Tag: love

Being More Human (10-7-26)

This is a one-off entry inspired by a dinner conversation I had with folks about the idea of being more human.

I attended an insights conference this week.  Last night, during dinner I was mingling with some other like-minded insights professionals.  Eventually the conversation turned to what we would write a book about.  One of the individuals said they would write a book about being more human.

The group began to dissect the various layers of this idea.  We talked about a world obsessed with technology, AI, and automation and how easy it is to forget the human in the loop.  We talked about how the world is changing and moving faster than ever before, and how humans weren’t designed to keep up with this.  We also talked about the evolution of work and the pressures to keep emotions and individuality in check to fit a broader culture.  It’s an idea worth exploring.

Let’s connect some dots.  I don’t know what your experience is.  I’ll say that work is hard right now.  There is uncertainty, change, looming deadlines, and so much pressure.  I don’t know about you, but I think we could all benefit from being more human.  In a world obsessed with tech, we can remember that we are humans and not machines.  In a world that pressures us to not have or show emotions, we can be more human and allow ourselves to feel the spectrum of emotions as we deal with all of this.  We can give ourselves permission to feel sadness, anger, hope, and more without feeling a need to apologize for having emotions.  In a world so focused on speed, we can be more human and be brave enough to try to connect with someone in a moment of vulnerability, even if it’s just to let them know you’re there for them.  In a world of tough decisions, we can be the type of leaders who connect as humans through the pain and difficulty.

The challenge: What will you do to be more human today?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Performance Under Pressure (9-30-26)

We will continue this series on reflections from our internal insights summit. Last week was about using high expectations as an invitation to strive for greatness.  This week is about performance under pressure.

Our guest speaker for this segment was Dr. James Hewitt, a former racing cyclist turned PhD performance scientist.  His talk was about performing under pressure without burning out.  He argued that pressure is always going to be there, and performance is trainable.  From there, he discussed how success isn’t just luck, but it’s inevitable for the teams who train to handle this pressure. He then talked through his 3 part framework for preparing to deal with pressure. 

  1. Capacity– Building the foundation for performing under pressure
  2. Control– Reframing stress as an opportunity to grow
  3. Coordination– Synchronizing your team to transform pressure into performance

The one that stuck out to me the most is capacity, because this is the one we know the most about.  We all know logically that we need to ensure we are taking care of our physical, cognitive, and emotional health.  We know we should exercise, take breaks, not be so hard on ourselves, etc.  However, there is a difference between knowing and doing, and the difference between knowing and doing is having negative impact across the board.

How does this connect with work?  It’s pretty safe to say that there is more pressure and more constant pressure than ever before.  In many ways, it feels harder and harder to keep up and deal with everything.  What if a large portion of this is because we haven’t built the foundational capacity to even begin to handle this pressure?  Without the solid ground, we are already compromised and less able to deal with pressure from the beginning.

When I reflect on capacity this way, it changes the way I think about physical, cognitive, and emotional health.  A lack of sleep isn’t just something that makes me a little less tired during the day.  Being mentally drained, isn’t just something I can shake off.  Being emotionally dysregulated isn’t just something I can easily overcome.  These aren’t minor inconveniences.  They are barriers to me performing as an employee and more importantly as a human.

The challenge- How will you build up your capacity to perform under pressure?

Bonus thought 1: The other shift I’ve made for these things is rather than spending an exuberant effort in trying to optimize everything, I’m asking what are the minimum effective doses I need.  Maybe for my physical health it’s a solid lifting session 3 days per week.  For my mental health, maybe it’s a commitment to stop scrolling and only read books after 9:30pm.  It doesn’t have to be a lot. Small steps matter.

Bonus thought 2: Here’s a link to his book if you want a quick read filled with some helpful nudges, frameworks, and other things to think about Amazon.com: Regenerative Performance: How to Thrive in an Always-On World Without Sacrificing Your Well-Being (Audible Audio Edition): James Hewitt, Dr. James Hewitt, Amplify Publishing: Books

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

The Magic of Vulnerability (9-16-26)

Last week we kicked off a series focused on things that inspired me during our insights summit.  We focused on learning how to solve problems like a magician.  This week, we will look at the magic of vulnerability. (See how smooth that transition was 😉)

Prentice Stovall is a Sr VP in Immunology, and one of the leaders who spoke during our conference.  He had a fireside chat moderated by Bob Draper, Immunology Market Research leader.  During the chat, Prentice shared all kinds of nuggets that filled my cup as an insights professional.  He talked about how our insights organization has the ability to influence all of Lilly.  He discussed the importance of integrated insights across data and teams, so we don’t send the business in the wrong direction.  He shared how our judgment and ability to tell stories with data are critical to the success of the organization.  I was definitely feeling the love.

