Legos, Change Management, and Making Next Steps Clear and Easy to Take (4-29-26)

Last week was about Legos, change management, and breaking builds down into achievable milestones. This week is about Lego instruction manuals and making it easy to take the next step.

This is going to sound weird. One of my favorite things about Lego sets are their instructions. Lego does a fabulous job of making the next steps clear and easy to execute. This enables me to spend more time on building vs being confused by what is going on (which is how I feel about non-Lego brands).

Lego does a few specific things to make it easy to take the next step. First, they break the build down into sections, which we discussed last week. Second, each step is small and manageable. They don’t ask you to do too much in one step. You just put together a few pieces and then move to the next step. Third, each step clearly outlines what you need, so you can make sure you’re ready. Last, they will do special callouts if something is particularly tricky or might be missed.

How does this all stack together? Think about work for a moment. Have you ever been part of an initiative and said something like, “I understand why we are trying to go there. I just don’t know HOW.” This is something I hear a lot, and something I’ve experienced quite a few times throughout my career. When this happens, it is because the immediate next step is unclear. Imagine if we had Lego directions to guide us. Imagine if we had plans in place that helped make it easier to take the next step. No matter where you were in the process you’d be able to say, “Here is the action I’m supposed to take.” That would enable us to spend less time lost in swirl and more time executing. As leaders, it’s on us to help drive this level of clarity.

The challenge: How will you make the next steps clear and easier to execute?

Bonus: I recognize that things are always evolving, so the directions may not be as simple and straight forward as Lego instructions. However, we can all make sure we are clear about what is moving in the right direction. We can all make sure that we make it easy to take the next step. For example, it’s really easy to say, “Just use AI to go faster,” but that’s not helpful to anyone, because it lacks so much clarity that it becomes overwhelming and paralyzing. Even if people would randomly use AI, it doesn’t mean it would be good. A better approach would be, “We can use AI to make this specific part of this process better. To get started, use X AI tool to solve Y problem. Here is the first step to take to get you going…”

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Legos, Change Management, and Clear Milestones (4-22-26)

Last week we kicked off our series about Legos and change management by focusing on knowing what you’re building. This week is about breaking Lego builds down into sections and having clear milestones.

My parents bought me this Spider-man set a few years ago for Christmas and it’s one of my all-time favorites. It is comprised of 2099 pieces. Imagine how difficult that would have been if all of the pieces would have just been mixed in together. That would have been horrible! Luckily, Lego doesn’t do that. They break the build down into digestible sections. Each section has a bag with the pieces you need for that section. You then work through the instruction book section by section until you’re done.

Let’s connect this to work. How often have you been involved in an organization wide initiative and been utterly confused on how to execute it? That’s happened to me a lot throughout the years. It’s almost like they dump a bunch of info (Lego bricks 😉) on you and hope you just figure it out.

Now, think about the time when you’ve been involved in something complicated, but they did a nice job of breaking it down into digestible sections. You could see how all of the milestones would add up to get you to where you need to go. You also were clear on what you needed to accomplish for each milestone. What impact did this have on you? I’ve found in these situations I was less confused and could put my effort toward executing vs figuring out what the heck was going on.

The challenge- How can we break complicated initiatives down into easier to execute milestones?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Legos, Change Management, and Knowing What You are Building (4-15-26)

This week we are going to kick off a series focused on Legos and change management. By the end of this, we will build concepts that you can leverage to lead change management efforts. The first entry in this series will be about the importance of knowing what you are building.

Imagine for a minute that I dump a bunch of Legos in front of you and ask you to build something that is faster. I then tell you that it’s important you get this right. If you miss there will be negative consequences. From here, I don’t give you any additional clarity. How would you feel? What kind of a thing would you build?

Now, assume I go back to you and I show you this picture of a rocket house, and say this is what we are trying to create. Would you have naturally built something like this? How much rework would you need to do to create something like this rocket house?

Let’s make some connections. If you were in our Lego situation above, I bet you would have felt frustrated. You also likely would have wasted a lot of effort creating something that looks nothing like the rocket house. At the end of the day, one of the most important steps in change management is being able to articulate where you’re going. If we are unclear on where we are going, we can’t build something to get us there.

