The Potentiality

John Horn's Website for Community Builders

John Horn

What a Woodpecker Taught Me About Rethinking Work Life

Recently, I learned a lot about what it means to think again. First, I read Adam Grant’s latest book, Think Again, and it presented compelling arguments for thinking like a scientist. Second, I engaged in a fiasco of problem solving…

Three Ways to Lead with Love

Valentines Day is coming up and you will probably have a few conversations about love in the days ahead. I think that we need to be having more conversations about love at work because there are profound benefits when it…

Innovation

Innovation creates value for communities by generating and executing new ideas quickly and effectively. I think that novelty should be an outcome of innovation – what’s produced and the process for getting there –  and what is created should break…

How to Bring Agile Learning to Your Community

The ability to learn is what individuals need to build sustainable and interesting careers. The ability to create learning agility at scale is the most important talent capability for organizations across all sectors. Futurist and my personal learning agility hero,…

Disruption

I aspire to be a Respected Rebel. Colleagues, clients, and friends say I have a knack for turning processes upside down and challenging cultural conventions with powerful questions and bold ideas. My track record of disruption spans industries, organizations, and…

Three Reasons Why Your Organization Needs Historians

Historians explain the development of elaborate structures we call cultures – one way that they do this is by examining businesses, non-profits and other communities where work happens.

Three Strategies for Effective Brainstorming

Creating an Awesome Brainstorm I love brainstorming. Whether we’re planning a camping trip, riffing on hilarious “what if?!” scenarios, solving a complex technical problem or strategizing for the upcoming school year, the creative exercise of collecting ideas is one of…

Why We Should Strive to be Strange

I am not a normal person. It’s pretty awesome to be comfortable with my strangeness because, in a world of conformity, this is a differentiator. One of the best things about being a dad is noticing and experiencing how my…

Six Lessons About Being Cool from Pete the Cat

Having two kids under four means I have the privilege of reading Pete the Cat stories by literary genius James Dean. My wife appreciates that the characters are always kind to each other and that each story ends with a…

15 Positive Self-Talk Phrases that Will Build Your Confidence

The global pandemic is approximately one year old. Arguably the next few months will be the hardest because we are heading into the final stretch of this hellish marathon. So many of us are hitting walls in our work and…