Ideas and Intellectual Property
Kiln Global is codifying an emerging territory: how accomplished leaders preserve judgment when power, politics, economics, identity, and complexity collide.
Power Code Insider
Essays on executive judgment, power, leadership under pressure, and the decisions that define careers and organizations.
Latest · Sep 24, 2026
Have you ever noticed that your toughest conversations rarely happen with other people? They happen with yourself. Long before I became a business executive, and long before I became an executive coach, I was a basket…
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Sep 17, 2026
I recently watched a YouTube video about one of the most publicly dissected and endlessly relitigated moments in modern pop culture: the night Will Smith walked onto the Academy Awards stage and slapped Chris Rock. Fo…
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Sep 10, 2026
It doesn’t take long. Sooner or later, someone leans across the table and asks, “So what do you think I should do?” For a second, I know. Or at least I think I do. I’ve sat in that chair. I’ve carried the pressure. I’…
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Sep 3, 2026
Some of the earliest leadership lessons don’t happen in the boardroom. They happen on the playground. I attended the historic Carver Middle School in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in the heart of Greenwood, the once thriving Black…
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Aug 27, 2026
Every important decision you’ve ever made was made with people around your table who weren’t physically in the room. Most of us assume every thought in our head belongs to us. It doesn’t. Over time, the voices we’ve h…
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Aug 20, 2026
I think most of us know more than we’re willing to admit. Not in a fully formed way, or in a way we can easily explain. More like a whisper. A pull. A recurring truth that refuses to leave us alone. We spend years try…
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Aug 13, 2026
Do you ever feel responsible for problems that aren’t yours? Do you replay conversations that haven’t happened yet? Do you find yourself scanning every room for what could go wrong? Do you have a hard time turning you…
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Aug 6, 2026
You’re probably thinking: “Wait a minute. We’ve spent the last three weeks talking about pressure. Now you’re telling me pressure wasn’t the real problem?” Well... Yes and no. The pressure was real. The budget cuts we…
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Jul 30, 2026
I recently read something Ryan Clark said that stopped me. Not because it was controversial. Because it was familiar. Over the next few weeks, people will debate whether ESPN treated him fairly. They’ll argue over whe…
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Jul 23, 2026
When was the last time you walked into a meeting convinced the right decision was obvious... Only to leave wondering how it became so complicated? The facts didn’t change. The options didn’t change. The desired outcom…
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Jul 16, 2026
What is the cost of becoming increasingly successful at a future you no longer want? Most executives can answer questions about revenue. Profit. Market share. Headcount. Few can answer that one. Yet it may be the most…
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Jul 9, 2026
Most people think executive leadership is about having answers. The executives I know lose sleep because of the questions. Questions that don’t stay at the office. Questions that affect customers, employees, investors…
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