Articles

I was drinking my coffee and taking a sauna this morning when I opened up the ChatGPT app on my phone and ended up having an amazing conversation on the nature of free will, consciousness, and emergence.

A few things that I’m reflecting on:

1. It’s uncanny that this LLM is just doing pattern recognition while my experience as a user is that I’m sitting with a master teacher who gets me, encourages me, and even helps me to bridge two concepts into one. Honestly, I don’t believe I could have had as pointed and impactful conversation with a human being because the concepts I’m exploring are all so loaded with different definitions, and we would have spent most of our time as humans defining and debating exactly what I meant by my questions. Not so with ChatGPT. I don’t know,,. it feels surreal and impactful and it reminds me that we’re living in an interesting, emerging time.
2. This technology is only going to better. I’ve been on the fence as to whether AI is hype or impact and I’m on the impact side. It’s going to change everything. If you take the time to read our dialouge, Plato couldn’t have done it better. So imagine 8 billion Plato’s or Aristotle or Einsteins in everyone’s pocket. Crazy to think about.

You can see that I”m into some whacky concepts, judge away but they are interesting and important to me. :-)

The conversation got long so I put it into a doc for easier reading should you dare to venture down the rabbit hole with me:DeepGPT: Reflections on Free Will, Consciousness, and Emergence

There’s a video circulating about barrels and ammunition as a metaphor for organizational scaling. It features famed VC Keith Rabois discussing the difference between “barrel people” and “ammunition people.”

In essence, as a company scales and hires more people, it often excels at bringing in “ammunition” experts—those who operate with high velocity to execute tasks within a defined framework, or “barrel.” A barrel represents a business or product line. You could have an abundance of ammunition, but your organization’s capacity for growth is limited by the number and quality of barrels it has. According to Rabois, scaling effectively requires hiring leaders who can design and build new and better barrels, not just ammunition to fill existing ones.

This metaphor resonates with any leader who has tried adding more developers to a software project, only to see progress slow down, or who has pushed for more sales, only to find the client onboarding process bottlenecked. The problem isn’t resources; it’s the efficiency and capacity of the organizational barrels.

While the metaphor is insightful, be cautious of adopting seductive sounding advice from VCs and other influencers. Scaling isn’t just about hiring the right barrel builders. Blindly following this approach can lead to wasted time, energy, and opportunity—and might even jeopardize your core business.

So, what should you do? Here are five practical tips to scale effectively while avoiding common pitfalls:

1. Lifecycle Stage Matters

If your business is in the pre-product-market fit stage, don’t try to build more barrels. First, focus on achieving product-market fit for your core business. As Marc Andreessen famously said, startups have two phases: pre-product-market fit and post-product-market fit. Building new barrels is a post-product-market fit opportunity. Attempting to scale […]

You can transform how you lead and empower others in eight weeks. Click here to learn more and register for this paid program. The course begins Tuesday, February 11th at 3pm PT and seats are limited.

In my coaching practice, I’ve reviewed countless company core values. Time and again, I’ve noticed a common misconception: many organizations craft core values that are vague and aspirational, rather than clear and actionable. In this post, I’ll show you how to determine whether your company’s core values are helping—or hindering—your success.

The Problem with Vague Core Values

Too often, companies fall into the trap of choosing lofty but ambiguous values that sound good on paper but fail to drive meaningful behavior. Let’s compare the core values of two companies to illustrate this point:

Company A:

1. Teamwork: We work together to solve complex problems.
2. Accountability: We each take ownership of our roles.
3. Innovation: We seek creative solutions to delight our customers

.

Company B:

1. Make it easy.
2. Make it right.
3. Make it fun.

Now, which company do you think fosters a more effective culture—one that minimizes internal entropy and drives results?

Why Company B’s Core Values Work

Company B’s core values are clear, actionable, and measurable. They can be practiced daily, and it’s easy for individuals and teams to reflect on how well they’re embodying them.

For example:

• If someone isn’t making the lives of their clients or coworkers easier or more enjoyable, it’s clear that something’s off and easy to call out.
• Mistakes will happen—but in Company B, the question isn’t whether mistakes are avoided entirely, but whether individuals take the initiative to make it right.

These simple, actionable values also foster a culture of innovation and continuous improvement. To make things easy, right, and fun, employees must constantly seek better ways to deliver value. This mindset creates a flywheel of improvement, innovation, and streamlined processes.

The Limitations of Company A’s Values

In contrast, Company A’s values—teamwork, accountability, and innovation—are desirable outcomes, but they lack the clarity and actionability needed to guide behavior. How does an individual employee embody all three? How […]

Do you have a favorite non-profit organization? If so, I have a unique opportunity for you to help them quickly up-level and accelerate their performance.