Think about your experiences at work. How often has there been an organizational effort that was unable to paint a clear picture of where the company is trying to go? The company might use all the right buzzwords. They might say, “We are transforming. We are trying to move faster. We are trying to deliver better experiences. We are becoming more agile.” The buzzwords are not the same as clear direction. As leaders, we need to be able to articulate a clear vision if we want to lead people to new destination.

The challenge- How will you paint a clear picture of where we are trying to go?

Bonus thought

For the record, I’m not claiming I’m perfect at change management. The reflections from this series are reminders for me as much as they are for anyone else. This stuff is hard and requires intentionality to do it well.
If you recognized the rocket house as Emmet’s dream house from The Lego Movies, then you get 579 bonus points.

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Bonus Blog- Guiding the River (4-13-26)

Happy Monday!

This is a bonus blog. Sharing in case it helps you too. It’s about being overwhelmed and seeking control vs guiding the chaos.

Over the past few months, I’ve had times where I felt overwhelmed with change and the rate of change whether it’s AI, work, my kids getting older, other life stuff, etc. Have you felt the same way? When I feel a bit overwhelmed, it’s easy to wish for control. Over the past few days, I’ve been reflecting and remembering that it’s not my job to control the chaos. Controlling the chaos is impossible. All I can do is try to channel it and guide it in the right direction. Once I realized this, I had more peace.

This led to me creating this short 1 minute poem I call “Guiding the River”. I hope you like it. You can watch the poem by clicking HERE and I’ve included the text at the bottom of this entry.

The challenge- Will you try to control the chaos or will you let go and attempt to guide it?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Guiding the River

I stand on the bank

watching the river

the same way farmers watch crops.

Wondering what and when something will happen.

The river is agitated,

rushing,

gurgling,

spitting.

The same river that brings much needed life,

also brings destructive floods.

The same river that is crisp and clean

is filled with silt and sediment from muddy banks.

The same river you peacefully float on

can drag you away thrashing with its current.

There is too much power in the river to control it.

There is too much power in seeds to tell them exactly how to grow.

Like a farmer, I don’t seek to control the river,

because that is impossible for mere humans.

I merely seek to create space and guide it along its path.

A nudge here.

Shaping the bend differently there.

Redirecting water downstream.

And the river will be less agitated.

And the river will be more free

Flowing to nourish the crops

and souls that need it.

Andrew Embry April 2026

The Original Nintendo and Being Easy to Work With (4-8-26)

You can’t talk about Mario without talking about the original Nintendo console. This week is about how temperamental those original game cartridges were and being easy to work with. This entry is inspired by a nostalgic trip down memory lane that Jenna Alspaugh took me on.

The Nintendo console was launched in the 1980s with Super Mario as the flagship game. When the console worked, it was amazing! You were instantly transported to the mushroom kingdom to experience a new type of entertainment. The only problem is that the console didn’t always work immediately. Getting it to work was like performing a ritual for the video game gods and hoping for their blessing. You’d grab the video game cartridge, blow into it to clean it, insert it into the system, wiggle it just slightly, say a few more prayers, and then hit the power button. You’d repeat variations of this until it finally worked.

Let’s connect this to work. Whether or not you’ve ever played Super Mario, we’ve all likely ran into some version of having to put in a lot of extra effort just to make something work correctly. When have you interacted with processes or systems that were just difficult? When have you interacted with people who were just difficult? How did those make you feel? In both experiences, I’ve left those situations feeling frustrated and wondering if it was worth it or not. Also, I felt less inclined to use that service or partner with that person again. Also, since we are being honest, have you had times where you were being the difficult person? (sheepishly raises his hand) While it’s true that bumps and mistakes are going to happen, we can also ensure we are doing things to make it as easy as possible for customers and partners to work with us.

The challenge: How can we make it easier for customers to interact with our products and solutions? How can we make it easier for individuals to partner with us?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

1-Up Mushrooms, Extra Lives, and Extra Chances (4-1-26)

Last week was about balancing where you are and lofty goals. This week is about 1-up mushrooms, extra lives, and the power of having extra chances.

If you’ve never played the Super Mario games, it’s important to know that in many of the games you have limited lives. Once you exhaust those lives, the game is done. With this in mind, imagine playing Mario and you are on your last life. If you make a mistake, it is game over. How do you feel? I’m assuming you feel a bit anxious, less likely to take risks, worried about failure, etc. Now imagine, that you have found some of the beautiful green 1-up mushrooms. All of a sudden you have multiple lives. Your chances aren’t unlimited, but you have more than just one. How do you feel now? I’m assuming you’d feel a little more relaxed, more willing to explore and experiment, and in a better mental place to do well in the game.

