AI Co-Thinking: A Better Framework for Working with AI

Leadership in uncertain times requires agency, humility, and the ability to bridge divides. Leigh Morgan joins Tim Staton to discuss practical leadership lessons for polarized organizations, difficult conversations, and leading people through change. Leigh Morgan spent three decades navigating complexity across sectors and organizations. She is CEO of Imaginal Leadership Strategies and has held senior leadership roles including COO of the Gates Foundation, Chief Strategy & Operating Officer at Nia Tero, and Associate Chancellor at UCSF. She also hosts The Space In Between, a podcast about leadership and consequential issues in polarized times. In this conversation, Tim and Leigh explore: - What agency means and why leaders must help people see that their choices and actions matter - How leaders can seek understanding before trying to be right - Why texting and digital communication can weaken human connection - The leadership habits that support humility, empathy, trust, and constructive disagreement - How uncertainty, polarization, and organizational change affect leaders and employees - How storytelling helps people see one another as human - Remembering, reframing, and reclaiming agency as a practical leadership framework - Why leaders have a disproportionate responsibility to shape healthy organizational conditions If you lead a team, manage change, work across divides, or want practical tools for leading through uncertainty, this episode offers a grounded conversation on agency and leadership. CONNECT WITH LEIGH MORGAN The Space In Between: https://link.cohostpodcasting.com/11d798c5-fd30-47c5-8870-445c72075367?d=sy9Q_217z&v=3201 The Space In Between YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@SpaceInBetweenPodcast LinkedIn: https://link.cohostpodcasting.com/11d798c5-fd30-47c5-8870-445c72075367?d=sy9Q_217z&v=3201 CONNECT WITH TIM STATON Website: https://timstatingtheobvious.com Professional Reading List: https://timstatingtheobvious.com/products Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/timstatingtheobvious YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHfDcITKUdniO8R3RP0lvdw Instagram: @TimStating TikTok: @timstatingtheobvious LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-staton-04b41a271/ SKOOL Community: https://www.skool.com/timstatingtheobvious-9537/about

Veterans Update 1 is a discussion of veterans' benefits and VA claims, veteran service organizations, employment, and support topics affecting veterans and active-duty service members. Tim Staton draws on his personal experience with the VA benefits process while discussing a range of issues raised in the episode. The conversation also looks at the role of veteran service organizations, employment, and how veterans can stay informed about topics that may affect them. This update is for veterans, active-duty service members, and others who follow veterans' issues. It is an overview of the subjects covered in the episode, not individualized benefits or health guidance. Listen to the full episode of Tim Stating the Obvious.   Connect With Tim: Website: https://timstatingtheobvious.com Professional Reading List: https://timstatingtheobvious.com/products Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/timstatingtheobvious YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHfDcITKUdniO8R3RP0lvdw Instagram: @TimStating TikTok: @timstatingtheobvious LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-staton-04b41a271/ SKOOL Community: https://www.skool.com/timstatingtheobvious-9537/about WhisperTranscribe: https://whispertranscribe.com/?aff=1Gdvb

