What does a failed lettuce shipment from a Steinbeck novel have to do with your AI strategy? Everything, as it turns out.

In this one, we're doing it, we're stepping into the world of AI adoption. I mean, surely someone should start talking about this AI thing?

Ahem.

We talk about why a bunch of what companies are doing with AI is ruinous efficiency theatre – and what they oughta learn from a hapless lettuce entrepreneur out of classic novel East of Eden.

We explore the parallels between infrastructure booms (railroads then, AI now), why 70% of companies see zero efficiency gains from AI, and how to avoid becoming the laughing stock of your industry.

• The "lettuce man paradox" - when you're right but early, you're wrong
• How 20% of bees ignore the waggle dance (and why you should too)
• The antifragile barbell strategy: boring investments + wild experiments
• Tom's "expert panel of dissenters" AI prompt that will tear your ideas apart (in the best way)
• Why setting up a fence around a playground is more important than setting up goals and objectives
• Container ships, steel plants, graphics chips and compute: what to do with what gets left behind after boom-bust cycles

References:

• East of Eden by John Steinbeck
• Antifragile by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
• Dave Snowden's Ritual Dissent method https://cynefin.io/wiki/Ritual_dissent
• Ken Stanley's Myth of the Objective (playground thinking) https://youtu.be/VDuF4onPmuE?si=4vEfNLBIZyaDvB4h
• Strathern's reframing of Goodhart's Law https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodhart%27s_law
• Adam Mastroianni (of Experimental History) Bag of words, have mercy on us https://www.experimental-history.com/p/bag-of-words-have-mercy-on-us
• Episode 044: The one with the bees https://shows.acast.com/triggerstrategy/episodes/044-the-one-with-the-bees

For a copy of Tom's prompt, or with questions, comments, historical corrections or love notes, ping us at tentacles@crownandreach.com

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Why doesn't your company put the effort into things you KNOW would make a difference?

We feel our way through the murky waters of organisational priorities – from our own dance school advertising disasters to years of consulting war stories.

We talk through why even successful initiatives get shut down, how to influence up without planting flags, and what executives are really thinking when they say "not now."

• Why the person who thinks they can "see the whole elephant" is the most wrong of all (the trap that keeps smart people stumbling around in the dark)
• The hidden costs that aren't money ... and why they're quietly stifling your brilliant ideas
• The counterintuitive secret behind being more influential
• How Facebook begged us to double our ad budget – and we walked away
• The "hygiene factor" false belief that's a career killer (spoiler: your value isn't measured the same way as web hosting, unless you're a web host)
• What executives and cranky toddlers have in common ... plus the simple (but not easy) move that actually works on both
• How to validate someone's perspective without the performative nonsense everyone can smell a mile away
• Why brilliant experimentation programs get brutally killed off (it's not because they don't work)

"The only person who's definitely wrong is the person who thinks they can step back and get a holistic view of the elephant."

References

• Venkatesh Rao – "Portals and flags" https://www.ribbonfarm.com/2014/06/25/portals-and-flags/
• Venkatesh Rao – Don't Build a Hill To Die On from Art of Gig https://www.ribbonfarm.com/2022/11/17/the-art-of-gig-books/
• The "Four U" model: Unpack, Undergo & Unfold Uncertainty https://crownandreach.com/#resources
• Crown and Reach "Pitch Provocations" method – email us at tentacles@crownandreach.com

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What do falling trees in a scientific experiment have to do with failed startups, toddler tantrums, and why some ideas thrive while others collapse under pressure?

We start with a tale from the Biodome, and then try to connect the lessons to growth, resilience, and the need for stress.

• Why trees in paradise kept toppling over ... and why the same well-meaning mistake topples new products and services
• Why the "moat of low status" that separates you from your dreams might be the most important territory you'll ever cross
• The brutal truth about startup accelerators: how surrounding yourself with "supportive" peers can prevent your best ideas from germinating
• The delicate art of stress-testing your fragile creations without accidentally killing them
• Why your toddler's meltdowns reveal the same psychological trap that keeps adults stuck forever
• The 2,000-year-old mental trick that transforms paralysing anxiety into rocket fuel
• The gardener's dilemma: when coddling your ideas makes them weak ... and when exposure kills them outright

Recorded on Bournemouth Beach with the sound of actual wind and waves - because sometimes the best conversations happen when you're slightly uncomfortable.

