FountainBlue's May Newsletter
It’s Cozier In Here than You Think
For many people right now, it feels ‘cold out there.’
What if we shifted our perspective so that what we have ‘in here’ is cozier, better, bigger, more inclusive, more supportive, and more extraordinary than we think?
You might think that you, your family, and a few close friends are the only people ‘in here’ with you, but you’re not including all of the people you interact with regularly and all the people that you don’t know well but are worth knowing. What if they also belonged ‘in here’ with us?
You might be annoyed or frustrated by a recent interaction with a loved one and wonder if they belong ‘in here’. But should one (or multiple) infraction(s) exclude them from belonging? Would it make sense to communicate a disconnect and re-set expectations?
You may assume that the extreme news represents the majority as you may not have access to the silent majority, but they may be more like you than you think.
Reflecting on any of the above may help you see that it’s cozier ‘in here’ than you think.
Guardrails and Guidelines
In this time of great chance, you can’t control:
Market trends
Policy shifts
Geopolitical turmoil
Other people’s emotions, actions, or agendas
But you can control your response — and that’s where progress begins.
Big-picture thinking helps you move forward:
You can’t stop economic fallout, but you can stay hopeful, adapt, and position yourself for success.
You can’t fix a competitor’s shady tactics, but you can lead with transparency and collaboration.
You can’t silence a toxic critic, but you can respond with empathy, curiosity, and strategic focus.
The key? Guardrails.
Guardrails are your foundational values and standards — the invisible lines that keep you on track, especially when the road gets rough. They alert you when your principles or performance are drifting off course.
Guidelines and best practices built on these guardrails help you:
Stay aligned with your mission and values
Execute with excellence alongside others
Innovate even in turbulent times
Build momentum through solutions and strong relationships
Shape culture with hope and action, not fear
No matter the chaos around you, strong guardrails and clear guidelines empower you to lead yourself, your team, and your organization with purpose and resilience.
Stay clear. Stay grounded. Stay true.
Decisions, Decisions
Ready to lead with clarity and confidence?
You can make meaningful, values-based decisions now that you’re feeling bold and proactive and now that you’ve considered your guardrails and guidelines. FountainBlue has created a tool that empowers you to make decisions while managing risks by:
clarifying parameters and context around the decision,
identifying factors that impact a decision,
assigning meaningful weightings for those factors,
articulating the rationale for the assigned weightings, and
defining metrics for progress and success.
FountainBlue subscribers get free access to the tool here: https://forms.gle/UuJgr6GKSx9PQ2m79
Need expert support? Receive AI-generated articles and book a 15-minute consult for $100, or choose hourly options with fractional C-level advisory access.
Fractional C-Level advisers might include past When She Speaks, Front Line Managers, and VIP Roundtables speakers, partners, and sponsors.
Stay tuned for an update next month.
Questions? Reach out at info@fountainblue.biz.
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Fractional C-Level Executives in the network will receive monthly newsletters, regular consultations, and targeted referrals.