SALT Collaboratory LLC

Good morning from New Orleans! (No, I haven’t had my Cafe Du Monde beignet yet, but only because I didn’t have any cash on me. I’ll be ready tomorrow though…) Being here for is bringing back memories. The prior two times were also for conferences. The first one was held by the CFA Institute (then AIMR). I had just earned my CFA and was working in financial services for Kearney in London. The second was for a mobile conference during my tenure as a Director of Engineering for AOL. This time I am attending my first WBL (Women Business Leaders of the US Health Care Industry Foundation) summit. It feels like I have finally found my place. While it may have taken a while, all those incarnations in different roles and industries have served me well. I have already had some great conversations with other attendees. Interest in SALT Collaboratory LLC and the great work we are doing introducing #PeakForm to organizations like Seattle Children's is prompting some excellent conversations. If you are a WBL member and you’re at the summit, reach out! If you’re interested in learning more about this incredible organization, I’d be happy to chat!

Heading to the WBL (Women Business Leaders of the US Health Care Industry Foundation) Summit in New Orleans next week, and I already know what’s coming: “So, what do you do?” It should be an easy question. But for many of us, it’s weirdly difficult. Do you go broad? Niche? Play it safe? Drop some jargon and hope for the best? Here’s what I’m landing on: I help senior healthcare leaders replace outdated ways of working with a smarter operating system, one that doubles productivity and gets results they didn’t think were possible. Sounds too good to be true? It’s not. It’s a proven system I've developed called #PeakForm? that combines the creativity of Design Thinking with the clarity of OKRs to turn strategy into real execution. It’s already worked for: ? Seattle Children's where teams stopped reacting and started delivering on bold goals ? DELTA DENTAL—where stalled oral health transformation initiatives finally broke through ? The Institute for Functional Medicine—where leaders cleared the noise and set an international roadmap that actually stuck For many, they claim it’s the playbook they’ve been missing to turn vision into action. Curious to see what resonates—how do you explain what you do?

Too often, goal-setting feels like an exercise in frustration. We've all been there. KPIs, endless planning meetings, and PowerPoint decks that no one remembers (even though they took hours to create). That all changes when healthcare teams finally get a seat at the table. After a recent PeakForm? "Envision" session, here's what participants liked most: ??"The ability to have bottom-up input on our priorities" ???"Having an inspirational "North Star" objective will make our work more meaningful" Certainly a shift from business as usual, where most goals are handed down and disconnected from the actual work. With PeakForm, I help leaders flip that dynamic: ? Set objectives that inspire action ? Create roadmaps that teams believe in ? Make execution easier because teams are already bought in. Next time, it won't be such a surprise that "goals can be aggressive"!

"I thought moving up meant more clarity—turns out, it’s the opposite." As you rise, you're expected to bring clarity, not receive it. But with competing priorities and dominant voices, how do you align your team? In this video, I share why this happens—and how leaders can fix it with PeakForm?'s structured methods like #DesignThinking and #OKRs. Have you faced this challenge? How did you work through it?

Let’s face it—leaders don’t have endless hours for training anymore. But they still need to sharpen their skills and lead their teams through big challenges. So how do you do that without hitting pause on everything else? Enter PeakForm?, a program that blends #DesignThinking and #OKRs into a “learn-as-you-do” experience. No endless PowerPoints. No abstract theory. Just solving real problems while building skills that last. At SALT Collaboratory LLC, we’ve always focused on tackling actual challenges in every program. From helping Spur Reply redesign onboarding to guiding Schneider Electric on better cross-department collaboration, the goal is always the same: make the learning practical and high impact. With #PeakForm?, every phase is built around your team’s specific needs—so you’re not just learning new frameworks, you’re applying them right away to issues that matter. ? You learn by doing, not just listening. ? The tools we teach are yours to use again and again. ? You see results immediately—no waiting around for “someday.” At Seattle Children's, this approach turned a reactive team into a proactive one—realigning their goals and their strategy while learning new skills that’ll stick with them for years. If you’ve been craving something more than traditional training—a program that meets you where you are—let’s chat about how #PeakForm? can make it happen. #LeadershipRedefined #LearnByDoing #DesignThinking #OKRs

Pay attention to those green sticky notes. They represent the importance of thinking about challenges from different perspectives when generating new ideas. Why does that matter? Innovation is still table stakes. Any yet the thought of another uninspired brainstorming session will ruin anybody’s day. Unless you can guarantee a productive and creative experience that produces multiple robust ideas. Here’s my go-to: Start with a “Creative Matrix”: Frame powerful “How Might We” questions as column headers and list enablers (like resources or policies) as row headers. In groups of 6-8, guide participants to generate ideas using yellow sticky notes at the intersections of each question and enabler.?Set a time limit, and if you have more than one group, add a bit of competition—maybe even a small prize for the team with the most ideas. ? Add a Twist with “Alternative Worlds” Have participants imagine they’re working for a completely different organization known for excelling in similar challenges. Then, ask them to return to the matrix and brainstorm from that organization’s perspective, using a green sticky note. ? Watch the Results When it’s time to prioritize, bring out a “Bull's Eye Diagram”. You’ll immediately notice how many of those green sticky notes (from the “Alternative World” exercise) make it to the center, showing that different perspectives can indeed prompt winning ideas. My takeaway - great ideas rarely come from unstructured sessions. Equip your team with methods that reliably inspire and guide creative thinking. P.S. Always grateful to LUMA Institute for introducing me to these outstanding methods!