Brave Improv Guide

Growth is a result, the question is what was the strategy that is supporting or now shrinking your market share? As we enter the 4th quarter of 2026, many firms might want to re-evaluate some of their assumptions and business thinking. Digital is increasingly finding the infrastructure headwinds more formidable than they imagined. Read the full post here: https://e3ecubed.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=7125&action=edit

http://framestretching.com/2026/09/01/should-you-adapt-innovate-or-reinvent/

Should you Adapt, Innovate or Reinvent? It’s Sept 1, is your strategy supporting further growth or slowing shrinkage?  Growth is neither sudden or guaranteed. It’s not when that matters, it’s what. Recognizing what does or do…

Representation isn’t false but its not reality either

If you have ever read fiction, seen a movie or a play, then you know the characters are not real. The characters' physical, behavioral and emotional likeness to people affects our understanding, specifically how we connect to their appearance and performance. The more relatable the players perform the created role, the more we trust the representation. It also tests our understanding of reality....

Representation isn’t false but its not reality either If you have ever read fiction, seen a movie or a play, then you know the characters are not real. The characters’ physical, behavioral and emotional likeness to people affects our understandi…

Chicago is counting down, but are you counting the right thing? 🕛 Forget the mechanical clock and calendar. New Year's isn't just a date; it's a moment to see the artifice of time for what it is. It reminds us that we too are "fleeting sparks in the eternal continuum. " We've let our calendars enslave, and distract us from experiencing the deeper, untamed wonders of the universe.

My wish is for you to tune in to feel, taste, smell, hear and see ground truths. Tap below to read more, and Happy new year!

Reach for the Stars In Chicago, just 11 hours ’til the clock strikes! Tomorrow isn’t just Thursday; it’s a whole new year! Twixmas, a deliberate, delicious pause—it’s more than just a break fro…

You Free to think?

Free for lunch today? Everyone plans, but not everyone is thoughtful in their planning. Think about your lunch. Did you pack one? Is there a lunch meeting on your calendar? Or are you planning to "scavenge" when the hunger hits? Each of these is a legitimate plan, but rarely are they complete. Risk lives in the neglected details. If you're scavenging, did you account for the line at the deli?...

You Free to think? Free for lunch today? Everyone plans, but not everyone is thoughtful in their planning. Think about your lunch. Did you pack one? Is there a lunch meeting on your calendar? Or are you planning to &…

YALP

Passing the time by playing? Human history is longer than digital devices. scribbling for example is easier with old school tools. This keyboard constraint aligns the symbols, gives them appear more uniform and standard in size and position. That's the point of the interface, but is that the purpose and point I'm exploring? What contributes to my own meaning making? Deepens my understanding?...

YALP Passing the time by playing? Human history is longer than digital devices. scribbling for example is easier with old school tools. This keyboard constraint aligns the symbols, gives them appear mor…

Everyone seems to understand network effects, but do we understand cooperation, and our own roles? My portion of any pie is it the same as my contribution? here's today's scribbles and commentary.

The Evolution of Cooperation are you playing to lead? When you think about leadership, does cooperation even come to mind? What is a leader’s role, really? Who is it that needs to be nice, forgiving, and retaliatory? Thi…

Anchoring Chicago’s Future: From Bonds to Buttons

Yesterday a classic Fall day in Chicagoy— rainy, gray, and quietly electric. It began with talk about Bonds and ended with reimagining fashion.

After darting the rain, I joined a room full of investment professionals at the SRI/ESG/Impact breakfast . Conservative in attire, bold in ideas, I was there o hear from the visionaries at Builders Vision and Nuveen about their new paper, Scaling Solutions.

Their message landed hard:
💡 Impact investing doesn’t belong only to private markets.
Fixed income — $141 trillion globally — is the engine already funding the world’s infrastructure.

My mind was stretched from Roads, Housing, and Energy grids. Yes, to local manufacturing, and why not circularity of supply for fashion and future resilient regional economies too?

As a strategy advisor to startups and mentor at , I spend my time with the people building on the ground — founders who feel every market shift in their bones. The morning reminded me how powerful it is when capital and creativity meet halfway.

Returning to MHUB that evening, I attended Rewoven Runway, where Chicago designers turned reclaimed textiles into beauty. Their vision was bold — but their materials scarce. Our city once clothed the nation. Now, local textile mills are nearly gone.

That contrast hit me:
What if the same bonds that build bridges could rebuild looms?

Fixed income can be more than a safe bet — it can be a local circulatory system for sustainability.

Impact doesn’t have to be distant or abstract.
It can be worn. Seen. Felt.

👉 Read the full story on how finance can re-weave Chicago’s economy: https://e3ecubed.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=6290



http://framestretching.com/2025/10/16/my-bookend-day-anchoring-chicagos-future-in-impact-and-thread/

My Bookend Day: Anchoring Chicago’s Future in Impact and Thread Yesterday was a classic Chicago Fall transition day. The gray sky, rain tapping against the windows, and a room full of investment professionals dressed in conservative suits, each one fluent in th…

Speed to market, speed to launch, speed to deliver, yes Speed seems to be king. This idea may be gospel and an oft repeated mantra whispered in every accelerator, but there's a cost. Is the relentless drive for action, even if it’s messy, better than careful planning? It feels decisive. It feels like you’re finally getting traction. But what if you’re just spinning your wheels?...

What if “Move Fast and Break Things” is the most expensive advice you’ve ever taken? Speed to market, speed to launch, speed to deliver, yes Speed seems to be king. This idea may be gospel and an oft repeated mantra whispered in every accelerator, but there’s a cost. Is the r…

If you wonder whether answering questions maybe robbing your organization of opportunity, this new series is for you.

Is Burnout something you soothe, or eradicate with strategic clarity? The exhaustion and weariness in their eyes. says it all. Your team is running on fumes. They’re drowning in a sea of “urgent” tasks, contradictory priorities, and meetings that cr…

Monday mornings often include the weekend recap as the prelude to the Week's warmup. Looking to the Fall, isn't it time to Activate up your Strategic intentions? Here are some suggestions

undimed.wordpress.com Nov 28, 2015; USC Trojans quarterback Cody Kessler source: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Aligned and Committed–that was the question Antonio Morales asked in his Athletic feature …