The best person to facilitate a company’s planning session is often the one who knows the business least. Because their job is to challenge assumptions, surface disagreement and create genuine alignment. A plan only becomes powerful when the people responsible for executing it have helped build it.

I’m joined by my fellow Evolution Partners coaches Andres Zylberberg, Richard Peake and Sue Turk, to discuss the role of the facilitator in creating a planning process where everyone has a voice, ideas are challenged and the team genuinely commits to the outcome.

We explore why AI can support strategic planning but shouldn’t replace human debate, how the “power of the pen” can create unconscious compliance, and why an external facilitator can uncover blind spots, encourage psychological safety and challenge the thinking inside the room.

Takeaways

• A good plan creates commitment when the people involved build it.
• AI can support planning, but it cannot manufacture genuine team commitment.
• External facilitators challenge assumptions that internal leaders may unconsciously overlook.
• The team that builds the plan is less likely resisting.
• Leaders cannot effectively facilitate while simultaneously participating in strategic planning discussions.
• Psychological safety allows teams to surface disagreements, concerns and alternative perspectives.
• Great facilitators create tension that leads to better strategic decisions.
• The cost of executing a weak plan far exceeds facilitation fees.

Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheEvolutionPartners

Newsletter – each week I share interesting insights, articles and ideas you can use. Join other leaders and subscribe to The Evolution Partners newsletter https://evolutionpartners.com.au/subscribe/

Books – Learn more about our books https://evolutionpartners.com.au/books/
Made to Thrive: The practical, prescriptive guide on how to be a great CEO
Onboarded: How to bring new hires to the points where they are more effective faster. A business case for leaders on why you should commit to an effective onboarded process.
Onboarded for Managers: Helping managers bring new hires to the point where they are more effective faster.
Bigger isn’t Better, Better is Better: Avoiding the pressure of endless growth to build a better business (and better life)

Follow me:
on https://au.linkedin.com/in/bradleygiles
on https://twitter.com/Evolution_Perth

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You can't out-hack evolution, says cognitive performance specialist Clint Rahe. Business leaders who try to operate at peak intensity all year are setting themselves up for burnout instead of sustainable results.

A former Royal Air Force physical training instructor, Clint has since worked with business leaders, teams and elite athletes on preparing for high-stakes moments without running at full throttle year-round.

Clint explains why leaders should treat their calendar as a performance tool, how to train for high-pressure moments the way athletes and military operators do, and why recovery doesn't require a week in Bali. Sometimes it's just the gap between two meetings. He also unpacks how AI is quietly increasing cognitive load, and why after-action reviews deserve a place in business as much as they have in sport and the military.

Takeaways

• Elite athletes and soldiers train hard, then deliberately recover fully.
• Business leaders rarely rehearse the high-pressure moments that matter most.
• Cognitive periodisation structures your year, quarter, month, week, and day.
• Treat your calendar as a genuine performance tool, not clutter.
• Schedule preparation and decompression time around your hardest meetings daily.
• Recovery can simply be the gap between two back-to-back meetings.
• After-action reviews turn experience into lessons instead of repeated mistakes.
• AI creates spare capacity, and leaders instantly refill it again.

Follow Clint Rahe
The Cognitive Athlete
https://thecognitiveathlete.com.au/

Clint’s book
The Cognitive Athlete: Sustainable Peak Performance for Leaders, Thinkers and Doers https://link.amazon/B0hA2t6el

Books recommended
Turn the Ship Around by David Marquet https://link.amazon/B04xHQKaH

Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheEvolutionPartners

Newsletter – each week I share interesting insights, articles and ideas you can use. Join other leaders and subscribe to The Evolution Partners newsletter https://evolutionpartners.com.au/subscribe/

Books – Learn more about our books https://evolutionpartners.com.au/books/
Made to Thrive: The practical, prescriptive guide on how to be a great CEO
Onboarded: How to bring new hires to the points where they are more effective faster. A business case for leaders on why you should commit to an effective onboarded process.
Onboarded for Managers: Helping managers bring new hires to the point where they are more effective faster.
Bigger isn’t Better, Better is Better: Avoiding the pressure of endless growth to build a better business (and better life)

Follow me:
on https://au.linkedin.com/in/bradleygiles
on https://twitter.com/Evolution_Perth

Enjoying the show? Leave a review

Support the show: https://www.facebook.com/evolutionpartnersperth

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The right business operating system isn’t the one with the best software or the most passionate followers. It’s the one that helps your people consistently execute, adapt and achieve what the business needs at its current stage.

I’m joined by Evolution Partners leadership coaches Andreas Zylberberg, Sue Turk and Richard Peake to explore what happens when a business outgrows its operating system — and whether the real problem is the system at all.

We discuss why habits, discipline and execution matter more than methodology, how a business’s needs change as it grows, and the difference between an implementer, advisor and coach. We also explore why the quality of the coach can matter more than the tool, and why the best coaches meet businesses where they are rather than forcing them into a one-size-fits-all framework.

Takeaways

• The right operating system adapts as your business evolves.
• Software cannot compensate for poor habits, discipline and inconsistent execution.
• Your business needs change as complexity, people and markets evolve.
• The best coach adapts frameworks to your business’s specific circumstances.
• Don’t choose a system because everyone else says it works.
• The quality of coaching matters more than the software itself.
• Great coaches identify blind spots and strengthen leadership team capability.
• Choose what helps your business achieve its desired outcomes.

Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheEvolutionPartners

Newsletter – each week I share interesting insights, articles and ideas you can use. Join other leaders and subscribe to The Evolution Partners newsletter https://evolutionpartners.com.au/subscribe/

Books – Learn more about our books https://evolutionpartners.com.au/books/
Made to Thrive: The practical, prescriptive guide on how to be a great CEO
Onboarded: How to bring new hires to the points where they are more effective faster. A business case for leaders on why you should commit to an effective onboarded process.
Onboarded for Managers: Helping managers bring new hires to the point where they are more effective faster.
Bigger isn’t Better, Better is Better: Avoiding the pressure of endless growth to build a better business (and better life)

Follow me:
on https://au.linkedin.com/in/bradleygiles
on https://twitter.com/Evolution_Perth

Enjoying the show? Leave a review

Support the show: https://www.facebook.com/evolutionpartnersperth

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.