Let’s connect this to work. Have you ever been on a team or in a situation where you felt you were on your last life? You knew that if a mistake was made it would be punished harshly. It would be game over. What did that feel like? Did you do your best work in that situation? When I’ve been in those situations I’ve felt tense, hesitant to take risks, and kind of miserable. I did good work, but I definitely didn’t do my best work in that situation.

Now think about the teams and situations where you felt you had some extra lives. What did that feel like to you? Did you do your best work in these situations? For me, these are the situations where I knew I could take a risk. I knew I could make a mistake and it would be okay. I knew I had the opportunity to learn from these shortcomings and make it even better. It’s true that I had misses, and it’s true that my work product was FAR SUPERIOR.

At the end of the day, whether you feel like you have extra lives or not isn’t just about you. It’s also about leadership and culture. Leaders, whether formal or informal, go a long way in shaping the culture that dictates the norms and how the game is played.

The challenge- How will you create an environment where people feel like they have extra lives and extra chances?

Bonus thought- Just want to say I’m thankful for a leader, HiT crew, and broader market research culture that gives me the feeling of having extra lives, especially as my work is focused on AI. I feel every couple of months things change drastically and I realize that my initial thoughts were a miss. Without those extra lives, it would have been game over for me a long time ago. With those extra lives, we are building something incredible together.

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Quarterly Self-Assessment (3-25-26)

It’s a bonus blog! I hope you’re excited 😉 For the past few years I’ve used the last Wednesday of the first quarter to share a blog on doing quarterly check-ins for work and yourself. This will be a longer email, because I’m sharing my own self-assessment.

I just had my first performance check-in of the year at work. In preparation for that I asked myself, what are 2-3 highlights? What are 2-3 opportunities to do better? What are some learnings from Q1 I can apply moving forward?

What does this have to do anything? While this is great for work, we could apply this same thinking to our personal lives as well. What are some of your goals for 2026? How did you do with them in Q1? Take a moment and CELEBRATE progress you’ve made. After you celebrate, then you can reflect on your gaps, why they exist, and how you can close them.

The challenge: Will you take the time to do a quarterly check-in? What changes will you make to set yourself up for the rest of the year?

Bonus: Here is my review based on the dimensions in my life I set goals for. Hopefully, it sparks a thought or two for you.

Make a Choice (B-) This is my theme for the year. I wanted to be more intentional about where I invested my time and energy, because things were better when I was intentional. While I did okay, there were a few areas, mainly in my physical health where I just kept falling into mindless habits.
Mental Health (B) The goal is to feel like I’m in a good, strong, solid mental state. I’m feeling pretty good right now, which is particularly impressive with all that is going on in life and work. In the grand scheme of things I think I’m doing a good job of being grounded and focusing on the things I can control. To get to an A, I need to make improvements in my physical health and I also need to be more intentional about investing in things that recharge me vs just resting.
Physical Health (C) Overall, the goal is to be healthier. On the good side, I’ve been getting pretty good sleep and I completed my yeti race. On the needs improvement side, I haven’t been able to find a rhythm where I’m working out/being active on a regular basis.
Family (B+) The goal is to feel like I’m being an amazing husband and dad. I’m feeling pretty good about things right now. My kids are 12 and almost 14, and the teenage hormones are real. There are a lot of days filled with dragons, but I’m comfortable standing in the fire and not getting burned. I do think I’ve been a bit caught up in work lately and I don’t want to lean too heavy into the work side.
Career (B) The goal is to feel like I’m delivering magic, where things are effortless and just cranking out high quality work constantly. It’s a high bar, and one I always strive for. I feel good about what I’ve done and delivered this year ranging from AI strategies to AI playbooks to evolving AI tools, but it doesn’t feel like magic yet. I’m still trying to navigate some swirl and wrap my brain and arms around a potential future that seems to change every day. Also, in the midst of all of the AI evolution and organizational change, the flood is real and trying to survive that and help others survive that feels overwhelming at times. Overall, I’m on the right path and need to keep focused on pushing the next evolution and broader adoption/utility. I’ll get there and the magic is going to be pretty incredible 😉

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Balancing Where You Are and Lofty Goals (3-25-26)

Last week was about Mario, chasing Power Moons, and making progress. This week is about Super Mario Wonder, celebrating where you are, and having lofty goals.

