Kedron Rhodes

When I sit down to write these newsletters, I think about YOU. I know most of you, not all, by name. I think about what you might find interesting, what you might learn from, and what might inspire you.

I’ll be honest—there have been a few times recently where my week has felt like I’m just trying to keep my head above water. By the time I sit down to write, I’m exhausted. In those moments, I find myself reflecting on the articles that have given me a new perspective or sparked a new idea, usually related to exactly where I am in my life at that moment. I often need to be inspired by the creativity of others, and I’m always looking for ways people are thinking outside the box—if I can use that tired expression.

This week brings together leadership and innovation in ways that feel particularly relevant. Sometimes the most profound leadership moments come not when everything is going according to plan, but when you’re standing in front of your team after delivering difficult news. And sometimes the most elegant innovations emerge from the constraints of reality—whether that’s the hillsides of Mexico City or the precision demands of an operating room.

Personally, I need this infusion of model leadership practices mixed with creative sparks of innovation. Maybe you do too.

How to Lead an All-Hands After Delivering Bad News 📢

Leading after delivering bad news requires a delicate balance between acknowledging reality and maintaining space for optimism. The Harvard Business Review piece offers six strategic approaches that go beyond the typical damage control playbook. Set a shared vision that transcends the immediate crisis. Lead with genuine empathy rather than corporate speak. Clarify the path forward with concrete next steps, not vague promises. Open the floor for real questions, not scripted Q&A. Reawaken people to the deeper purpose that brought them to the work in the first place. And perhaps most importantly—be available after the meeting ends, because the real conversations often happen in the hallways and one-on-one moments that follow. Read More →

🌟 Take it a bit deeper with these…

💼 Leadership & Strategy

• Going on the Offensive with Creative Strategy — Roger Martin delivers a provocative challenge to the analytics-driven orthodoxy of modern business, arguing that creatives must stop defending innovation and start attacking the logical fallacies embedded in “proven” forecasting methods.

• 10 Practices of Leaders Who Are Easy to Follow — Simple but powerful practices that reduce workplace stress and foster trust, proving that the best leadership often feels effortless to those being led.

• Top 5 Leadership Trends of 2025 — Korn Ferry identifies the leadership capabilities that will separate high performers from the rest as we navigate an increasingly complex business landscape.

🚀 Innovation

• Highly Successful Public Transportation: Mexico City’s Mexicable System — A brilliant case study in constraint-driven innovation: how cable cars transformed a transportation nightmare into a model system that’s safer, cheaper, and faster than traditional solutions.

• Autonomous robot performs surgery with 100% success — Johns Hopkins’ SRT-H robot achieves perfect success in autonomous gallbladder surgeries, demonstrating not just mechanical precision but the ability to adapt and learn in real-time during complex procedures.

• Design Forecast 2025 — Gensler’s annual look at the design trends shaping how we’ll experience and interact with the built environment, from workplace evolution to sustainable innovation.

👋 Signing-Off

I hope this adds the leadership and creative boost you need this week! By now you’ve probably caught on that I believe leadership and innovation are critical factors in creating sustainable advantage. The good news? You can cultivate both if you’re intentional about it.

Whether you’re facing your own version of delivering difficult news or searching for elegant solutions to seemingly impossible constraints, remember that the best leaders often emerge not in spite of challenges, but because of how they choose to meet them. And the most breakthrough innovations? They usually come from someone who refused to accept that the current way was the only way.

I hope you find something in this newsletter that inspires you to think differently, to lead with purpose, and to innovate with passion. As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts on these articles or any topics you’d like me to cover in future newsletters. Thank you for being part of this community.

Until next time,

~ Kedron

P.S. When I graduated high school in the mid-90s, I wanted to become an animator. I had absolutely no clue how to make that happen, so I did what any confused 18-year-old does—I got a business degree instead. (Plot twist: turns out this was actually helpful.) I suspect this detour explains my obsession with books like “Creativity, Inc.” (which I’ve read several times) and “Me, Myself, and Bob” (just finished it last week). There’s something irresistible about stories where creativity, arts, technology, leadership, and innovation all crash into each other in a page-turning mess. Maybe it’s because I’m still that wannabe animator at heart, just with slightly better spreadsheet skills.