AI can produce answers quickly. The harder leadership question is whether you are asking the right problem, testing the right assumptions, and keeping judgment in the loop. Nathan Mauck and Robert A. Greene join Tim Staton to discuss AI Co-Thinking: a structured approach to using generative AI as a conversational thinking partner. The conversation explores how better problem definition, context, critical thinking, and human validation can improve AI-assisted decisions without treating the output as unquestionable truth. In this episode, Tim, Nathan, and Robert cover: - Why better AI use starts with human thinking rather than better prompting alone - How AI systems can reflect flaws in our questions and assumptions - What critical thinking means in practical decision-making - How the AI Co-Thinking framework uses an iterative structure rather than fixed steps - Why leaders should define the problem before choosing a tool - How to challenge an agreeable AI response and ask what is missing - Why privacy, judgment, context, and final validation remain human responsibilities - How leaders and earlier-career professionals can practice co-thinking with AI Subscribe to Tim Stating the Obvious for practical conversations about leadership, culture, and accountability. CHAPTERS 00:00 Introduction: AI, thinking, and judgment   04:39 Strategy and the problem before the tool   09:07 Avoiding agreeable AI and groupthink   14:08 The nine-component framework   18:39 Overcoming fear and privacy concerns   21:48 Root-cause thinking and the why behind work   54:12 The components and the problem to solve   56:08 Human intelligence drives co-thinking   57:31 Why leaders should get in the game   CONNECT WITH NATHAN MAUCK AND ROBERT A. GREENE Nathan Mauck: https://nathanmauck.com/   Nathan Mauck on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathan-mauck-umkc/   AI Co-Thinking website: http://aicothinking.com/   Book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HB5Q879H Robert A. Greene's approved public profile and links: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ragreene/ CONNECT WITH TIM STATON Website: https://timstatingtheobvious.com   Professional Reading List: https://timstatingtheobvious.com/products   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-staton-04b41a271/   YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHfDcITKUdniO8R3RP0lvdw   SKOOL Community: https://www.skool.com/timstatingtheobvious-9537/about

Leaders know what cyber controls and governance practices they need in broad terms, but struggle with how to execute them across complex, siloed organizations. Cybersecurity risk is not only a technology problem. It is a leadership and execution problem. JC Gaillard, founder and CEO of Corix Partners, joins Tim Staton to explain why cybersecurity failures often begin with short-term decisions, compliance-driven thinking, siloed organizations, and weak follow-through at the executive level. They discuss why CISOs need leadership credibility at the board table—and why technical expertise alone is not enough to make enterprise-wide change happen. JC also explains how CISO leaders should approach the first 100 days as a framework for listening, understanding organizational culture, building stakeholder trust, and creating the structure needed to deliver results. In this episode, Tim and JC cover: - Why the cybersecurity “spiral of failure” starts with organizational habits - How compliance, cost, risk appetite, and short-term priorities shape cyber decisions - Why CISO roles must become more influential in the boardroom - How to make the first 100 days a leadership framework rather than a checklist - Why knowing what needs to be done is not the same as knowing how to get it done - The future of executive responsibility for cyber and business protection CONNECT WITH JC GAILLARD Corix Partners profile: https://corixpartners.com/key-people/   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jcgaillard/   X/Twitter: @Corix_JC The First 100 Days: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0G1BLTC2L   The Cybersecurity Leadership Handbook for the CISO and the CEO: https://corixpartners.com/cybersecurity-leadership-handbook/   The Cybersecurity Spiral of Failure - How to Break Out of It: https://corixpartners.com/launching-soon-cybersecurity-spiral-of-failure/ CONNECT WITH TIM STATON Website: https://timstatingtheobvious.com Professional Reading List: https://timstatingtheobvious.com/products Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/timstatingtheobvious YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHfDcITKUdniO8R3RP0lvdw Instagram: @TimStating TikTok: @timstatingtheobvious LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-staton-04b41a271/ SKOOL Community: https://www.skool.com/timstatingtheobvious-9537/about WhisperTranscribe: https://whispertranscribe.com/?aff=1Gdvb Subscribe for more leadership insights on cybersecurity strategy, risk management, and executive decision-making. Share this video with your CISO, CIO, or board members today.

