2026 One Word/Phrase (1-7-26)

Happy Wednesday and Happy New Year!

I hope you had a relaxing and recharging holiday. We are going to kick off a series about some questions you might consider asking yourself as we get this year rocking and rolling. Our first question is an annual tradition. What is one word/phrase that will serve as your north star for the year?

At the beginning of every year, I take time to reflect and choose a word or phrase that will be my north star for the year. I’ve found it helps ground me versus getting lost among setting too many goals. To identify my one word/phrase I ask myself things like: What went well last year that I want to continue? Where could things have been better? What do I want to achieve? What do I want to give more focus and energy toward this year?

In 2025 my word was REBUILD. I needed to rebuild after having a few years that absolutely kicked my butt. My focus on rebuilding and repairing had huge dividends and contributed to me having one of the best years I’ve had in a long time throughout many aspects of my life. This year, my phrase is Make a Choice. As I reflected on 2025, I realized that things were at their best when I was making intentional choices whether this meant being very deliberate about working out or making clear trade-offs at work. When I didn’t actively make a choice, I would default to getting lost in the grind, doomscrolling, and other activities that didn’t serve me or bring me joy. My phrase is a subtle reminder that I can either choose and have better outcomes or get swept in a current I don’t want to be in.

The challenge: What is your one word or short phrase for the year? What is your north star?

Bonus: The image is a vision board I create that incorporates my one word/phrase as well as other images that have meaning. Here is a breakdown of the vision board.

Phrase- “Make a Choice”
- 2025 was one of the better years I’ve had in a while. My focus for that year was rebuilding, and I had a lot of success building myself back up, rebuilding some better habits, etc.As I reflected on 2025, I realized that the best parts of the year stemmed from me making very intentional choices.
  - I chose not to run myself into the ground and was deliberate about ensuring that didn’t happen.I chose to make sure I took time to recharge on a frequent basis. I chose to make weightlifting more of a priority. I chose to focus my time and effort on key work projects.
  I also realized that when things weren’t as good, it’s because I did NOT intentionally make a choice. Essentially, when I wasn’t making intentional decisions, I was passively sliding into not so great habits like:
  - Doomscrolling for a long time before going to bed. Getting sucked up in the speed of life and getting lost in work while sacrificing family and health. Watching/consuming mindless stuff (food, entertainment, etc) that I didn’t enjoy vs choosing things that would bring me joy.
- Bottom line- if I can I can do a better job of ensuring I am always actively making a choice, my life will be even better.
Morpheus and the red vs blue pill
- This represents the idea of making a choice.
Spider-man swinging
- My superpower is connecting people, things, and ideas. Spider swings effortlessly between the connection points, and that’s what I strive to do.
Marvel superheroes
- I like having someone to remind me that I’m blessed to work with a lot of amazing superhumans, and part of my job is to figure out how to bring out the best in everyone.
4S
- I had copilot create a cool logo for this. It stands for strength, steps, sustenance, and sleep, the building blocks of good physical health. I want to make sure I’m nailing those fundamentals, and the logo makes it look cooler 😉
The battery
- Reminder to
  - 1. Not let my better every get too low
  - 2. Make sure I’m recharging whether that is rest, moving my body, spending time with family/friends/etc.
Momentum
- I feel I gained a lot of positive momentum last year, and I need to continue to think about how I can take advantage of that to continue to make the world a bit better.

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

I hope we are all like the Grinch (12-10-25)

This will be the last blog of 2025. If you’ve been on this distribution list for a while, you might recognize that I usually end the year with this entry. I feel it is just as relevant now as it was in years past. Besides, we watch the same holiday specials every year, so we can revisit the same holiday themed blogs, right? 😉 For our final blog of the year we will look at How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

During this holiday season I hope we are all like the Grinch. Pretty strange thing to say, right? Let me explain why I feel this way. You may know the story of the Grinch. He is a grumpy creature who decides he will try to steal Christmas from the Whos. He concocts an elaborate scheme and then steals all of the presents, decorations, etc. in an effort to ruin their holiday. This negative attitude is what we often associate with the Grinch, but this isn’t the end of his story. The Grinch grows as a character, and life is all about growing, changing, and becoming better.

