, humility, and continuous improvement, provided it doesn't become an obstacle to action.
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The Other Side of the Table (Part 1 of 2)
August 2026
One of the unexpected realities of leaving an executive position is discovering how quickly the phone stops ringing. This candid reflection examines the transition from being a sought-after decision-maker to becoming an independent consultant, exploring professional identity, influence, relationships and the sometimes uncomfortable realities of entrepreneurship.
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The Other Side of the Table (Part 2 of 2)
August 2026
Moving from corporate leadership to independent consulting changes the dynamics of professional relationships. Having spent decades as the customer, the author examines what that experience teaches about approaching prospective clients, understanding their priorities, and recognizing the difference between building relationships and simply trying to make a sale.
Insights & Publications
After more than four decades of solving problems, navigating complexity, and occasionally challenging conventional wisdom, I've learned that experience doesn't always provide the answers, but it teaches us to ask better questions.
My writing reflects that philosophy, combining practical insight, personal observation, and a healthy dose of irreverence. Through books, articles, essays, and speaking engagements, I aim to inform, challenge assumptions, provoke thought, and occasionally entertain.
After all, making the complicated simple is what The Solution Navigator is all about.
What Is a Solution Navigator?
January 2026
In a world increasingly defined by complexity, information overload and difficult choices, finding answers is often less important than understanding the problem. This article introduces the Solution Navigator philosophy: clarifying issues, challenging assumptions, translating complicated information into practical insight and helping people make better-informed decisions.
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The First Question Every Consultant Has to Answer
July 2026
Before launching a consulting practice, professionals must answer a deceptively simple question: What do you actually do? Moving beyond job titles, credentials and career histories, this article explores how experienced professionals can translate their knowledge into a clearly defined value proposition that prospective clients understand and are willing to pay for.
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Navigating the Digital Realm: Email and Text Etiquette
January 2026
Despite having more communication tools than ever, clarity and professionalism often seem increasingly elusive. This article examines how email, texting, constant connectivity, and AI-generated content have affected business communication and argues for restoring discipline, courtesy, intention, and accountability to everyday digital exchanges.
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Vigilante Management, 101
January 2026
Taking matters into one's own hands may be appealing when established systems fail, but the consequences in business can be far more complicated. Using the fictional vigilante as a metaphor, this essay explores management behavior, organizational accountability and the risks of pursuing results by circumventing established processes and responsibilities.
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When Is “Enough” Actually Enough? (Part 1 of 2)
May 2026
How do we know when we've done enough? Whether managing projects, making decisions or pursuing perfection, the temptation to keep refining can consume resources without producing proportional benefits. The first installment of this two-part essay examines the tension between thoroughness and efficiency, and the challenge of recognizing when additional effort stops adding meaningful value.
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When Is “Enough” Actually Enough? (Part 2 of 2)
May 2026
Building on the question of when a task is truly complete, this essay examines diminishing returns, optimization and the relationship between additional effort and measurable value. Using engineering principles and practical examples, it considers why doing more isn't always doing better, and why knowing when to stop is an essential element of sound judgment.
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My Kung Fu Beats Your Kung Fu
August 2026
As artificial intelligence becomes embedded in business, competitive advantage will depend less on which AI platform an organization chooses and more on how effectively it learns to use it. Drawing on a memorable expression from a former mentor, this article explores AI proficiency as an emerging business discipline and why understanding multiple tools may become as important as mastering any one of them.