He was also vulnerable in a way that made those points resonate more.  Prentice talked about how his time working in market research has shaped a lot of how he operates.  The questions he asks, the way he thinks about data, all of this was shaped by his time in research.  He took this further and shared a story of being early in his career and he received feedback along the lines of, “Prentice, you seem to find a way to make data even more complex.”  He talked about how he had to work on this skill and how he approaches things now.  When he admitted this out loud, the entire audience chuckled, because we all had been there and made the exact same mistake.  We also smiled, because this tale of his showcased how this storytelling skill he values so much, isn’t always easy.  Having a CMO share a moment like this wasn’t on my bingo card for the day, but it made everything else he said that much more powerful and that much more human.

Let’s connect some dots.  When was the last time you saw a leader be vulnerable and human about something?  What impact did that have on you?  When was the last time YOU were vulnerable and human about something?  What impact did that have on you and the people you work with?

In a world of AI and emerging technologies, I believe we are all looking for something or someone a little more human.  We are looking for the connection.  We are looking for the person who can talk about a failure with a smile, because we’ve all been there.  We don’t have to look for these people.  We can BE these people.  Whether you’re a leader on stage or with colleagues, you have the chance to show something real.

The challenge: How will you model vulnerability and authenticity?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Just Checking In (9-2-26)

We are going on a slight detour from our normal blog stuff this week.  I’m going to keep it 100% real.  I feel that virtually everyone I’ve spoken with lately is going through something tough.  Maybe, it’s change and uncertainty at work.  Maybe, it’s being crushed by the avalanche of requests coming from everywhere.  Maybe, it’s family illness and being a caretaker when your energy is all but spent.  With all that said, I just wanted to pause to check in.  I think this is the letter the universe wants me to write, so I hope this meets you wherever you are. 

Happy Wednesday,

I know you’re going through a lot right now.  It probably feels like you’re getting the crap kicked out of you from all angles with a few sucker punches thrown in for good measure. 

I feel you, and because I care about you, I want to meet you where you are.  If you’re in the mud, I can sit in the mud beside you and agree that this is gross, squishy, and just sticking to us in all the worst ways.  If you’re in the dark, I can be beside you too and agree that it’s a bit scary when you can’t see where you’re going.  If you’re in a storm, I can be there too and agree that it’s cold and the claps of thunder and lightning are startling.

Wherever you are, I’ll be there.  And when you’re ready to move, I’ll walk beside you.  I’ll remind you that multiple things can be true at the same time.  It’s totally true that this sucks.  This is hard. This is exhausting. This hurts.  It’s also true that you have years under your belt of persevering.  You are able to rest without giving up.  You are strong enough to push forward without losing yourself. It’s also true that in spite of all of these things or maybe because of all of these things, you still have kindness in your heart.  At the end of the day, you’re human and loved. 

My challenges for us this week

  • If you can, sit beside a friend in the mud/dark/storm.  Don’t fix. Just be there.
  • Be kind to yourself.  You don’t need to beat yourself up when the world is trying to do that already 😉

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

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

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

What would cause me to miss achieving my goals? (1-28-26)

This week will be the last in our series about questions we should ask ourselves at the beginning of the year.  This week I want us to ask ourselves, “What would cause me to miss my goals?”

In January we spend time outlining goals and objectives.  We focus our efforts on identifying what winning looks like.  It’s easy to assume that things will go well, but the chances of everything going well is slim to none.

Recently, I asked myself, “What would cause me to miss my goals?  What would cause me to lose?”  I quickly identified a few things.  I will miss my goals if I don’t invest my time in the right things.  I’ll miss if I don’t carve out the time to do the right things.  I’ll miss if I’m not being intentional about orchestrating change management efforts.  I’ll miss if I don’t get certain projects moving in Q1.

After identifying the things that would make me lose, I took a second to look at my plan for the week.  I quickly realized that I had been caught in the swirl.  I was doing a lot of things, but they likely weren’t the right things.  They were a distraction.  As a result, I moved a few things around on the calendar, blocked time for key work, and I gave myself permission to be slow and non-responsive on a few other things.  Ultimately, I was able to make good progress on things that mattered.  Looking forward, I’m already blocking time and thinking about other things I can do to minimize my chance of missing and increase my chance of being successful.

How does this connect to work?  The world moves fast.  If we aren’t intentional about things we might end up participating in behaviors that will lead to us not reaching our goals.  Spending time doing a pre-mortem and identifying the key things that go wrong brings awareness and gives us a chance to gameplan on how we will handle these things.  Be honest.  Take a look at this month.  How much time did you spend on things that will lead to you being successful vs how much time did you spend on things that will result in you missing?  What is getting in the way of you making progress?

