Your weekly dose of innovation, ideation, and inspiration from Matt Homann.
A deceptively simple icebreaker that creates real connection: one person plays Fortune Teller, the other a curious Four-Year-Old asking about their future. The twist? The "predictions" are stories from their own life. In 30 minutes, strangers become colleagues who actually know each other.
Speaking in Austin, TX on February 12 Facilitation in Chicago, IL on March 9
The Problem of Mechanistic Thinking
Walter Keichel III
This week in Idea Surplus Disorder: facilitation as an act of radical care, what firefighters teach us about collaboration, and why boredom fuels creativity. Plus: when AI helps (or hurts) thinking, using the Minto Pyramid to communicate clearly, and why mastery still requires going deep.
This week: how invisible AI shapes our thinking, why screen-free learning still wins, and how “interesting work” fuels happiness. Plus: leadership tells, strategy you’re already executing, the rise of proof-of-work, and why so many workers feel numb to change.
This week: why purpose drives engagement, how trust is quietly eroding, and how to measure it better. Plus: organizational debt, smarter reading, using AI-created time well, the hidden cost of quick wins, when risks are worth it, and a great Thanksgiving icebreaker.
This week in Idea Surplus Disorder: how to ask your manager for what you really need, why leadership can be both lonely and angry, and what happens when innovators succeed. Plus: smarter AI prompts, team-confidence tests, and the marketer who sold books by selling shelves.
This week in Idea Surplus Disorder: the tension between thinking deeply and moving fast, a diagnostic for leadership maturity, and the risks of outsourcing thought to AI. Plus: smarter client focus, attention collapse, and insights to help you lead and think intentionally.
In this edition: Lead up with confidence, handle conflict with curiosity, and rethink how you use time. Also, the “temporal crisis” of modern work, the choice between Octopus-style adaptation and strategic hibernation, and why fewer meetings lead to happier, higher-performing teams.
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