Share your thoughts and questions with us: tentacles@crownandreach.com

• Biosphere 2 experiment (Oracle, Arizona, 1987-1991) - lack of wind stress prevented the development of "stress wood" - a different cellular structure that makes trees stronger https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biosphere_2
• "Shitty first draft" concept: https://triggerstrategy.substack.com/p/demolish-your-creative-block-with-graham-linehan-and-the-power-of-the-sfd-3841abe8a4fb
• Multiverse Mapping: https://multiversemapping.com
• Fear-setting (Stoic practice) as popularised by Tim Ferriss: https://tim.blog/2017/05/15/fear-setting/
• Antifragility as popularised by Nassim Taleb: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antifragility
• Laura Klein's talk where she mentions Task Rabbit for actual rabbits: https://youtu.be/gbArObiU1Y0?si=m16794EohdbngxsC
• Sasha Chapin, who coined "the moat of low status": https://sashachapin.substack.com/p/the-moat-of-low-status-68a

Find out more about us and our work at crownandreach.com

Find out more about us and our work at crownandreach.com

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Stop eating frogs.

A lot of people think strategy happens in boardrooms with flip charts and important people saying momentous things.

In this episode we argue that you're doing strategy when you decide what to do with your next three hours. (It's very strategic of you to spend 22 minutes listening).

We introduce the strategy ladder — or is it a cargo net? — a way to think about how your influence can scale from individual hours to organisational quarters, without you needing to set up shop in a glass-walled war room.

Including-but-not-limited-to

• Why strategy definitions are contradictory and often just marketing
• Why "strategic" often just means "more expensive"
• Hidden hierarchy games and what they mean for influence in the workplace
• The difference between real strategy and expensive to-do lists
• How to be less unstrategic with your next 1-3 hours (and why that matters)
• The two scales that strategy operates on: time and people
• Why you can't set SMART goals on things outside your control
• Environment design vs willpower: the biscuit shelf principle
• Mouse-wiggling surveillance and the intrinsic motivation alternative
• Why other people don't want their behaviour changed (spoiler: it's none of your damn business)

This one's for anyone who's tired of feeling like strategy is happening somewhere else.

If you've got a better metaphor than a cargo net, or great examples of Monday morning strategic thinking, drop us an email: tentacles@crownandreach.com (& if you've tried before and got a bounce notification, please try again – we fixed it!)

References

• John Cutler's "1s and 3s" time horizons concept: https://cutlefish.substack.com/p/tbm-1453-1s-and-3s
• Experimental History's Excuse me but why are you eating so many frogs? https://www.experimental-history.com/p/repost-excuse-me-but-why-are-you
• Theory X vs Theory Y management approaches: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_X_and_Theory_Y
• Reddit thread about Eat That Frog: https://www.reddit.com/r/productivity/comments/108tgov/eat_that_frog/

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We've just published the video from our first-ever Multiverse Mapping Live! session, and this podcast episode is the debrief we had straight after we finished recording.

We recorded it while wandering through the woods, complete with a crumbling walkway and the occasional navigational hiccough.

Some stuff we talked about

• Tom was sweating bullets the whole time, but thankfully it didn't come across
• How do we remember to do more of the zooming out? That's when everything clicks!
• How to "close the game" properly (shoutout Dave Gray)
• Why some experiments need an overnight digestion period
• The challenge of delivering insights on a schedule vs. letting them emerge naturally
• How to turn your expertise into live content (even when you're terrified)
• The difference between safe, prefabricated examples and real-world messiness
• Why "interesting things are interesting if you're interested in them" might be our most profound insight yet

This is what strategy work actually looks like - not the polished case studies, but the real, messy, human process of figuring things out together.

AND we're looking for volunteer #2. Could that be you? Drop us a message: hello@crownandreach.com

• Pragati Sinha (session participant): https://www.linkedin.com/in/pragatisinha/
• Katia Tkachenko 👋 (who suggested Twitch streaming 3 years ago)
• Dave Gray's "Gamestorming" book https://gamestorming.com/
• Rob Snyder's PULL framework https://howtogrow.substack.com/p/the-pull-framework
• Multiverse Mapping method/course https://multiversemapping.com
• Innovation Tactics deck https://collabs.shop/yxzsjg
• Can I ship a new business idea in an hour? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0Kma97f9v4

Contact:

• tentacles@crownandreach.com
• crownandreach.com

Find out more about us and our work at crownandreach.com

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Cover up! It's sunny out.

When uncertainty feels impossible, most teams freeze. In this episode Tom and Corissa unpack a three-phase cycle that's powered by getting it wrong first.

They unpack their "Unpack, Unleash, Unfold" framework through real examples - from a messy logo redesign to a heart rate variability app that nobody could figure out how to use.

We also float across the vision chasm between leadership and teams and realise it isn't a bug, it's a feature.

Plus: how embracing deliberate wrongness can accelerate breakthrough.

Including-but-not-limited-to

• Why your detailed vision might be holding you back
• The logo redesign that's a very simple example of how unpack, unleash, unfold works
• How a month-long breathing challenge took 3 or 4 unfoldings to get to, and is now revealing hidden product insights
• Markets are terrible at knowing what they want but brilliant at reacting to options
• The curse of knowledge that kills every internal product demo
• Building bridges over the vision chasm (or knowing when not to bother)
• Why some people thrive in uncertainty while others need linear processes

Plus: An (another) introduction to "pitch provocations" - their method for being deliberately wrong in exactly the right way.