Currently, I’m playing Super Mario Wonder, a recent side scrolling game filled with bright colors and fun powers. I’m pretty good and I often reach a flow state, where I effortlessly sprint through the level, perfectly time every jump and move, dodge the bad guys, gather all of the purple coins, find all of the wonder seeds, and capture the flag at its peak at the end of the level. Sometimes, I’m not in this flow state. I still beat the level, but it’s not quite as magical or smooth. When I’m not beating levels in the flow state, I’m still having fun. I’m still doing well. It’ s just not magic. I don’t beat myself up when this happens. I don’t get mad or overly critical. I am proud of beating the level AND I continue to go after achieving the flow state.

Let’s make some connections. Think about work for a minute. How do you balance being proud of where you are and aspirational goals? Yesterday, I had my first performance check-in and I told my boss I was feeling pretty good about things. He asked me what it would look like to be doing great. I told him I would be delivering magic. Everything would move and be effortless, and he basically said, “So you’d be doing miracles?” Well, basically 😉

I explained that I’ve done magic before at work, so I know what that looks and feels like. That’s what I’m chasing. I’m very proud of everything I’ve done this quarter. However, similar to our Mario story, I’m beating level, but it’s not flow state level magic right now. I’m not crushing myself because I failed to meet a borderline unrealistic expectation. I’m just acknowledging that I have lofty goals that I know I can get to. I’m reflecting and thinking about how I can handle things in the future to enhance my chances of delivering magic. I’m celebrating what I’ve done, while still aiming high.

The challenge- How will you balance lofty goals with being proud of what you’re delivering?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Mario, Power Moons, and Making Progress (3-18-26)

Last week was about how Mario contains multitudes. This week is about Mario, collecting Power Moons, and making progress.

Super Mario Odyssey is one of the most recent and one of my favorite Mario games. Your ultimate goal is to defeat Bowser. To do this, you need to progress through a variety of open world levels. The only way to move from one level to the next is to collect enough Power Moons to power your spaceship to fly to the next level. Here’s the thing though, these levels give you a lot of space to explore. You could spend hours jumping around, fighting bad guys, collecting coins, etc. without ever gathering the Power Moons you need to make progress.

Let’s connect this to work. Our Mario example was about how I could play a level for hours without ever getting anywhere. Has this ever happened to you at work? Have you ever come to the end of the day and realized you had done a lot of things, but didn’t actually do anything that enabled meaningful progress? Obviously, this never happens to me (he says while infusing the text with as much sarcasm as possible). It’s easy to get lost in email, conversations, meetings, etc. without ever actually moving the needle.

I’ve found the only way to avoid this is to be disciplined and intentional about consistently revisiting what my priorities are, where I am in relation to them, and what steps I need to take to make meaningful progress. Then, the most important part is working to make my calendar reflect my priorities. Have you ever looked at your calendar and realized it didn’t reflect your priorities? This never happens to me (#moresarcasm). The world is louder and more complex than ever before, if we aren’t clear on what we need to chase to make progress we will never move forward.

The challenge- How will you ensure you are gathering Power Moons to enable progress?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Mario Contains Multitudes (3-11-26)

Yesterday was March 10^th, often written as MAR10 aka Mario Day! In honor of that we are going to kick off a series inspired by the Super Mario universe. This week will be about Mario containing multitudes.

Many of you might be familiar with Super Mario. You most likely know him from his adventures saving the Mushroom Kingdom. I’m excited that you know that side of Mario, but he’s so much more than that. He is a true renaissance man. He is an Italian plumber and brother. He is the savior of the Mushroom Kingdom. He has been to the land of dinosaurs and to space. He is a doctor who has treated deadly viruses. He is an incredible go kart driver, a scratch golfer, star soccer player, homerun hitting baseball player, and a multi-event gold medalist in both the summer and winter Olympics.

What does this have to do with anything? When you first read this was about Mario, you likely thought about him jumping around, hopping on koopa troopas, and going down pipes. You likely didn’t think about all of the other things that Mario is and the other roles he plays. Now think about the people you work with. How do you view them? Do you primarily view them as employees? Do you view them as people who contain multiple aspects worth exploring?

The challenge: How can we see the multitudes in each other?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry