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Jesse Jacoby

Most New Managers Get No Training. We Promote Them Anyway.

There is a conversation that happens in almost every company, and it goes something like this. Someone is very good at their job. They ship clean work, they are dependable, other people like working with them. A management position opens up. The obvious move is to give it to them, because they have earned it […]
Jesse Jacoby

The Restructuring Savings Illusion: Why the Numbers Look Right and the Organization Never Recovers

Jesse Jacoby

One Company, Two Workforces: The AI Fault Line Your Engagement Survey Cannot See

Jesse Jacoby

The Ones Who Go Quiet: Why Silence, Not Resistance, Is the Real Warning Sign in a Change

Jesse Jacoby

The Competence Trap: Why the Skills That Get People Promoted Are the Ones That Hold Them Back

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Jesse Jacoby

The 90-Day Trap: Why New Leaders Fail at Inherited Transformations

A Fortune 500 company was eighteen months into a sweeping operating model transformation when the executive sponsor departed. The incoming leader, a well-regarded external hire with a strong transformation track record, did what every leadership playbook tells you to do: she made her mark fast. Within sixty days, the initiative had a new name, a […]
Jesse Jacoby

The Silence Tax: What Organizations Pay When No One Speaks Up

Most leaders I work with are proud of their “no drama” cultures. Meetings run on time. People nod. Decisions get made without much friction. Disagreements get resolved offline, if at all. We tend to interpret that as success. I’d argue it’s often the opposite. When people stop speaking up, it’s rarely because they’re fully on […]
Jesse Jacoby

The Executive Presence Trap: How Vague Feedback Stalls Leaders

A senior director sits across from her boss in a development conversation. She has been told, again, that she needs to “work on her executive presence” if she wants to be considered for the next role. She nods, takes notes, and walks out with no clearer sense of what to do tomorrow than she had […]
Jesse Jacoby

When Answers Are Cheap: The Quiet Crisis of Leadership Judgment

A few weeks ago I sat in on a strategy session where a senior leader pulled up a polished AI-generated analysis of his competitive landscape. It was thorough. The frameworks were sound. The data points were current. Around the table, heads nodded. The conversation moved quickly toward implementation. Nobody asked whether the analysis had framed […]
Jesse Jacoby

The Communication Architecture of Successful Transformations

Jesse Jacoby

When the Board Says “Transform” But the Culture Says “Survive”

Jesse Jacoby

Why Leadership Training Doesn’t Change Behavior

Jesse Jacoby

The AI Governance Gap: Why Most Organizations Have AI Tools But No AI Operating Model

Jesse Jacoby

Jesse Jacoby, Founder of Emergent and Author of Emergent JournalI am the editor of this blog and founder of Emergent, a boutique consulting firm specializing in business transformation and strategic change. Welcome!

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Emergent Journal is a collection of business articles containing practical methods, tools, and tips for driving change and implementing business strategies from a people and change perspective. It is published by Emergent, a consulting firm headquartered in Denver and serving Fortune 500 clients across North America.

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Latest posts

Most New Managers Get No Training. We Promote Them Anyway.

by Jesse Jacoby

The Restructuring Savings Illusion: Why the Numbers Look Right and the Organization Never Recovers

by Jesse Jacoby

One Company, Two Workforces: The AI Fault Line Your Engagement Survey Cannot See

by Jesse Jacoby
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