Picture a company that cuts 100,000 jobs because it cannot keep up with its customers. Now picture a team that asks one simple question: “Does this make someone’s life better?” Two experts explain why the second question matters more than any spreadsheet. Featured Quotes: “The customer is the boss, and the firm is a dynamic system to get the customers what they want.” – Hunter Hastings “Things don’t have value. We value them.” – Mark Packard “Empathy is a skill that’s teachable. It’s a business skill.” – Hunter Hastings Behind the Story: Business schools were built on the idea that people and markets are predictable. That idea led companies to focus on efficiency, cost cutting, and control. Hunter and Mark argue that this approach misses where value really comes from: the customer’s experience. Their book, Venture Mode, offers a different path. It asks leaders to trade control for curiosity, and to see their teams as creators rather than line items. Additional Resources: Venture Mode by Hunter Hastings and Dr. Mark Packard (available on Amazon and at venturemode.biz) https://a.co/d/033DNGV3 Value Creators Substack: https://hunterhastings.substack.com/ Madden Center for Value Creation: https://business.fau.edu/centers/madden-center-for-value-creation/ Connect With Hunter Hastings Website: https://hunterhastings.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hunterhastings/ X: @hhhastings Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thevaluecreators_ The Value Creators course on the web: https://courses.thevaluecreators.com/uncomfortable-truths-post-managerial-era   Connect with Tim Staton Website: timstatingtheobvious.com Professional Reading List: https://timstatingtheobvious.com/products Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/timstatingtheobvious YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHfDcITKUdniO8R3RP0lvdw Instagram: @TimStating TikTok: @timstatingtheobvious LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-staton-04b41a271/ SKOOL Community: https://www.skool.com/timstatingtheobvious-9537/about?ref=de9c7e65d8ba4eeabc1a8eea413c125b

Ever feel like you’re doing all the work while your team just isn’t delivering? You’re not alone. Jon Dario, retail leadership expert and author of “AIM,” joins us to talk about why results come from boring, consistent habits, not lightning bolts. Jon shares his stories, his “Regina moment,” and tools like the Tudor meter. Grab a coffee and pick up some practical ideas you can use this week. Mindset and Ownership Effective retail leadership starts with the belief that people want to be successful. Jon Dario explains that frustrated managers often blame employees for missed results, when unclear expectations and competing priorities are usually the real cause. Leaders who assume bad intent become punitive and lose engagement. Shifting from doing the work yourself to managing the team’s output is the biggest leap a leader must make. Jon learned this as a store manager who worked 80-hour weeks and still struggled, until a district manager reminded him that he was in the execution business. From Excuses to Actions Jon’s own turning point came from a painful weekly sales reset. His team repeatedly failed to finish tasks, and he kept offering explanations. Only when he checked on progress and saw nothing done did he realize that follow-up, not anger, drives results. A supervisor named Regina completed her list early and explained that she expected him to check on her anyway. This illustrates a core idea of his AIM approach: the actions-results equation. Results equal actions plus external influences. Leaders should name the external influences clearly, then design actions that counter them. Excuses become useful when they lead to a plan rather than a complaint. Follow-Up and Developing Leaders Consistent follow-up builds accountability. Jon describes coaching an assistant manager who struggled to balance her own work with her team. He placed a half-hour schedule on the wall, showing when she should observe and coach each employee. When she drifted, he redirected her right away. After weeks of this steady pressure, she became disciplined and later rose to run Gap stores. The lesson is that a leader’s role includes building other leaders by setting structure, then reinforcing it until it becomes habit. Building a Clear Environment Retail can feel chaotic, but Jon argues that order comes from clear priorities. He uses the example of valet parking in Manhattan, where speed and safety often conflict, especially when a Broadway show ends. Without a stated order, attendants make their own choices, and speed may win over safety. His solution is a prioritized pyramid that places the most important standard at the foundation. This gives employees a reference point for quick decisions in unpredictable moments. Structuring Work in AIM Jon’s AIM framework, or action item management, organizes work into three types. Routines are repeated habits that the team must perform daily or weekly. Tasks are one-time assignments. Projects are larger efforts that involve several people and require detailed plans. Leaders manage these through three behaviors: focus, follow-up, and feedback. Focus keeps the team on the right actions. Follow-up keeps leaders present. Feedback helps people grow and corrects course. Jon emphasizes that reliable results come from consistent, ordinary work rather than sudden breakthroughs. Addressing Employee Attitude When an employee seems disengaged, managers often default to blame. Jon argues this approach puts people on the defensive and rarely solves the problem. Instead, leaders should approach attitude with understanding, since the cause may come from company decisions, customer interactions, or personal circumstances. Jon’s Tudor meter, a one-to-ten scale modeled on a speedometer, makes attitude easier to discuss. Asking, “It looks like you’re a little low right now. What happened?” turns a personal judgment into a neutral conversation that invites solutions. Like this episode? Drop a comment with your biggest team execution challenge, and subscribe so you don’t miss the next conversation! Connect With Jon Dario: LinkedIn is: linkedin.com/in/jondario/ YouTube is: https://www.youtube.com/@JonMDario Book: https://a.co/d/0hBg5enu   Connect With Tim: Website: https://timstatingtheobvious.com Professional Reading List: https://timstatingtheobvious.com/products Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/timstatingtheobvious YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHfDcITKUdniO8R3RP0lvdw Instagram: @TimStating TikTok: @timstatingtheobvious LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-staton-04b41a271/ SKOOL Community: https://www.skool.com/timstatingtheobvious-9537/about