The Grinch has stolen the gifts, and then he hears the Whos singing. Suddenly, it hits him right as his sleigh full of gifts starts to go over the cliff. “And what happened, then? Well, in Whoville they say – that the Grinch’s small heart grew three sizes that day. And then – the true meaning of Christmas came through, and the Grinch found the strength of *ten* Grinches, plus two!” He saves the gifts from falling over the cliff, rides into Whoville, and serves the roast beast at the feast.

The reason I hope we are all like the Grinch this year is because he grows and becomes a better person. He begins filled with apathy, malice, and grumpiness, and then he allows love in and it fundamentally changes him. How have you changed and grown this year? Wherever you are right now, we have the chance to be better. Imagine how different the world be if all of our hearts grew like the Grinch’s. Here is to all of us knowing what it feels like when our hearts grow three sizes in a day.

As always, thanks so much for reading. Your reading and encouragement throughout the year is the best gift I could ever ask for. Merry Christmas, happy Hanukkah, and happy holidays for anything you might be celebrating! I hope you disconnect and recharge. I hope you find peace, love, and fulfillment.

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

An Open Letter to 2025 (12-3-25)

The year is coming to an end, and I’ve been spending a bit of time by my Christmas tree reflecting. Here is my open letter to 2025.

Dear 2025,

Your friend 2024 was rough, and if I’m being honest, kind of beat the crap out of me. You on the other hand, were a bit of a rainbow unicorn dancing in the midst of a thunderstorm. Yes, things were sometimes as chaotic as heck, but you were beautiful with a touch of magic and everything I needed.

My theme for the year was “Rebuild”. As I shared in my first blog of the year, after getting beat down, I needed to make extensive repairs AND changes. I did just that. I had better work/life integration than I’ve had in years. I’m ending the year with a solid foundation that should serve me well in 2026.
I continue to be thankful for my health. While I have room to grow, I rebuilt some of my health habits, and I’m at least exercising more regularly than I have for the past few years. I’m looking forward to accelerating this next year.
It’s easy to forget that love is a verb. Words are nice, but without actions, they aren’t love. Words without actions are just empty gestures. Love is active. Love is listening, helping, taking accountability, being vulnerable, growing to be a better partner/person, and more.
Speaking of love, my wife is incredible. Every year I spend with her I am in deeper awe of her strength and how much she cares about me and our kids. I wish everyone had a partner in their life like her that made them better and made them want to be better.
My kids are 11 and 13 and continue to come into their own. I’m proud of them for their accomplishments, but I’m most proud of them for how they are growing into good people. People who care. People who are brave enough to own their mistakes and repair situations. If they grow up and all they are is good people that will be the best outcome that could ever occur.
I’ve spent the last year of work as a Mad Scientist/Willy Wonka hybrid character, and that’s been so enjoyable to see dreams come to fruition.
The chance to deliver magic at work increases when you have the right people in the right roles with the right leadership surrounded by the right team. It’s hard for those things to line up, and I’m thankful to have lived that this year.
Are the people at work just people you work with or are they teammates and partners? There’s a difference. Something incredible happens when you can get talented people to see a common vision and build toward that together.
Is it real pressure or is it self-pressure? Often, we do more damage to ourselves with our own made-up expectations than we do based on the real expectations.
Hard times suck AND they are often great teachers. They teach you who cares. They teach you what matters.
Plant things now. Maybe you’ve missed your moment like I have in the past. That’s okay. That moment is gone, so plant now for a better future.
2025, you’ve been good to me. Thank you!

