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At times, even the most capable teams find themselves stuck, operating on autopilot rather than experimenting, innovating, and adapting to change. Just as a defibrillator restores a normal heartbeat, leaders sometimes need to deliver a strategic jolt to reenergize their teams, disrupt stagnation, and rebuild trust and morale. The Hidden Cost of Team Stagnation The business case for disrupting the status quo is compelling. According to one report by Gallup, disengaged employees cost the global economy a staggering $8.8 trillion each year. McKinsey research further finds that employee disengagement and attrition can cost a midsize S&P 500 company up to $355 million annually in lost productivity, adding up to more than $1.1 billion in value erosion over five years. Team stagnation doesnt just lead to missed deadlines or subpar work. It slows innovation, impedes decision-making, and damages morale. Left unchecked, it erodes an organizations competitive edge and amplifies the risk of broader cultural decay. Why Strategic Disruption Matters Meanwhile, energized and engaged employees fuel business growth. Gallup data shows that organizations with high employee engagement levels outperform their peers in productivity and sales. Strategic disruption, when delivered intentionally, becomes a tool for resilience and transformation. Its a form of conscious recalibration. Consider Jessica, my former coaching client and a senior leader at a tech company. After a company-wide reorganization and a sudden return-to-office mandate, her team of 30 became demoralized. Productivity dipped, collaboration waned, and momentum faded. They werent resistant; they were exhausted. A deliberate disruption was needed. Together, we built a two-day off-site focused on resetting expectations, reestablishing norms, and rebuilding trust. This intentional pause reenergized the team and reconnected them with their purpose. The results were immediate: Engagement rose, communication improved, and priorities became clearer. Great managers dont just manage. They challenge complacency, spot stagnation, introduce interventions, and co-create a new path forward with their teams. Understanding the Causes of Team Inertia To reenergize their team members, leaders need to first understand whats holding them back. Inertia rarely arrives all at once. It sneaks in over time, fueled by structural misalignments and emotional fatigue. Common causes include: Overwork and burnout. Relentless workloads and unrealistic expectations can dull even the most capable teams. When employees operate in a state of chronic stress, creativity dries up and initiative gives way to mere survival. Innovation takes a back seat. Loss of purpose. Employees need to see how their work connects to something bigger. When purpose feels distant, work becomes transactional, motivation declines, and people disengage. Low morale from top-down decisions. Corporate mandates, like abrupt RTO policies or layoffs, can devastate morale, especially if they contradict team values or employees lived realities. When employees are left out of the decision-making process, trust breaks down and buy-in diminishes. Outdated or inefficient processes. Even high-performing teams falter when encumbered by obsolete systems or siloed structures. Redundant workflows and unclear communication create friction and waste time, draining forward energy. Five Strategies to Regain Momentum Leaders can disrupt inertia by introducing intentional shifts that foster trust, spark engagement, and realign the team. Below are five proven approaches to restore momentum. 1. Host an Off-Site Kickoff Meeting Changing the setting can change the mindset. Off-sites provide space to reconnect, clarify expectations, and foster psychological safety. As a leadership and team coach, I often facilitate off-sites that use reflective exercises, feedback loops, and creative collaboration to reset dynamics. Patrick Lencioni, author of The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, writes that teamwork begins by building trust, and the only way to do that is to overcome our need for invulnerability. Neuroscience reinforces this by asserting that rituals and new environments can rewire team norms and boost trust. 2. Diagnose the Problem as a Team Instead of making assumptions from the top, involve the team in diagnosing whats offtrack. Owning problems together fosters engagement. Use reflective questions to guide the process: Purpose and alignment: Do our current goals align with our teams mission? Where are we off course? Energy and engagement: Where are we losing steam, and why? Can we redistribute workloads? Psychological safety: Do we feel safe sharing feedback or dissenting opinions? Adaptability and learning: What changes have we handled well recently? What skills do we still need? 3. Revisit the Team Structure In fast-growing companies, structure often lags behind scale. When roles blur, decisions stall and accountability weakens. A structural audit can identify where friction occurs: Are decision-making paths clear? Are responsibilities overlapping or ambiguous? Is there capacity where we need it, and support where its lacking? Sometimes the solution is introducing a chief of staff or reassigning ownership. Dont hesitate to shift roles, consolidate efforts, or redesign workflows. Organizational agility is built on clarity and responsiveness. Structural realignment isnt about hierarchyits about empowering the right people to deliver with impact. 4. Conduct Regular Check-Ins and Prioritize Problem-Solving High-quality check-ins create accountability and connection. They serve as forums for puse checks and course corrections. But its not just about frequency; its about depth. Leaders can introduce simple tools like a decision-tree framework to categorize challenges and clarify what can be solved independently, collaboratively, or needs escalation. After Jessicas off-site, I conducted one-on-one biweekly coaching sessions with her direct reports over the next six months. These conversations allowed her leaders to reflect on challenges, align on priorities, and design personal action plans. This created clarity, focus, and a sense of ownership. As leadership speaker Simon Sinek puts it, Leadership is not about being in charge. It is about taking care of those in your charge. Effective check-ins demonstrate care, build trust, and drive performance. 5. Challenge and Redefine Old Habits Inertia often hides in routine. Teams may stick to outdated ways of working because they have always done it that way. Creating space to question these patterns is key. One effective tool is the Start, Stop, Continue framework: What new behaviors should we start? What ineffective habits should we stop? What should we continue and strengthen? When team members co-create new norms, buy-in increases. People commit to what they help build. Leaders can further anchor these changes by modeling new behaviors, celebrating small wins, and reinforcing expectations consistently. Culture change doesnt happen with one meeting. But it does begin with conscious decisions, repeated actions, and shared accountability. Just like a defibrillator restarts the heart, an intentional shock to the system can breathe life back into a team stuck in a rut. It takes courage to disrupt. But with strategic intention, clear communication, and collaborative action, leaders can restore energy, trust, and direction. Momentum doesnt just return, its rebuilt. And often, that rebuilding becomes the foundation for something even stronger. It creates a team that is not only functional but also thriving, adaptable, and ready for whats next.
