our growth?” she asked.“ Our growth is slowed down by our success.” The more expertise we gain, the less likely we are to challenge assumptions. To counter this, Kander offered three guiding questions: l First: What are my zombies? She defined“ zombies” as tasks that consume more effort than the value they create—“ wastes of time and money” that linger simply because they always have. Rather than making binary yes-or-no decisions when evaluating current actions as

l potential zombies to eliminate, she encouraged leaders to rank initiatives and intentionally target low-value work. Second: How can we reimagine what’ s possible? Introducing the concept of a“ blank sheet,” Kander urged attendees to rethink processes entirely, rather than aiming for incremental improvement.“ Previous successes might be a prison,” she said, encouraging leaders to redesign the customer journey so every interaction feels thoughtful and distinct. Finally: Who should be on my pit crew? Drawing on examples ranging from Formula 1 Racing teams to healthcare innovation, Kander emphasized the power of collaboration.“ Never goal alone,” she said, sharing her own experiences— from learning a pull-up to navigating breast cancer— to underscore the strength found in asking for help.

Beware of SALY Kander’ s closing message was both simple and resonant:“ Change is inevitable, but our growth is optional. Each year, we get to decide: Will we upgrade to the next version of ourselves... or let SALY(“ same as last year”) hold us back?” n

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