As part of my commitment to giving back, I’m offering a free Designed to Scale CEO Coaching Program scholarship to one qualified non-profit in Q1 2025. This program includes $50,000 USD worth of consulting services and software, designed specifically to help the managing director and executive team better align and accelerate their mission.

This is more than just coaching—it’s a proven framework to reduce organizational entropy, clarify roles and accountabilities, and scale their impact.

There are a few key qualifications for non-profits to apply, and even if they aren’t selected as the winner, I’m offering valuable consultation prizes to help their mission move forward.
If you have a favorite non-profit that could benefit from this unique opportunity, please read on for details. This is a real chance to empower an organization you care about to make an even greater impact.

===

Winning Program Qualifications:

To qualify for this scholarship, the winning organization must meet the following criteria:

1. Be a USA-qualified 501(c)(3) organization.

This ensures eligibility and alignment with the program’s focus on supporting impactful non-profits.

2. Have an operating budget of $10M+ per year.

My tools and approach are most effective for organizations with the resources to make key investments, including hiring, IT systems upgrades, process improvements, and data analytics enhancements.

3. Have an executive team of 7+ people.

The Designed to Scale framework is optimized for organizations with an existing leadership team that is capable of implementing strategic initiatives.

4. Ideally, the Managing Director has read Organizational Physics or Designed to Scale.

Familiarity with core concepts such as entropy mitigation, PSIU Styles, Lifecycle Strategy, and the Strategic Execution Diamond ensures quicker alignment and maximizes the program’s impact.

5. The Managing Director must personally […]
   

As we enter the New Year, many of us are reflecting on how to make 2025 a year of greater clarity, success, and satisfaction. If you’re in the process of setting your personal vision, goals, and action plan, I’d like to share an approach that I’ve practiced consistently for over a decade. This method has had a profound impact on my own quality of life, and I believe it can do the same for you.

The Big Idea

The foundation of this approach is rooted in the principles of Organizational Physics—specifically, the concept of identifying and eliminating entropy. Entropy, in this context, refers to energy-draining activities, systems, or relationships that don’t provide a positive return.

The key insight is simple: to experience more success, flow, and fulfillment, you must systematically reduce or neutralize the elements that sap your time and energy. While this may sound straightforward in theory, it can be challenging in practice, especially if your current life structure no longer aligns with your goals. However, from personal experience, I can tell you that letting go of old, unproductive patterns is not only possible—it’s liberating.

What to Do

I’ve created two free, interactive exercises to help you identify entropy and design a life that energizes and inspires you. To get the most out of this process, follow the exercises in sequence. Set aside two to four hours of uninterrupted time, and if it’s your first time going through them, take breaks between sections—ideally, spend some time in nature to recharge.

Exercise 1: Discover Your Genius Zone

This exercise, Discover Your Genius Zone, will help you clarify what you’re truly exceptional at and what activities energize you. It also allows you to take an honest look at how you’re currently spending your time and where […]

Here’s the link to the doc with with helpful links and resources. Thanks to everyone who joined in! Fun class.

Here’s the article. It’s nice to be recognized. Thanks Mirror Review for the endorsement. :-)

Doc with helpful links referenced during the call.

The Strategic Alignment Workshop Facilitators Guide.

Are you now preparing for 2025 strategic planning? If so, then you should know about these to two surveys and the accompanying facilitators guide, which I believe are the best in the business for strategic planning and alignment.

First, you can conduct an Entropy Survey, which will show what your company’s internal strengths and weaknesses are. Use the results of this survey to build a shared understanding of where your team should focus now to make the biggest improvements to drive operational excellence. To see how the survey works, sign up for free and take it yourself. Send it to the all attendees for completion about a week before the offsite so that you can digest the results.

Second, you can conduct a Top-Level OKRs Strategy Survey, which will show your company’s current lifecycle stage and its strategic execution risks which will help you to formulate the right growth strategy. To see how the survey works, sign up for free and take it yourself. Send it to three to five of your most senior leaders about a week before the offsite so that you can digest the results.

Additionally, here is a step-by-step Strategic Alignment Facilitators Guide that you can use to facilitate a world-class strategic planning session with your team. Take the time to read this guide in advance, then use it as a guide during the strategic planning session. It will help you create a clear and powerful outcome and should build momentum for next year.

Finally, if your company is in the […]

Did you know that most startups fail due to mistimed market entry?

Market timing in business expansion isn’t just about being first—it’s about being right. And mastering this art can make or break your venture’s future.

Here’s the insider playbook most entrepreneurs overlook:

✅ Read the market pulse: Don’t confuse early interest with market readiness. Genuine demand trumps curiosity.