The challenge: If you haven’t taken the time, take a few moments to reflect on 2025 and the lessons and emotions it gave you this year. How will these shape you moving forward?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Lesson 5- The Importance of Reward and Recognition (11-26-25)

This is the last in the series of lessons that kept repeating for me throughout the year. Lesson 5 is that reward and recognition are more important now than ever before.

I’ve noticed a pattern over the past few months. When I’ve shown appreciation for people this year, their reaction has been stronger than in years past. Don’t get me wrong. People have always been thankful. They have always appreciated being seen and recognized for their work. It just seems like rather than words of recognition and appreciation being a small boost, they are now filling a deep hole. Have you noticed this?

Why is this happening? I’m not sure what it is. I don’t know if it’s because we are running faster and harder than ever before. I don’t know if it’s because life feels less stable than it ever has. Maybe it’s because collectively we’ve lost touches of our humanity as we have become connected with devices and less connected to each other. Maybe it’s because our unspoken question is, “Do I matter?” as we exist in large corporate machines. Whatever it is, I feel that there is less acknowledgement of others and their worth than there has been in years past. It’s a massive tangible difference that I can feel with individuals AND more broadly with groups. What do you think?

While I don’t have any idea what is causing this, it is making me more aware of how much power each of us has, and how easily we can use that power as a force for good. Taking a few moments to say a kind word. Spending a few minutes writing an email shouting out someone for their effort. These things don’t just create ripples; they create powerful waves now.

The challenge: We have more power to lift others up than we will ever realize. Will you use this power to recognize someone and fill them up today?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Lesson 4- Standing Strong in the Emotional Fire (11-19-25)

Last week was about the invisible backpack. This week is lesson 4: the importance of standing strong in the emotional fire.

The other day one of my kids was having a really hard time emotionally. If my kid was a dragon, they were spitting fire everywhere. It would have been easy to tell them to just go to their room on their own to sort it out. It would have been easy to tell them to suck it up and stop making it such a big deal. It would have been easy to step away from the situation, so we wouldn’t get sucked into the energy. Instead, my wife and I sat there. As my kid unleashed fire like a dragon, we sat there. We let the fire go around us and we walked through it. We didn’t try to stop the fire. We sat there with them, and when they stopped breathing fire, we sat there and comforted them until they were whole again.

Let’s make some connections. Standing in the midst of the meltdown wasn’t comfortable. It wasn’t pretty. It was exhausting and difficult. It wasn’t where my wife and I wanted to be. It was where my wife and I needed to be. We needed to show them that their fire didn’t scare us. We needed to be there to show that our love is stronger than any feelings/meltdowns/fire they could throw at us. We needed to be there to show that we will always be a safe and firm foundation for them. It’s not like we did anything magic. We just stayed there, softly speaking words of encouragement, reminding them that they are loved and it’s okay to feel strong feelings. For our family, we will always choose to stand strong in the fire. (By the way, watching my wife sit in that fire was one of the most beautiful and strong things I’ve seen. I hope you’re all blessed to have someone like her.)

The challenge: In a world filled with humans who are often scared to allow their vulnerability to show, will you be strong enough to stand in the fire with them? Will you be strong enough for them to lean on?

Bonus- I also wrote a poem inspired by these events. You can check that out here https://www.linkedin.com/posts/andrew-embry-979831b7_love-emotions-dragons-activity-7396885754817384448-Lkfc?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAABjcjy0BSioATZ2Tfprhg_c9r0itVMM87PQ

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Lesson 3- The Weight of the Invisible Backpack (11-12-25)

Last week was about impostor syndrome. This week is lesson 3: the weight of the invisible backpack.

I want you to imagine for a minute that you are hiking. Everything starts great. Now, you’re a few hours into the hike. You can’t quite explain it. Something is off. You are moving slower than you normally do. It’s harder to walk than it normally is. You find yourself more tired and out of breath. Eventually you sit down and all of a sudden you realize that you’ve been wearing an invisible backpack. You slide it off your shoulders and for the first time you realize all the extra weight you are carrying. You’re not sure how the invisible backpack ever go there, but you’re so glad the weight is gone now. You notice that things are quite a bit easier for the rest of your hike.

