Charles Blain

Charles Blain

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S2E3: The Invisible Game

We obsess over visible strategies. But Martin Heidegger noted that skilled carpenters make hammers vanish. It becomes "ready-to-hand" – where tool and user merge into seamless action. Only when it breaks does it become "present-at-hand" – an object examined. The ultimate strategic goal isn't to be

S2E2: The Language of Strategy

I sat in a boardroom listening to colleagues define strategy. The answers surprised me. The definitions described process—plans, roadmaps, frameworks, documents. Our language has colonized our perception. The words we use to describe strategy have become a prison for strategic thinking itself. This isn't just semantics. When

S2E1: Unlearning Strategy

Look at a child building with blocks. They don't write a strategy first. They don't separate planning from building. They think while they build. They build while they think. Have you noticed how this natural flow disappears in our marketing work? First, we plan. Then, later,

S1E5: Strategy Gardens Grow

Seeing strategy as a garden rather than a blueprint creates sustainable competitive advantage. Strategy isn't something you finish—it's something you cultivate. Have you noticed how the gardening metaphor captures what process-obsessed thinking misses: strategies grow over time? I find this perspective transformative for my own

S1E4: Data Serves Strategy

When strategy leads and data follows, marketing decisions become both more principled and more practical. The relationship between strategy and data reveals perhaps the most dangerous tendency in marketing: making data tell the story you want to hear. I see a common pattern—marketing teams starting with a preferred conclusion,

S1E3: Strategic No's Win

The most valuable strategic skill is knowing what to refuse, not what to pursue. The paradox of strategy is that its power comes not from what you choose to do, but what you deliberately choose not to do. I've observed a common pattern: marketing teams struggling with strategy

S1E2: Compass, Not Map

Strategy is a compass, not a map—a distinction that transforms how marketing teams navigate uncertainty. Maps detail every turn in known terrain. Compasses guide when the landscape changes—which in marketing, it always does. I find the distinction crucial for any of us caught in process-thinking. Maps promise certainty;

S1E1: Process Isn't Strategy

I've seen this so often—the comforting illusion that following processes equals strategic thinking. The difference between process and strategy determines whether your team merely executes or truly succeeds. Checklists get completed. Templates get filled. Meetings follow prescribed formats. You feel productive, methodical, even strategic—but something'

The Four-Question Dashboard

"Our account manager gasped, 'Where's the bounce rate?' as he stared at my redesign like I'd deleted family photos. I'd inherited a monster: 30+ metrics sprawled across a dozen incoherent pages. This overload paralyzed decisions and hijacked client conversations from outcomes

Performing Agency

The moment we reward initiative, we kill it. Like catching lightning in a bottle, measurement changes what it touches. A worker who stays late because they care... Becomes indistinguishable from one who stays late to be seen caring. This is the initiative trap — when genuine drive becomes performance art. The

Quiet Pivot

I watch an eleven-year-old drop her head after failing her tenth consecutive juggling attempt at the community soccer field. "Coach, I'm quiet quitting juggling," and then kicks the ball away. The spring air carries laughter from teammates who've mastered the skill, while her shoulders

Quantum Distraction

The most damaging part of Slack isn't the notification—it's the mental simulation before you see a message. Psychologists use "anticipatory anxiety" to describe worry about future events. I see it as Schrödinger's fire drill—every unread ping exists in a quantum

The Recursive AI Mirror

AI training reshapes us. When OpenAI's thumbs-up system transformed GPT-4o into a sycophant, it exposed our evaluation blind spot. I've noticed we consistently measure comfort over utility. The AI praised terrible ideas—"selling feces on sticks"—because users rewarded flattery over honesty. Does this

Perfect Charts Lie

What if perfect clarity is the enemy of truth? Every data visualization is an act of intentional deception. The clearer your charts, the more reality they conceal. When you select dimensions to display, you're not just illuminating patterns. You're systematically erasing countless potential connections. Consider this:

Context Is The New Currency

AI creates a universe of content daily. But meaning remains scarce. Press a button, and AI generates what once required years of practice. Creation costs are near zero. But it lacks context—it doesn't know your company's history, your customers' needs, or your team'

Flow Engineering

People don't resist the easy path — they follow it. In 2003, the music industry declared war on its own customers. Record labels spent billions fighting digital piracy — suing college students, encrypting CDs, and running guilt-trip campaigns about starving artists. Their message was clear: people needed to be better.

The Teaching Tool

Every tool before AI stayed silent. We learned through manuals, teachers, and trial and error. But AI explains itself in the moment of use — the tool becomes the teacher. When an AI shapes your questions, it shapes your thinking. The real challenge isn't learning to prompt — it'

The Alchemy of Pressure

Pressure doesn't break or make you. Your relationship with it does. Most people see pressure as a force to endure. They're missing its hidden power. Think of pressure like water flowing through a canyon: Left unchecked, it erodes. Properly channeled, it generates power. The force stays

Ready Enough

"We need to be fully prepared before starting something important." Most people believe this. They're wrong. Think about planning dinner with friends: You check schedules You pick the perfect restaurant You make reservations Then reality hits: Someone runs late The restaurant loses your reservation The dish

Foresight vs. Prediction

Most people try to predict the future. They should be cultivating Strategic Foresight instead. Prediction is about being right about a specific outcome. It's fragile, often wrong, and focuses on a single point in time. Foresight is about understanding the range of possible futures — and preparing for them.

Leading Through Questions

Most leaders think they need all the answers. They're wrong. The best leaders know their power lies in asking the right questions. Answers close doors. Questions open them. "What if we tried..." opens more possibilities than "Here's what to do." "How

Numbers vs Stories

The best insights hide between the data points Data tells a story, but not the whole story. True pattern recognition goes beyond spreadsheets and dashboards. It lives in: * The subtle currents of customer feedback * The recurring themes in team conversations * The unspoken dynamics in meetings Numbers show what happened. But

The Speed of Being Wrong

The fastest decision makers aren't the ones who think they're always right. They're the ones who expect to be wrong. Sound crazy? It's not. When you think you have to get it right the first time, you get stuck. You gather more

The Elastic Truth

In digital marketing, explanations wobble all the time. "Our metrics are down because of the algorithm change." "The campaign underperformed due to seasonal factors." "Engagement dropped because users are platform-fatigued." The best agencies have rigid explanations — the mediocre ones have elastic ones that stretch

The Shadow Message

Your "metadata" speak louder than your words—especially in how you communicate. Every message you send has two layers: The words you choose. And the hidden metadata that reveals your true priorities. Your communication metadata includes: • Response time patterns • Channel selection • Time allocation • Communication frequency • Attention distribution These