INDUSTRY INTELLIGENCE

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2 min read

The "Everything is Fine" Delusion and How to Snap Out of It

Core State Consulting: May 4, 2026 5:00:00 AM

There is a specific kind of internal weather that happens in senior leadership. On paper, it’s a clear, sunny day. You’re sitting in a steering committee meeting, looking at a slide deck that is aggressively green. There are RAG statuses...

1 min read

Your Portfolio is Bloated. Here’s How to Trim the Fat.

Core State Consulting: Apr 27, 2026 5:00:00 AM

By May, most strategic plans are already starting to smell like "creative writing" exercises. You know the feeling. You look at the project list, and...

Critical Thinking Business Resiliency Improvement Decision-Making Portfolio Optimisation

3 min read

The percentage trap: Why your 2026 efficiency targets will fail.

Core State Consulting: Apr 20, 2026 10:49:53 AM

TL;DR: Setting a target to "improve efficiency by 10%" without redesigning your Operating Model is a recipe for burnout, not growth. True efficiency...

Optimisation Leadership Critical Thinking Productivity Business Resiliency Decision-Making

4 min read

Polycrisis isn’t a buzzword—it’s a failure of your risk register

Core State Consulting: Mar 24, 2026 5:15:00 AM

The term "polycrisis" has become the latest darling of the consulting world, used mostly to excuse poor planning as "unforeseeable." But when US-Iran...

Problem-Solving Critical Thinking Business Resiliency Decision-Making Crisis Preparation

4 min read

Why your "inclusion" strategy is failing female leaders

Sharon Robson: Mar 17, 2026 7:42:23 AM

The IWD likability trap When I spoke at the Women In Agile event for IWD this year, I was trying to be open to change and wanted to acknowledge that...

Leadership Problem-Solving Critical Thinking Improvement Decision-Making Transformation

5 min read

The Visibility Paradox

Core State Consulting: Feb 16, 2026 10:34:48 AM

Why Modern Leadership is Failing the Hybrid Workforce The corporate world is currently caught in a transition that feels less like an evolution and...

Leadership Productivity Business Resiliency Decision-Making Portfolio Optimisation

3 min read

IS YOUR LEADERSHIP TEAM READY FOR THE 2026 POLYCRISIS?

Core State Consulting: Jan 27, 2026 9:00:00 AM

Why 2026 demands geopolitical rehearsals "Polycrisis" isn't a buzzword anymore, it's the baseline for 2026. Between shifting critical mineral...

Leadership Business Resiliency Crisis Preparation

5 min read

THE INVISIBLE ARCHITECTURE

Core State Consulting: Dec 15, 2025 11:03:05 AM

Why political quotient (PQ) is the new leadership superpower The most effective leaders possess a mastery that goes beyond strategy and spreadsheets....

Leadership Improvement Transformation

2 min read

Is your Transformation a Feudal Fantasy?

Core State Consulting: Dec 4, 2025 10:12:02 AM

Your agility transformation is failing or struggling because you are trying to put a democratic approach into an autocratic regime. What?? Yup - your...

Leadership Transformation

3 min read

THE ART OF THE PIVOT

Core State Consulting: Apr 11, 2025 12:11:00 AM

We've all seen that Friends episode - you know the one: "Pivot...PIVOT.....PIVOT!" as they try and manoeuvre the couch up the narrow stairs. In a...

Optimisation Leadership Problem-Solving Critical Thinking Business Resiliency Improvement Crisis Preparation

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