What does essential leadership look like when the future is hard to predict? Tim Staton sits down with Marc Inzelstein, who describes advising executive teams on leadership, strategy, change, transformation, and culture for about 25 years. They discuss how leaders can respond to uncertainty around AI without letting fear drive every decision—and why trust depends on honest communication, follow-through, and the ability to challenge ideas respectfully. Marc explains why psychological safety is not about avoiding difficult conversations. It is about making it possible for people to share concerns and speak candidly without being punished for it. The conversation also explores how early-career professionals can build trust and find mentors, why leaders benefit from quiet reflection, and how a pause can create room to choose a response instead of reacting automatically. For managers, senior leaders, and people beginning their careers, this episode offers practical questions to consider: How do you make room for candid feedback? Are you following through on what you say? And why do you choose to lead? Marc discusses his book, Essential Leadership: Practicing Love in Turbulent Times. Find his website and book information through the verified links in the final show notes. If this conversation is useful, follow or subscribe to Tim Stating the Obvious and share the episode with someone interested in practical leadership, workplace trust, and leading through change. Connect With Marc: Website: Indiggo.ai Website: www.essential-leadership.com  Book:  Essential Leadership: Practicing L.O.V.E. in Turbulent Times  LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcinzelstein   Connect with Tim: Website: https://timstatingtheobvious.com Professional Reading List: https://timstatingtheobvious.com/products Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/timstatingtheobvious YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHfDcITKUdniO8R3RP0lvdw Instagram: @TimStating TikTok: @timstatingtheobvious LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-staton-04b41a271/ SKOOL Community: https://www.skool.com/timstatingtheobvious-9537/about

Have you ever reached the end of a busy day, exhausted from everything you did, only to realize you accomplished nothing that actually mattered? The problem isn't that you don't have enough time—it's that your priorities don't have a place on your calendar. In this episode, I'm breaking down a military leadership strategy called the Personal Battle Rhythm that will help you stop reacting to your day and start commanding it. Defining the Personal Battle Rhythm Tim Staton discusses the practical concept of a personal battle rhythm, which adapts military scheduling principles for individual leaders and business owners. Tim Staton notes that people often stay busy all day without accomplishing their true goals because important priorities lack dedicated calendar space. Instead of simply packing a schedule with meetings, a battle rhythm connects activities by time and purpose to review priorities, execute crucial tasks, and check results. Tim Staton introduces the podcast focus on turning leadership theories into everyday advice, while Tim Staton provides a standard employment disclaimer. Tim Staton emphasizes that this approach ensures leaders dedicate consistent attention to responsibilities that cannot depend on spare time. Developing and Testing Your Schedule Tim Staton outlines the step-by-step process for building a personal battle rhythm by starting with core responsibilities rather than random meetings. Leaders must identify what needs consistent attention across three areas: results, people, and preparation. Tim Staton suggests working backward from existing deadlines to schedule preparation time before meetings with supervisors or stakeholders. For instance, leaders should assign specific time blocks and tangible outputs, like company commanders reviewing property books on Mondays and maintenance statuses on Tuesdays. Finally, Tim Staton advises treating the initial schedule as a weekly experiment, testing the calendar, and adjusting activities that do not move progress forward. Connect With Tim: Website: https://timstatingtheobvious.com Professional Reading List: https://timstatingtheobvious.com/products Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/timstatingtheobvious YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHfDcITKUdniO8R3RP0lvdw Instagram: @TimStating TikTok: @timstatingtheobvious LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-staton-04b41a271/ SKOOL Community: https://www.skool.com/timstatingtheobvious-9537/about