Let’s connect some dots. A couple of weeks ago my wife and I finished something, and we looked at each other and said, “Whoa, I didn’t realize how much that was weighing on me.” Somehow, we had picked up an invisible backpack during our hike through life. I could feel myself being tired, not as productive as I would have liked, and that things felt harder than usual. I just didn’t understand why, until that weight had been taken off my shoulders. Looking back, I wish I would have paid more attention to the signs, and maybe I could have done something about this invisible weight I was carrying. Have you ever been in a similar situation?

The challenge: Will you take the time to check the invisible weight you’re carrying? Will you give yourself and others a little more grace in the process?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Lesson 2- Impostor Syndrome Doesn’t Just Go Away

Last week we started with lessons that have kept showing up for me this year and started with leadership matters. This week we will explore how impostor syndrome doesn’t just go away.

Impostor syndrome is a psychological phenomenon where individuals doubt their accomplishments and fear being exposed as a fraud, despite evident success. Have you ever experienced something like this? My impostor syndrome sounds like this, “Andrew, things aren’t going as well as you think. Remember how a few of your projects failed this year? Do you remember how that thing didn’t go as smoothly as it could have? Sure, you accomplished X, but you left Y and Z on the table. Why couldn’t you do Y and Z too? Are you not good enough? Andrew, you’re supposed to be leading AI stuff and you don’t know enough to be an expert.”

Let’s connect some dots. Here is what fascinates me about experiencing impostor syndrome. I’ve had a good year. I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished. I’ve led projects and been parts of groups who are reimagining the way we think about market research. I’ve met most of my goals and I have absolutely crushed some of them. I would have assumed that my success would keep impostor syndrome away, but it still rears its ugly head.

My learning is that impostor syndrome will likely always be there in some capacity, so I can either keep fighting it or I can learn to exist with it. I can learn to explore it. I talk to it now. It sounds like this:

When it tells me I failed or fell short, I say, “Yep, everything you said is true. I’ve had projects fail. I’ve had things that didn’t go as smoothly as I’d like. Can you show me anyone who did things perfectly all year? I’ll wait.” Yes, I’m being a bit of a smart aleck, but it snaps things into perspective.
When it tells me that my successes aren’t enough, I respond, “If someone else accomplished all the things I did that wasn’t me, what would I tell them?” It’s amazing how quickly I realize that if someone else did the exact same things I did this year that I would be cheering and telling them they should be proud of themselves.
When the impostor syndrome tells me that I missed opportunities I reply, “You’re right. I couldn’t do it all. I placed the best bets I could based on what I knew at the time. Some paid off. Some didn’t. I’ll make smarter bets in the future.”
When the voice tells me I don’t know enough I say, “That’s true. I don’t know it all. I also never claimed to. That’s why I’m open to learning.” The voice tends not to bother me that much once it sees I’m not afraid of not knowing.
Overall, talking things through, examining the evidence, and gaining a little perspective always makes me feel better.

The challenge: Impostor syndrome likely won’t go away. How can you learn to live with it and talk to it?

Bonus- The Inside Job Podcast, one of my favorite podcasts, recently did an episode on how we talk to ourselves. It covers the “inner critic” and more. Might be worth a listen if you want to go a bit deeper into this topic The Conversations We Have With… – Inside Job – Apple Podcasts

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Races and Different Ways of Recharging (10-21-25)

Blog coming to you today, because I’m out of office tomorrow. 😉 This week is about different ways of recharging.

This might not make any sense to anyone. My racing hobby is one of my favorite things to do to RECHARGE my batteries. Right now, at least one of you is thinking, “So, running/hiking for miles in the heat, crawling through rock and mud, climbing on stuff, carrying heavy things, and picking up all kinds of bumps and bruises is recharging for you. Is there something wrong with you?” It’s a fair question 😉 All of those things are true, AND it’s time outside, mainly on my own without any distractions. It’s a time to be with my thoughts. It’s also a time to discover and push past my limits which is invigorating. Because of those things and more, races might take a lot of physical energy, but they fill so many of my other energy buckets.

