The Mindset Myth: Why Your Resolution is Already Toast

It's early February, and if you're like 80% of Americans, that shiny New Year's resolution you made three weeks ago is gathering dust somewhere between "I'll start Monday" and "Maybe next year." Perhaps you resolved to be more positive, adopt a growth mindset, or finally become that unflappable leader who sees every setback as an opportunity. Noble goals, all of them.

Here's the uncomfortable truth: mindset work isn't a resolution. It's a renovation.

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Reflecting on Dowling Street's Most Important Evening

As we recently celebrated Dowling Street's 12th anniversary, I found myself thinking back to an evening two years ago that crystallized what this work is really about.

On March 21, 2024, we gathered in New York City to mark our 10th anniversary. But this wasn't a typical milestone celebration. It was a chance to honor our firm's most important work to date, and to hear from a man whose story embodies the very principles we've built our practice around.

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Nadir Ahmad Comments
The Velocity Trap: Why Moving Fast Is Making You Slower

Every leader I know is sprinting. Racing to adopt AI. Rushing to transform. Scrambling to stay ahead. And yet, when you look at the actual results, most of them are running in circles. MIT's recent study reported that 95% of generative AI pilots are failing to deliver measurable value. Nearly all organizations are seeing zero return on their AI initiatives. 

That's not an AI problem. That's a velocity problem. 

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Organizational Scar Tissue: Building Trust After Disruption

Between the ages of fifteen and eighteen, I had three knee surgeries to repair a torn ACL. I know scar tissue well: the dull ache, the resistance, the slow work required to move through it. One post-op appointment stands out. After months of work, my doctor told me scar tissue was building up again. Unless I increased my range of motion, I would need another surgery to remove it.

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Why Your Organization Needs to Be Antifragile

It's 2024, and suddenly everyone's talking about the WNBA like it's an overnight success. Caitlin Clark! Angel Reese! Sold-out arenas! But here's what the "overnight success" narrative completely misses: the WNBA spent years getting knocked down, dusting themselves off, and figuring out how to use each setback as fuel for what came next. And that's exactly what your organization needs to learn to do.

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All Lives Don't Matter

All lives don’t matter… all lives can’t matter, until Black Lives Matter.

This is not going to be a typical Dowling Street Insight that you may have received from us in the past. It can’t be. Instead, today I’m going to share a personal message from my experiences and reflections over the last few weeks.

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Are You the Harvey Weinstein in Your Life?

By now, you’ve heard about the precipitous fall of one of Hollywood’s most powerful men: Harvey Weinstein. Since allegations of his exploits surfaced in early October, the industry mogul was dethroned; ousted from the company that bears his own name, and expelled from The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the organization behind the Oscars.

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