Positivity becomes toxic when it feels forced. When it ignores obvious problems. When it discounts what people are feeling or seeing. Most of the time it is not about morale. It is about discomfort. Leaders reach for positivity when they don't want to sit in the tension of a hard situation. If everything sounds upbeat, maybe the problem feels smaller. It doesn't.
Read MoreEntrepreneurs who build traction almost always skew urgent. That urgency is often what gets the company off the ground in the first place. At scale, that same instinct becomes disruptive. People struggle to understand priorities. Context switches constantly. Everything sounds like a crisis. Leaders start mistaking urgency for accountability and patience for disengagement. So founders hire someone to "balance" them. Often a COO, Chief of Staff, or operations leader who skews more patient. In theory, it's a purposeful pairing. In practice, it creates conflict.
Read MoreStrong cultures don't eliminate toxicity entirely. They detect it early and contain it fast. They have antibodies: clear values, frequent feedback, leaders who stay engaged even under pressure. The goal isn't perfection. It's resilience. Whether a single bad apple spoils the barrel is one of the clearest indicators of leadership quality
Read MoreYou can’t fire Cal. He’s indispensable.” That’s what the Board told me on my first day as CEO. Cal was their lead engineer. He had decades of experience, deep technical knowledge, and a reputation for terrorizing anyone who dared disagree with him.
Read MoreMuch of the tech talk recently is about AI, specifically ChatGPT (generating text) and Lensa AI (generating images). So, I gave ChatGPT a request to write an article on how a CEO's ethics impacts the culture of the organization. While it lacks my charm and occasional snark, nor does it include the storytelling I often do, can you tell that it was machine-generated?
Read MoreHow many times have you been in an interview process when someone asks the question: “Will they fit in here?” Is there an objective way to answer that? The question of fit is based on careful business choices. It’s based on emotion, and we all know hiring isn’t a decision we should make emotionally. And yet…so many business leaders do.
Read MoreIt’s time to stop the generation war and recognize that we’re all looking for the same thing and that our workplaces are better when they include the perspectives of all the generations. During the pandemic, people started to look at their lives differently, at their jobs differently. Employers looked at their organizations differently. And many of us have come out of the pandemic in the same, new place.
Read MoreIf you’ve turned your nose up at the concept of psychological safety because, frankly, you’re getting tired of trying to figure out every new buzzword, I’m encouraging you to rethink. Creating a workplace culture where people feel safe to be themselves and feel respected for their contributions is critical. You’ll lose talent if you don’t.
Read MoreCompany culture isn’t just a buzzword for ping pong tables and nap pods at the office. Your company culture is derived from your values and how you implement them, impacting everything from employee retention to innovation.
Read MoreStartups and Small Businesses sometimes find themselves at the edge of a chasm. With success in developing and growing their business, a stage is reached where they find that the "next step" is a big one! Trajectify partners with the entrepreneur to build momentum and trajectory to be able to cross the chasm.
We offer private and group (Mastermind) coaching and hold frequent events and seminars.
Trajectify is founded my Mike Krupit, veteran of eight startups. Mike has helped dozens of companies grow and mentored and advised hundreds more.
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