You don't have an AI problem. You have a tech problem. Most businesses jump into AI without a plan, buy tools they don't need, and wonder why nothing changes. Former Microsoft Data and AI executive and fractional CTO Arun Pattanayak explains how to pick where AI actually pays off, when to build, buy, or kill a system, and how to future-proof your business and your career. Arun has spent more than 20 years inside complex enterprise technology, building systems for companies like EY, Merrill Lynch, and Citibank, followed by six years as a Microsoft Data and AI executive. Today he is the founder and CEO of Tipsora, where he works as a fractional CTO for founders and CEOs. He is the author of Future-Proof Your Business and the host of What Comes Next with Arun. In this episode, you'll learn: Why being "blinded by success" is the most dangerous stage of the Durable Advantage Cycle How Google diversified while search was still on top, and what that means for your business The build, buy, or kill decision every business owner has to make How to map your technology to revenue before you spend a dollar on AI The compounding effect: why saving 5 minutes 100 times beats saving 1 hour once Where AI should hand off to a human so you protect your brand reputation Why the "work until you retire" model is broken and why everyone needs a personal brand How to use AI automation to build your brand without burning out Connect with Arun Pattanayak: Tipsora (fractional CTO services and AI courses): https://tipsora.com Website: https://arunansupattanayak.com Book, Future-Proof Your Business: https://arunansupattanayak.com/bookarunansupattanayak Podcast, What Comes Next with Arun: https://arunpodcast.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arunansuspeaks/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ArunansuSpeaks Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arunansuspeaks/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArunSpeaking X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/arunansuspeaks Connect With Tim: Website: https://timstatingtheobvious.com Professional Reading List: https://timstatingtheobvious.com/products Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/timstatingtheobvious YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHfDcITKUdniO8R3RP0lvdw Instagram: @TimStating TikTok: @timstatingtheobvious LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-staton-04b41a271/ SKOOL Community: https://www.skool.com/timstatingtheobvious-9537/about   You are entitled to great leadership everywhere you go. Tim Stating the Obvious takes leadership principles and turns them into everyday, relatable, usable advice. If this episode helped you, share it with one or two people who need it, subscribe, and leave a comment.

Why do nonprofits that do excellent work still run out of money? In this episode of Tim Stating the Obvious, Tim Staton talks with Jay Deppeler of Inperium about what it takes for mission-driven organizations to survive. Jay began his career as a direct care worker with youth in behavioral health and juvenile justice, earned a master's in counseling and human services from Lehigh University, and went on to lead a behavioral health company in southeastern Pennsylvania. He now helps struggling health and human service organizations find a sustainable path forward. Jay explains why many nonprofits don't think of themselves as businesses, and why that has become dangerous as funding moved from program grants to fee-for-service, managed care, and closer scrutiny. He walks through the turnaround of Resources for Human Development, a long-running organization serving 35,000 people a year that was months away from insolvency. He also describes how Inperium's affiliation model works: shared back-office services, access to lower-cost capital, and stronger benefits leverage, while each nonprofit keeps its own board, leadership, and mission. Tim and Jay also talk about the frontline workforce shortage, competing with retail and fast-food wages, and how scale can give entry-level workers a real career path. This episode is for nonprofit executives, board members, and anyone working in behavioral health, IDD, substance use, or child and family services. Learn more about Inperium: https://inperium.org Watch or listen to the full conversation, and follow the show for more conversations with leaders doing the work. Connect with Jay Deepler: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaydeppeler/ Website: https://inperium.org/   Connect With Tim: Website: https://timstatingtheobvious.com Professional Reading List: https://timstatingtheobvious.com/products Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/timstatingtheobvious YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHfDcITKUdniO8R3RP0lvdw Instagram: @TimStating TikTok: @timstatingtheobvious LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-staton-04b41a271/ SKOOL Community: https://www.skool.com/timstatingtheobvious-9537/about