Anticipatory Initiative – or the ability to look for what’s coming before it arrives – has three key elements:

Curiosity – About trends inside and outside your industry, world events, opportunities for improvement, best practices at competitors, etc.

Monitoring – Not only the most-watched numbers, but those that might indicate a cascade effect or a convergence of factors that form a perfect storm.  Also: short and long term impact and implications of events and circumstances.

Preventative Action – Is always going to be less expensive – in all ways – than remediation and clean up.  Knowing what to shore up – and where – is key, along with creating guardrails and guidelines.

Anticipatory Initiative℠ often comes naturally to the CEOs and senior executives that I work with, if for no other reason than it’s baked into their roles.  Without it, even these highly seasoned leaders would often be caught off guard and their organizations would suffer the consequences.

The challenge that clients describe is that they’re carrying this burden alone and they need their teams to get better at it.

But they’re not sure how to make that happen.

And they know that these times of acute volatility and uncertainty demand all hands on deck.

If you need your team to be better at this kind of AI, the first step is to set the expectation.

The next is to coach and mentor them on it.

With consistent and thorough follow up.

Some may not be capable.

But when we’re very good at something, and it comes naturally to us, it can be hard to understand how others are not similarly proficient.

This is a practice, a way of thinking – a competency and capacity – that can be deepened and improved dramatically.

Thereby dramatically improving results.

For more on working with me directly, drop me a note here.

I work with CEOs and senior executives – and their leadership teams — as a trusted guide, confidant, thought partner, and executive coach to optimize performance.

Anticipatory Initiative is also among the most popular of my keynote offerings this year.  Attendees say it’s filled with real examples and practical application they can use immediately.  You can see a full list of speaking topics here.  Meeting planner resources are here.  All keynotes and workshops are customized, and we are currently booking 2026 engagements.  I’ve spoken everywhere from Harvard’s Kennedy School to the Association for Financial Professionals to Blue Cross and Blue Shield and at large conferences, elite executive retreats, and senior leadership team offsites.

My next openings to work with senior leadership teams open in mid-September.