Let’s connect some dots. Whenever I find myself feeling stressed or tired from work, one of my first instincts is that I need to rest to recharge. Resting looks taking it easy all day, not doing anything, and maybe even fitting in a nap. Sometimes, this helps me feel a bit better. Sometimes, it doesn’t. It’s not that resting was bad. It just wasn’t what I needed at the time.

Over the past few years, I’ve learned that when I need to recharge, sometimes I need to rest and other times I need something different. Sometimes, recharging looks like reading or writing blogs and poems. Sometimes, recharging is playing with Legos. Sometimes, recharging looks like hanging out with my family. Sometimes, recharging is being by myself for a period of time. Sometimes recharging is a good workout or an obstacle course race. How do you recharge?

The challenge: How are you being intentional about recharging in these busy and stressful times?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Obstacles and Celebrating Progress/Small Wins (10-15-25)

Last week was about embracing the grimy path to success. This week is about failed rope climbs, conquered warped walls, and celebrating progress and small wins.

I failed the warped wall 3 times at Frontline OCR back in May, which resulted in some nasty friction burns on my leg. With that in mind, I came into the recent Midwest OCR looking for redemption. The first obstacle I ran into was the rope climb. I did not complete this obstacle. HOWEVER, I’m so excited, because for the first time in my life, I actually hooked my feet correctly. I got further than I’ve ever made it. Then, when I got to the warped wall, I finally beat that thing! I latched onto the rope and knew I wasn’t letting go until I had finished climbing the wall. I had so much adrenaline running through my body after completing the wall that I thought I might pass out.

What does this have to do with anything? It would have been easy for me to call my race a failure. I failed obstacles. I was slower than I wanted to be. I didn’t win. However, I view it a success because of the progress and small wins I had. Now think about work for a minute. How often do you pause to celebrate progress and small wins? Be honest. If you’re anything like me, it’s so easy to get focused on the end goal with a win/lose mentality that I don’t pause at work. Then, I find myself feeling stuck or like a failure, all because I haven’t opened my eyes to the progress that has been made. Does this sound familiar to anyone else? It doesn’t have to be this way. We can all be celebrating small wins on a more regular basis.

The challenge: How will you ensure you are celebrating progress and small wins along the way?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Embracing the Grimy Path to Success (10-8-25)

This week we are going to kick off some reflections from my recent obstacle course race at Midwest OCR. Our first topic is embracing the grimy path to success.

Here is the picture of me after my most recent obstacle course race. I’m smiling, striking a pose, looking strong, and proudly wearing my medal. This picture makes it look like I smoothly and effortlessly navigated the race in a perfect fashion. None of that is true. My race was ugly. You don’t see how I failed quite a few obstacles. You don’t see me red faced and feeling like I was dying on some of those hills. You don’t see the time I tripped and slid down a hill into a knee-deep mud bog that swallowed my legs and almost took my shoes. You don’t see the bruises I picked up along the way. Now that you know those things, does this make me any less successful? For me, just because it might have been a little ugly doesn’t take away from the fact that I was ultimately successful.

Let’s make some connections. Have you ever looked at a successful person and said, “Whoa! They have it all figured out. They just make success look so smooth and effortless. They must be perfect”? I know I have. Then the next thing I did was start comparing myself to them, which led to self-doubt. I would feel like a failure if everything I did wasn’t effortless and smooth. As I’ve got older, I’ve realized that success doesn’t come from things being flawless. Success is the result of continuing to persevere, especially when things are grimy and ugly.

The challenge: Will you embrace that success doesn’t have to be pristine? Will you embrace that the path to success is often grimy and ugly?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry