Amidst constant change, clear communication is the key to navigating uncertainty.

How do you communicate with others when you’re confused yourself? For Rob Siegel, leadership isn’t about avoiding uncertainty, it’s about embracing the clarity that ambiguity can bring.

"What if ambiguity is the new normal?" asks Siegel, a venture investor and lecturer at Stanford Graduate School of Business. From rapidly evolving AI to ratcheting geopolitical tensions, every day brings a “crisis du jour,” he says. “I may like it, I may not like it. That doesn't really matter, but I've gotta get my team through it."

In his latest book, The Systems Leader: Mastering the Cross Pressures That Make or Break Today's Companies, Siegel explores how leaders today are “living in dualities,” caught between managing existing processes and adapting to emerging disruptions. “The sooner we get comfortable with [change] in the sense of ‘I don't have to like it, but I can deal with it,’ then [we can] lead our teams and give them the calm to know they can get through this.”

In this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, Siegel and host Matt Abrahams explore how to communicate effectively amidst constant change. From preparation strategies for spontaneous speaking to building trust through candid conversations, Siegel offers practical tips for communicating with clarity when nothing is certain but change.

To listen to the extended Deep Thinks version of this episode, please visit FasterSmarter.io/premium

Episode Reference Links:

• Robert Siegel
• Rob’s Book: The Systems Leader
• Ep.35 Leading From The Hot Seat: How To Communicate Under Pressure
• Ep.37 Be Better: How Communication Catalyzes Business Transformation

Connect:

• Premium Signup >>>> Think Fast Talk Smart Premium
• Email Questions & Feedback >>> hello@fastersmarter.io
• Episode Transcripts >>> Think Fast Talk Smart Website
• Newsletter Signup + English Language Learning >>> FasterSmarter.io
• Think Fast Talk Smart >>> LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube
• Matt Abrahams >>> LinkedIn

Chapters:

• (00:00) - Introduction
• (01:49) - Adapting Leadership for Uncertainty
• (03:18) - Systems Leadership and Cross Pressures
• (04:40) - Communication and Context
• (05:26) - Framing Complex Ideas
• (06:21) - Innovation vs. Execution
• (08:11) - Leading Through Ambiguity
• (09:33) - Short-Term vs. Long-Term Focus
• (12:44) - Balancing Strength and Empathy
• (15:26) - Leadership with Humanity
• (16:42) - Engaging Students Effectively
• (20:00) - The Final Three Questions
• (23:41) - Conclusion

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How victim, villain, and helpless stories sabotage our most important conversations.

The hardest conversations aren’t just about what you say to the other person. According to Joseph Grenny, critical conversations begin with the stories that you tell yourself.

As a leading expert on business performance and communication, and a New York Times bestselling co-author of Crucial Conversations, Grenny explains that navigating high-stakes communication starts by examining the internal narratives we bring into these situations. “You and I use three consistent types of stories in these moments that don't serve us well,” he says: Victim stories (emphasizing our innocence), villain stories (demonizing the other person), and helpless stories (justifying our poor responses). "Those three kinds of stories are what amp up our emotions and justify us in our unhealthy responses," he says.

In this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, Grenny joins Matt Abrahams to share practical strategies for mastering difficult conversations through what he calls "TLC" — truth, love, and competence. From recognizing your motives during conflict to accepting your role in creating it, he offers tools for staying focused on what you really want rather than getting hijacked by short-term emotional impulses.

To listen to the extended Deep Thinks version of this episode, please visit FasterSmarter.io/premium

Episode Reference Links:

• Joseph Grenny
• Joseph’s Book: Crucial Conversations
• Ep.105 Radical Candor: The Communication Shift That Can Transform Your Career
• Ep.148 Conviction and Compassion: How to Have Hard Conversations

Connect:

• Premium Signup >>>> Think Fast Talk Smart Premium
• Email Questions & Feedback >>> hello@fastersmarter.io
• Episode Transcripts >>> Think Fast Talk Smart Website
• Newsletter Signup + English Language Learning >>> FasterSmarter.io
• Think Fast Talk Smart >>> LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube
• Matt Abrahams >>> LinkedIn

Chapters:

• (00:00) - Introduction
• (02:05) - Influence & Why It Matters
• (04:04) - Truth & Love: The Foundation of Accountability
• (06:24) - Showing You Care & Respect Others
• (08:08) - Recognizing Motives in High-Stakes Moment
• (14:02) - Managing Emotions in Crucial Conversations
• (19:57) - The Final Three Questions
• (25:13) - Conclusion

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Great strategy starts with a question—and a story worth believing in.

A good strategy isn’t just built—it’s told. For Martin Reeves, chairman of the BCG Henderson Institute and author of The Imagination Machine and Like: The Button That Changed the World, strategy and imagination are both deeply communicative processes, rooted in storytelling, curiosity, and the courage to reframe assumptions.
“A strategy is really just a special kind of story,” Reeves explains. “It begins with the present and aspires to a different future—it’s fiction made actionable.” To bring that fiction to life, leaders must involve their teams in a co-creative journey and use thoughtful questions to shape not just ideas, but belief and action.
In this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, Reeves joins Matt Abrahams to explore how communication fuels strategic thinking, innovation, and organizational reinvention. He outlines his six-step framework for imagination—from embracing anomalies to codifying and continuing ideas—and underscores the role of reframing, deep listening, and even levity in solving complex problems. Together, they unpack how a single “like” button changed our digital behaviors—and what it teaches us about influence and attention today.

Episode Reference Links:

• Martin Reeves
• Martin’s Books: Like / The Imagination Machine
• Ep.71 Strategy Success: How to Communicate Your Gameplan

Connect:

• Premium Signup >>>> Think Fast Talk Smart Premium
• Email Questions & Feedback >>> hello@fastersmarter.io
• Episode Transcripts >>> Think Fast Talk Smart Website
• Newsletter Signup + English Language Learning >>> FasterSmarter.io
• Think Fast Talk Smart >>> LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube
• Matt Abrahams >>> LinkedIn

Chapters:

• (00:00) - Introduction
• (02:19) - Using Story in Strategy
• (05:00) - Questions as a Communication Technology
• (06:15) - The Six Steps to Harnessing Imagination
• (10:36) - The “7 Cs” of Imagination and Communication
• (12:08) - Reframing as a Creative Tool
• (14:11) - The Like Button: Origin and Evolution
• (16:14) - Brain Chemistry Behind Digital Liking
• (18:12) - The Final Three Questions
• (22:59) - Conclusion

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