Category:
E-Commerce
Last year, when Ram Trucks parent company Stellantis announced it would discontinue the automakers popular Hemi V-8 engine for its Ram 1500 full-size pickup truck beginning this summer, its fans were upsetto say the least. When Ram made the decision to discontinue production of the iconic Hemi V-8, the internet erupted, and lifelong loyalists voiced their outrage across social media, says Lindsay Fifelski, head of Ram brand advertising. We knew we couldnt market our way around this moment; we had to meet it head-on. In the interim 12 months since the announcement, then-CEO Carlos Tavares stepped down from Stellantis. Then last week, the company announced the corporate version of Never mind!and the Hemi was back before it even left. [Photo: Stellantis] To double down on their message, Ram Trucks created a new commercial starring its CEO Tim Kuniskisand in it he admits the company made a mistake. Sales were down by more than 18% year over year in 2024, but Kuniskis told CNBC that he expects Hemi to represent 25% to 40% of the Ram 1500 pickup trucks sales this year. Created with the ad agency Argonaut, the new spot was shot entirely with practical effects. It features Kuniskis himself behind the wheel of the truck, doing doughnuts, drifting, and taking a few hot laps on a NASCAR track. One of Kuniskiss first lines in the ad is: We own it. We got it wrong. And were fixing it. Its a simple, textbook brand apology, creatively combined with the kind of pep talk aimed to get brand fans hyped for whats next. The Ram apology ad is part of a growingand refreshingtrend of brands increasingly having the cajones to own their mistakes and be upfront about it. Last year, I outlined the five types of brand apologies. Both Bumble and Apple were examples of what I categorized as “The Genuine Apology.” This week, Ram Trucks joined the club. [Photo: Stellantis] Make it right While a clear, unequivocal apology often feels like the most logical response to a mistake or to genuine brand fan anger, its not what brands are intuitively built to do. Deflect, distract, and avoid are too often on the menu. Argonaut founder and chief creative officer Hunter Hindman knew the right answer here; he just had to convince his client. We all knew the best solution would be to put Tim in the hot seat, front and center, Hindman says. No corporate gloss. No hiding behind brand spin. Just a man, a machine, and a promise to make it right. And to Tims credit, he didnt blink. Kuniskis says it wasnt a tough decision to admit the mistake. The brand knew almost instantly after last years announcement that it had a problem. A 2022 study from Forrester found that 41% of consumers would return to a brand that concedes to making a mistake and apologizes for it. Our customers told us loud and clear howand I’ll say this lightly ‘displeased’ they were with our decision to get rid of the Hemi V-8, he says. You only had to go on to social media to see how they were feeling. Betrayed. We know that truck buyers are very loyal to their brand, and once you lose them, you have to fight tooth and nail to get them back. It was almost immediately clear that we had to right the wrong.”
Category:
E-Commerce
How do you take a mall food court brand and future-proof it for a world with fewer malls? For Auntie Anne’s, the answer is modernizing the stores they already have with a new concept designed for the way people snack now. Auntie Anne’s said Monday it would remodel 150 stores this year with a new store concept and a modernized visual identity designed to sell more of its pretzels, drinks, and snacks to millennial and Gen Z consumers at a time of changing habits. With consumers interested in mobile ordering, grab-and-go food, and novel experiences, the updated Auntie Anne’s store concept has a dedicated mobile order pickup area and an open view into the kitchen with a “Now Rolling” sign to draw attention to employees rolling pretzels by hand. [Photo: Auntie Anne’s] “Consumer expectations have shifted, especially around digital convenience, off-premise access, and visual appeal,” Mike Freeman, president of brands at Auntie Anne’s holding company GoTo Foods, tells Fast Company in an email. The redesigned stores were made to meet those expectations. “It reflects how guests want to engage today with speed, transparency, and a space that feels fresh and energetic,” Freeman says. A new blue and yellow “twist” mural pattern gives the store a more modern and colorful look, and an updated Auntie Anne’s logo is simpler and does without the old halo element of the outgoing logo. [Photo: Auntie Anne’s] Founded in the height of the shopping mall era in 1988, today Auntie Anne’s has more than 2,000 locations in shopping malls, outlets, airports, universities, Walmarts, travel plazas, military bases, and food trucks. Its owner, GoTo Foods, operates or franchises more than 6,900 restaurants and cafés for brands including Cinnabon, Jamba, and Schlotzsky’s. Malls and airports are “core to Auntie Anne’s heritage and continue to play a key role in the brand’s footprint,” Freeman says, but expansion is also key. The brand plans for growth that includes street side and co-branded locations, and it’s open to partnerships and cross-branded collabs with Oreo and Hidden Valley Ranch. The rebrand is about selling a nostalgic snack in a more contemporary way. Revitalizing a food court favorite that’s outlived many of the shopping malls it once occupied is no small feat, and updating the store’s look and feel could go a long way in keeping it relevant.
Category:
E-Commerce
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