The challenge: Will you identify what would cause you to miss your goals and then take action?

Bonus- You can apply this thinking to your personal life.  Something that will make me miss my physical health goals is pushing myself too hard too fast.  My shoulders aren’t what they used to be, and after pushing them too hard with weight that was heavier than I should have been doing I needed to take a few weeks off for them to heal.  I’ll go a lot slower from here on out.

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

How will you support and instill confidence in others? (1-26-26)

If you’re in the Midwest, I hope you are surviving the snow.  This is a bonus blog.  The question for us to reflect on is, “How will I support and instill confidence in others?”

Last week I was invited to speak at and attend the Insights Association CEO Summit.  It was a conference filled with insight leaders across various functions and industries.  There were companies of all sizes and focus areas.  If I’m being honest, I was a bit nervous about speaking there.  I’m not a deep technical market research expert.  I’m not a CEO level leader.  I’m not someone who knows all of the technical ins and outs of every last AI model and offering.

I call my parents the night before I’m supposed to give my talk.  I’m on speaker phone with both of them talking about the flight down, the nice weather, etc.  I mention that my talk is tomorrow.  I start to say that I’m nervous, and before I can fully finish the sentence my mom says, “You were invited for a reason.”  It wasn’t some over the top rah-rah moment.  It wasn’t overly emotional or mushy.  It was a strong direct statement of factual support.  My mom repeated herself, “You were invited for a reason.”  She was saying, “They wouldn’t invite you if you weren’t good. Whoever invited you felt that you had something worthy to say or they wouldn’t put their neck out. You’ve done good work. You’re more than capable. Just do the thing.”  It was a nice confidence boost, and things went well the next day.

What does this have to do with work?  I have a memory from early in my career that will always be burned into my memory.  I was a young associate, relatively new to my role.  Bryan Lapel, who led the function at the time, brought me into a room and said something like, “This is a complicated mess.  I’m 100% confident that you will deliver.”  He said it in a tone that the outcome was inevitable.  It was probably a 30 second conversation.  I stepped out of that enclave like, “Get ready world! I’m going to run through some walls now!”  Have you ever had a moment like that where a leader instilled that level of confidence in you?  Have you ever been able to deliver a moment like that for someone else?

The challenge: How will you support and instill confidence in others?

Andrew Embry

How broken am I willing to be to achieve my goals? (1-14-26)

Last week we kicked off a series about questions to ask ourselves as we start the year.  Our first question was “What one word/phrase will be our north star?”  The question this week might be a bit intense and provocative.  The intent is to help us think about protecting our mental health by asking this challenging question, “How broken am I willing to be to achieve my goals?”

Over the past few years, I have watched as more individuals have struggled with mental health challenges than ever before.  I’ve seen more people go on leave from work because of stress and its negative impact.  I’ve heard more people talk about how they were exhausted, beat down, limping, and feeling overall broken.  I have also been that person.  Last year was the first year in a long time that I didn’t feel I went past the breaking point.  I think part of this is because I began the year by asking myself, “How broken am I willing to be to achieve my goals?” and forcing myself to contend with this answer. 

How does this apply to work?  While the question is admittedly intense, asking how broken I was willing to be was a wake-up call that forced me to contend with the impact of feeling broken and how that affects my role as a husband, dad, friend, and human.  While I had allowed myself to go past the breaking point in the past, I realized it wasn’t worth it.  If this meant not doing everything or missing out on something, so be it.  I would rather be whole and be better for myself and family than be the super stressed hurting version of myself.  As a result, I didn’t work myself into the ground.  I was more intentional about where I put my energy.  I made trade-offs and said no to things.  This also led to conversations with my boss where I had to say, “I can’t do X, Y, and Z without sacrificing my heath and family, and I don’t want to do that. Can we align that X and Y are the most important and I can let Z go?”  Here’s the other thing that happened, since I said no to other things, I was able to dedicate time and do X and Y extremely well, and in the grand scheme of things that’s what truly mattered.  Overall, I managed to have a solid year, deliver a lot of value, and I did this while being whole.  I wish this for all of us.

The challenge: We are still early in the year, before you get lost in the shuffle, I’d encourage you to ask yourself, “How broken am I willing to be to achieve my goals?” 

Bonus thought/challenge for leaders- I firmly believe that leaders have a responsibility for protecting the health of their teams.  The choices we make as leaders can enable people to be healthier versions of themselves OR bury them in impossible work and standards that have detrimental effects.  With that in mind, here is the difficult question I’d pose to anyone leading people, “How far are you willing to break people to achieve your goals and/or the team’s goals?” 

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

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