Stoked

Downtime is your secret weapon for meaningful work. As you step away from the grind, consider this: What does rest look like for you? Here are a few prompts to guide your time off: What activities make you feel truly recharged? What’s one small ritual that could turn rest into inspiration? How might this downtime set the tone for the year ahead? Embrace the pause. Invite inspiration. We’ll meet you on the other side, ready to innovate.

Thriving employees aren’t just happier—they’re more innovative and productive. In a world where talent is harder to attract and retain, culture isn’t a soft metric—it’s your competitive edge. When organizations prioritize culture: ** Teams become more agile, creative, and aligned. ** Trust and transparency drive innovation and resilience. ** The bottom line benefits, because thriving people build thriving businesses. At Stoked, we believe it’s time to rethink leadership and reimagine workplaces—not just as systems of efficiency but as spaces for transformation. As 2025 approaches, here’s our challenge for leaders: How might we design workplaces that fuel bold ideas, deep collaboration, and sustained growth? Let’s create workplaces where innovation thrives because people do.

If 2024 taught us anything, it’s that the pace of change waits for no one. The plans we create today? They risk being obsolete tomorrow. So, how do we lead with purpose and precision in this era of constant complexity? At Stoked, we believe design is the key to holding the balance between efficiency and preserving our humanity at work. It starts with rethinking hierarchy, leadership goals, and feedback—shifting from rigid structures to systems that are adaptive and human-centered.  Design can help us imagine a new way of working: 👉🏽 What if… your team operated with rhythms and rituals that provided consistency while unlocking creativity? 👉🏿 What if… your values served as a compass, guiding decisions and empowering agility in the face of ambiguity? 👉🏾 What if… restructuring wasn’t just about optimizing systems but about awakening purpose, connection, and humanity at work? Great design enables organizations to thrive in complexity by creating workplaces rooted in shared values and adaptive systems that don’t just drive efficiency but awaken the human soul at work.

💡 Expertise or Curiosity: What Will Define Your Leadership in 2025? We all know great questions matter—they’re the lifeblood of innovation. But the real challenge isn’t asking them; it’s creating an environment where beautiful questions can bloom. Curiosity isn’t just a mindset; it’s a practice. It’s a culture. And as leaders, cultivating that culture takes intention. So, how do you do it? Here are four quick ways to get your team leaning into curiosity: 1. Ask Better Starters: Begin meetings with questions like, “What are we assuming that could be wrong?” or “What’s something surprising we’ve learned recently?” 2. Reframe Feedback: Flip the script—invite your team to critique the *process* instead of just the results. You’ll spark insights and fuel collaboration. 3. Celebrate Curiosity Wins: Reward moments when someone says, “I don’t know,” and follows it with, “but let’s find out.” Normalize exploration over certainty. 4. Hold Curiosity Sprints: Dedicate 15 minutes a week to asking, “What big questions could reshape how we work or serve our customers?” Brent Taylor make it plain: The leaders who thrive in ambiguity don’t cling to answers—they embrace questions. They cultivate cultures where curiosity isn’t a buzzword; it’s the engine that drives innovation and growth.

The true cost of ignoring AI isn’t measured in dollars—it’s in trust, creativity, and missed opportunity. AI is no longer a future concept; it’s here, reshaping how we work. For CEOs, the promise is clear: create efficiencies, drive growth, and stay competitive. But for employees? It’s complicated. Many feel stuck in a gray area, unsure if embracing AI means *empowerment* or *replacement.* Fear of making mistakes, unclear guidance on AI usage, and concerns about job security are creating hesitation—just when businesses need momentum. At Stoked, our perspective on AI stems from a simple belief: Technology alone doesn’t lead change—culture does. Here’s how companies can flip the script: 🔑 Clarify the vision. Make it clear how AI aligns with your company’s mission—and your people’s roles in it.  ⭐ Foster confidence. Create a culture where experimentation is encouraged, and failure is seen as a stepping stone to learning.  🤝 Build trust. Frame AI as a tool that enhances human potential, not a substitute for it. McKinsey research shows that 50% of companies are embedding AI into at least one business function. But here’s the kicker: organizations that align AI with cultural transformation report greater revenue growth and cost savings than those that don’t. This isn’t just an AI revolution—it’s a cultural one. 💡Here's a question we’re sitting with: How might we equip employees to see AI as a teammate, not a threat?

What if the way we design education could inspire a whole new generation of learners to think bigger and achieve more? At Stoked, we’re all about unlocking potential through human-centered innovation. Recently, we had the privilege of collaborating with University of St. Thomas - Opus College of Business to rethink how they educate and engage the next generation of learners. Led by Marcus Hollinger and Emily Callaghan, our team worked closely with their educators to explore empathy-driven solutions, embrace the possibilities of emergent AI technologies, and co-create bold, visionary principles that will shape the future of education. It wasn’t just about designing programs—it was about creating experiences that resonate deeply with the students they serve. This project reminded us that no challenge is too complex when you start with curiosity, collaboration, and a commitment to making an impact.What challenges are you facing that need a fresh perspective? Let’s explore how human-centered design can help you break through barriers and create lasting solutions. Reach out or visit stokedproject.com—we’d love to help you get started!

Presence beats perfection. The strongest teams aren't built during easy times - they're forged through challenging times. For leaders navigating layoffs, reorgs, and uncertainty, consider prioritizing genuine 1:1 connection. Your team doesn't need you to have all the answers. They need you to create space for honest conversation. Remember: Your team doesn't want perfection, they want presence. In times of change, be the leader who shows up consistently, communicates transparently, and demonstrates genuine care. Start by sharing one challenge you're working through and invite your team's input.

 Curiosity: The secret weapon against fear Imagine transforming the unknown from a terrifying black hole into an exciting landscape of possibility. That's the radical mindset shift David duChemin is challenging us to explore. We're here for it. Our brains are creativity machines, but they're often hijacked by fear – filling unknown spaces with worst-case scenarios that paralyze us. Sound familiar? Whether it's a root canal, a career pivot, or a bold creative project, we've all catastrophized something that turned out WAY less scary than we imagined. Innovation happens when we: 👉 Sit with uncertainty 👉 Stay curious 👉 See mystery as an invitation, not a threat 🤜🤛 Challenge: Next time fear creeps in, pause. Take a breath. Ask "What might I discover here?" Our most groundbreaking work lives just on the other side of that question. Catch the full podcast episode here:https://lnkd.in/egRMcSU8

"Perfectionism gets in the way of fun. A more skillful goal might be to find comfort in the process. To make and put out successive works with ease.” — Rick Rubin Brent Taylor's words are resonating with us as we, along with many other leaders, are embracing the headwinds that come with closing out the year. The tension between putting our heads down and working hard while maintaining vision and strategy is real. So how do we harness the power of "play" in our work? By embracing uncertainty and leaning into the unknown with the intent to learn. This looks like experimenting, sharing early work often, and learning through failure while it's cheap. Not knowing the answer and moving anyway feels different but the magic is right outside of our comfort zone ✨

How might we solve for loneliness in the workplace? Check out this insightful post curated by Josh Ruff offering practical tools to build a culture of connection at work!