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SMOKE SIG­NALS

Visible Signs of Hidden Friction

Exec­u­tives often feel the fric­tion before they can name the prob­lem. Smoke Sig­nals helps lead­ers rec­og­nize the symp­toms, look beneath the sur­face, and ask bet­ter ques­tions about how work gets done.

Adobe Stock 433596394 smoke signals 2

Leaders Usually Describe the Symptom First

Executives rarely start by naming the operating model issue.

They say things like, “We keep revisiting the same decisions,” “Everything feels like a priority,” “Cross-functional work is painfully slow,” or “AI is everywhere, but we’re not seeing meaningful business impact.”

On the surface, these may look like isolated challenges. Underneath, they often point to deeper friction in how work moves through the organization: how decisions get made, how priorities are set, how tradeoffs are handled, how teams collaborate, and how progress is measured.

Smoke Signals is a practical way to recognize those symptoms before small points of friction become larger barriers to execution.

Janel Wellborn Profile Photo

Janel Wellborn

Senior Director

Janel Wellborn

“Smoke isn’t the problem. It’s evidence that something underneath deserves attention.”

Janel Wellborn

Senior Director

Explore the Smoke Signals

Each signal highlights a common symptom leaders are seeing and what it may reveal about the way work actually gets done.

Identifying AI use cases to achieve organizational goals AI Doesn’t Create Organizational Friction. It Reveals It.
AI can accelerate work, but it also exposes unclear ownership, slow decisions, outdated handoffs, and operating model constraints that were already there.
Read + Watch
We Have a Great Strategy. Execution Feels Chaotic.
A strong strategy only creates value when it changes how decisions get made, priorities get set, and work moves through the organization.
Everyone Agrees. Nothing Moves.
Alignment matters, but it can become a substitute for accountability when everyone has input and no one owns the decision.
Everyone’s Working Hard. Nothing’s Moving Faster.
The issue is not always effort. Sometimes work has too many places to stop before value reaches the customer.
If Everything’s Important, Nothing Is.
Focus does not come from doing more. It comes from making clearer tradeoffs about what matters most and what can wait.
Everyone’s Busy. But Are We Winning?
Activity is easy to measure. Progress requires a harder question: what actually changed because of the work?

What Smoke Signals Are You Seeing?

f work is slowing down, priorities keep shifting, or AI is creating more activity than impact, the symptom may be pointing to a deeper operating model issue.

Let’s talk through what you’re seeing, what may be driving it, and where your team may have the greatest opportunity to create more clarity, focus, and momentum.