Systems That Support a Resilient Mental State

Profiles in Preparedness #67

Welcome back to The CP Journal, where we break down what it takes to get left of bang.

I was a guest on the Resilient Mental State podcast this week with Kyle Shepard.

We spent most of the conversation on how the left-of-bang concept has evolved—how organizations prepare for the future and build the systems they need to adapt and grow amid difficult conditions.

But after the conversation ended, I kept coming back to something that has been sitting underneath this work for a long time: organizational systems either set individuals up for success or they undermine them.

In a dynamic and uncertain environment, the need for strong, capable people is obvious. I don’t think that is a contentious statement. But even highly capable individuals can’t overcome a system that isn’t designed to support them.

Most of the gaps that I see come from systems that were never built to consistently develop and sustain the capabilities the organization actually needs. Instead, they rely on the assumption that the right people will overcome any hurdles put in their path.

Sometimes they do. But that also isn’t a strategy.

The push-and-pull tension between the people you have and the systems that support them determines whether organizations propel their teams forward or hold themselves back from becoming the organization they want and need to be.

We get into that in more detail in this conversation. Give it a listen.

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Inside The CP Journal

Expanding on this concept, we published an article for Academy subscribers on how leaders who choose to position their organization right of bang create the conditions for their best people to leave.

The People You Can’t Afford to Lose Are the First to Go

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Before You Go

Found this useful? Share it. If this sparked an idea, pass it along to someone responsible for getting left of bang. That’s how this work spreads.

If you want to go deeper, a paid subscription gives you access to advanced courses, playbooks, and exclusive leadership writing.

And if you’re asking the question many leaders eventually face—are we actually becoming more prepared, or just busier?—the first step is a Strategic Briefing, where we map how your organization is preparing today, identify where gaps exist, and what that means for your ability to perform when it matters.