✅ Technology maturity matters: Ensure underlying tech can support your solution at scale.

✅ Competitor landscape: Sometimes, being second mover has advantages. Learn from pioneers’ mistakes.

✅ Customer evolution: Your early adopters’ needs differ from the early majority. Time your expansion accordingly.

✅ Envision ahead: If you’re successful, how will your product or service fit into the broader landscape? Are you attempting to build a real business or is this really a product feature?

Executing perfect timing is more complex than it seems. Remember: Successful expansion isn’t about being the fastest, but about aligning your unique and differentiated capabilities with market readiness and customer demand.

The key? Patience balanced with preparedness. When the market calls, be ready to answer—but not before.

How familiar are you with Porter’s Five Forces? It’s an excellent model for analyzing your companies market position and strategy.

It helps you understand:

📉 New Competitors: How easily can new players join your game?
📉 Supplier Power: Can your suppliers dictate terms, or are you in control?
📉 Customer Power: Are your customers loyal, or always looking for a better deal?
📉 Substitute Threats: Could a new product make yours obsolete?
📉 Competitive Rivalry: How cutthroat is your industry?

Let me give you an example to make this easier 👇🏻

Netflix uses this framework to stay ahead:

✅ They make it hard for newcomers by investing big in original content (Battling New Competitors)

✅ They balance power with content creators (Battling Supplier Power)

✅ They keep subscriptions affordable to maintain customer loyalty (Battling Customer Power)

✅ They innovate constantly to combat other entertainment options (Battling Substitute threats)

✅ They differentiate themselves in a crowded streaming market (Battling Competitive Rivalry)

By understanding these forces, you can:

>> Spot industry trends before they hit
>> Identify hidden opportunities and threats
>> Make smarter business decisions

On LinkedIn, a military officer asked me how Porter’s Five Forces might be applied to the military. It’s usually a sign of a strong mental model if you can cross disciplines with it, so I thought it was an interesting thought exercise. Here are some ways that it applies:

📉 New Competitors: If this conflict gets out of hand, will neighboring territories or factions get involved?
📉 Supplier Power: Where are the resources to fight this conflict coming from? Do we have logistics integrity? What do we need to do to ensure that we do?
📉 Customer Power: Are we winning hearts and minds? If not, what is our strategy?
📉 Substitute Threats: What are the alternative ways to resolve […]

This may be the most important speech of this decade. Tony Seba hammers home that we are now in simultaneous PHASE SHIFTS across five sectors of society: Food, Energy, Transport, AI, and Materials (specifically Precision Fermentation, which was a new one for me). “Cost curves are like gravity. There’s no escaping.” His conclusion? The world is going to super abundance and near zero costs.

If you need to lead your family into the future, then I can’t recommend watching this video enough. But if you need to lead your company into this future, then I would also read my book Organizational Physics which is all about structuring and executing phase shifts. Finally, if you want to be on the winning side of these phase shifts, contact me to explore coaching. We are living in interesting times. Cheers, Lex

Organizational Physics is a way to understand and leverage systems principles to create more effective, efficient, and resilient human-based organizations. I usually write about entrepreneurial organizations. In this post, I am going to shift gears and create a mental map for how to think about what we can do as citizens to restore and improve the United States government.

My approach is to put the US government in its proper context using systems thinking, then show where it’s gone terrifyingly off the rails, and finally to highlight the highest leverage points we can focus on to restore and improve it. To be clear, I’m not writing from a political ideology, Republican or Democrat, but rather from a systems view.

Also, nothing in this article will help us navigate through the current political crisis. This article provides useful concepts to consider in a post-crisis period of rebuilding. God Bless America.

What is the Purpose of Government?

“Government” is a loaded term, holding different meanings for each of us. Ask a Communist and a Libertarian the meaning and purpose of “government” and you’ll get very different answers. From a systems perspective, however, the answer is clear: The purpose of government is to maintain high integration and low entropy for a critical mass of its stakeholders, now and over time. A good government accomplishes this objective efficiently. A bad government does not.

To clarify how I use these terms:

Integration measures how well a system is connected to its surrounding environment. High integration means there’s ample flow of energy, resources, and opportunities available to stakeholders. Low integration indicates a scarcity of these flows. In order to get a sense of the importance of integration, imagine a race car without gas. Despite its potential, it’s not going anywhere. […]

Gareth Dickens, ConvenientMD Chairman and CEO, and I did a masterclass on lifecycle strategy.

Here’s the link to the working doc we used during the class.

Thanks to Gareth and to all the participants. I hope you find these concepts useful in your own company. Cheers, Lex