Perfect for product teams, strategists, and anyone trying to build something meaningful in an uncertain world.

If you have questions, stories to share, or ideas for a better name for "unleash" (maybe "understudy" or "undergo") – drop us an email: tentacles@crownandreach.com

• Episode 112: Unpacking, unleashing and unfolding part 1 https://shows.acast.com/tentacles/episodes/685ffe34081ac1df5d8cb371
• Article: Bunny Ducking – part 3 of the vision chasm series https://reach.crownandreach.com/posts/bunny-ducking
• Innovation Tactics by Pip Decks https://pipdecks.com/products/innovation-tactics
• Pitch Provocations card (front | back)
• Episode 007: Pitch Provocations part 1 https://shows.acast.com/triggerstrategy/episodes/663109cbcff31b0012ae9326

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Why do successful projects always end up radically different from how they started? And why do failed projects stick religiously to their original plan?

In this episode, we cast our tentacles over three critical but overlooked manoeuvres: unpacking, unleashing and unfolding. (NB. we only explicitly label unpacking and unfolding in the podcast).

Referencing articles by the brilliant Adam Mastroianni and Henrik Karlsson, we explore how these deeply related but very different movements can transform everything from product development to life decisions.

From buying sheds to breathing apps, in this episode we reveal the meta-pattern behind all our most effective methods.

Including:

• The "university professor test" that reveals career misconceptions in seconds
• Why your brain's shortcuts are both essential and dangerous
• The difference between scripted iteration (polishing toward a known goal) and unfolding iteration (discovering ideas you couldn't have had before)
• Unpacking and unfolding applied to a heart rate variability bio-feedback app (say that fast 10 times)
• Why sitting with stress and strain can ready you for breakthrough ideas
• Why becoming your own customer reveals more than months of analytics
• How dance teaching principles apply to app design and product development
• The data-driven catch-22 that traps many a digital product team
• One simple practice that changes how you see everything

Get in touch and share your stories of unpacking, unleashing and unfolding: tentacles@crownandreach.com

• Unpacking: Adam Mastroianni's Face It: you're a crazy person https://www.experimental-history.com/p/face-it-youre-a-crazy-person
• Unfolding: Henrik Karlsson's Everything that turned out well in my life followed the same design process https://www.henrikkarlsson.xyz/p/unfolding
• Jennifer Garvey Berger of Unlocking Leadership Mindtraps https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-garvey-berger-7b4a264/
• Ben Jesson of Conversion Rate Experts https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjesson/
• Multiverse Mapping https://multiversemapping.com/
• Signals > Stories > Options https://triggerstrategy.substack.com/p/signals-stories-options

Find out more about us and our work at crownandreach.com

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What do lumpy compost, underwhelming basil, and internal influence have in common?

Tom's Pip Decks deck, Innovation Tactics, contains a popular card called Seeds vs Soil. At time of writing, the concepts of gardening were purely theoretical to him. But now we've dipped our toes into the complex world of home horticulture, we thought we'd revisit the tactic, and share some stories of failure, "fine" soil and fennel.

This became a springboard for a dive into how people—especially those without positional power—can get unstuck and make progress inside complex, boggy organisations. A riff on experimentation, disappointment, and the quiet joy when a seedling pokes its little green head up.

Hear us wrestle with:

• When to invest in soil prep—and when to just throw seeds down and see what grows
• Why half-baked experiments are a good way to tune your appetite for risk
• The three routes to career progress: power, influence, and acceptance
• How to gently test ideas at work without stepping on toes (too hard)
• Tromboncino squash, borage porridge, and general botanical misadventures

References:

• Innovation Tactics from Pip Decks https://pipdecks.com/products/innovation-tactics
• Dave Snowden’s Cynefin framework https://cynefin.io/wiki/Cynefin
• Especially the linear construction of Cynefin: https://cynefin.io/wiki/Linear_construction_of_Cynefin
• Episode 103: Competence, control and consequences https://shows.acast.com/triggerstrategy/episodes/103-competence-control-and-consequences (original concept from Scott Berkun's Why Design Is Hard)
• Episode 048: Conceptual Models https://shows.acast.com/triggerstrategy/episodes/048-conceptual-models
• Episode 038: Creativity, innovation and a flawed coffee machine https://shows.acast.com/triggerstrategy/episodes/663109cbcff31b0012ae9307
• Watchful Waiting from Tom's article with John Cutler https://cutlefish.substack.com/p/tbm-274-how-capable-leaders-navigate?open=false#%C2%A7patience-and-self-repair
• Seeds vs Soil (tactic in Pip Decks) [ front | back ]
• Alex Komoroske's viral deck Coordination Headwinds: how organisations are like slime molds https://komoroske.com/slime-mold/
• Alex on Lenny's podcast talking more about gardening: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/unconventional-product-advice-alex-komoroske

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