Lead Like a Leader

Title: Why Most People Lose Their Cool — and How to Reclaim It

Let’s be honest: most people don’t wake up one day and suddenly feel disconnected from themselves. It happens slowly — through silent compromise, unnoticed fatigue, and a quiet pull away from purpose.

In our decades of innovation leadership — whether launching global supply chains, reimagining patient journeys, or turning around declining business units — we used a method called Day in the Life Mapping to uncover where people were truly struggling. We didn’t ask them what they needed. We followed them. Observed them. Immersed ourselves in their routine. What we found was eye-opening.

Even top performers were losing their spark. Not because they weren’t capable — but because they had stopped seeing themselves clearly. They were serving the system, but not themselves. They were checking boxes, but not checking in.

The same thing happens in life. We stop leading our story and start managing our calendar. We make decisions from exhaustion, not intention. And eventually, we don’t feel like ourselves anymore.

This is how we lose our cool.

Cool isn’t about image — it’s about alignment. It’s the quiet confidence that comes from living on purpose, not performing for the world. It’s knowing why you’re doing what you’re doing — and being proud of how you’re doing it.

The good news? You can reclaim it.
But first, you have to observe yourself.

Just like we used immersive techniques in the field — following a customer from morning to evening fatigue — you need to observe you. Notice your routines. Your patterns. Your micro-decisions. Ask where you’re energized and where you’re just going through the motions.

That’s where real transformation begins — with awareness.

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Cool Exercise: Check the Drift

Pick one part of your life that feels off.

• Is it your work?
• Your energy?
• Your confidence?
• Your relationships?

Now ask yourself:

“Am I moving intentionally here — or just staying afloat?”

Then write down one small decision you can make this week to steer the ship.
You don’t need to reinvent everything. You just need to start noticing. And then choosing, instead of drifting.

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Real-Life Application: Innovation in Action

When we helped redesign care pathways, one thing became clear: the breakdowns didn’t happen in crisis. They happened in the gaps — the unnoticed friction points that piled up until the system failed.

Your life works the same way. It’s not the big moments that steal your cool — it’s the daily drift. That’s why innovating your life starts with observing it without judgment.

Just like we mapped every moment of a customers day, you can map your own:

• What’s getting in your way?
• What’s depleting your energy?
• What’s no longer aligned — even if it once was?

When you observe without blame, you open the door to redesign.

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Quote to Reflect On

“The greatest thing in this world is not so much where we are as in what direction we are moving.” — Oliver Wendell Holmes

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Final Thought

If you feel like you’ve lost your cool, don’t panic. You didn’t lose it.
You drifted from it.

And like any great innovator knows — when something’s broken, you don’t blame it.
You study it.
You redesign it.
And then you build it better than before.

Let’s start there.