Two Piers Digest 💫 - Navigate Change with Systems Thinking ⚙️
Hello, First name / friend,
Summer is coming to a close, school buses are making their rounds, and we're seeing the very first signs of foliage colors up here in Maine. 🍂
This month's digest focuses on change: change in mindsets, change in systems, change that's done to us, and change that's around us.
In today's digest:
Coaches' Corner 🧭: How to Create Space 🧘
What We’re Reading 📚: When the Layoffs Come 📉
The Podcast 🔊: Systems Thinking ⚙️
Where to Find Us 🗺️: In Romania! 🇷🇴 (And teaching at UNH)
P.S. If you're getting this email, it's because you're one of the valued folks we've worked with, collaborated with, or connected with over the years. If it’s not your thing, feel free to unsubscribe at the bottom—no offense taken. But if you’re curious to stick around, we’re glad you’re here!
As fall ramps up, it's a good time to revisit this practical exercise for creating more space in our lives. Read more here.
This short article reframes rest as input time, clarifies the outcomes you actually want, then guides you through an 8-step audit: inventory everything, test “what if I stopped,” and consolidate, share, reduce, or redistribute. (And if you struggle with sharing or redistributing, check out our article on delegation and asking for help. 🤝)
Did you catch Part III of our series on Confidence, Compassion, and the Power of Perception? If not, you can read it here.
We examine how perception influences performance, drawing on research that shows the measurable impact of others’ expectations, including those of peers, leaders, and even ourselves.
You don't want to miss out on a discussion of Pygmalian, and, of course, more cute cat photos…
📚 Corporate Escapology: A Practical Guide to Breaking Free and Moving On, by Adam Forbes.
Layoffs are brutal, and many talented individuals are facing uncertain futures right now. Former Two Piers Podcast guest Adam Forbes offers a straightforward playbook for what to do next: pressure-test your options, design low-risk experiments, and rebuild both your identity and your network so you’re not at the mercy of the next reorg. If a pivot is happening to you (or you’re choosing one), this is a practical, step-by-step guide from shock to a viable plan.
This month's podcast episodes explore systems thinking. In Reconstructing Inclusion, Two Piers Podcast guest Amri B. Johnson outlines a practical framework to make inclusion accessible, actionable, and truly sustainable: built on social capital and structures that produce measurable outcomes, rather than one-off programs. If you’re charged with making DEI work under real-world constraints, Amri provides a primer.
Note: We link to Bookshop.org using affiliate links because they support not just our work, but also local bookshops.
Systems > Slogans. Amri breaks down how to build inclusion that survives leadership changes and budget cuts: grow social capital, design for interdependence, set real metrics, and stop treating DEI as a series of disconnected programs. He provides clear, upstream actions you can implement now.
When problems look “people-shaped,” they’re often system-shaped. Anthony discusses how to map feedback loops, find root causes, and run small experiments that reduce firefighting. We also cover how coaching expands leaders’ perspectives, enabling them to make better, faster decisions. Anthony brings practical tools without the fluff.
Yes, it's true: we'll be taking a break and stepping away from the office for the first part of September for a visit to Romania 🇷🇴.
The tour is provided by the same team working on the Rooted Journeys documentary project, which explores sustainable tourism and its impact on local communities. (We discussed it on our recent podcast episode with filmmaker Ben Keller.)
Later in September, the UNH Professional Coaching Certificate program kicks off. If you'd like to enhance your leadership skills with coaching, this is an excellent program for working professionals. There's still time to register!
(I'm brushing off my dusty compression socks this season! 🧦)
We usually like to include a cheeky little animated gif to bring you a smile, but this week we're feeling a bit sentimental.
It's a season of challenge and change. Hold your loved ones close, schedule that appointment to get that thing checked out, and be safe out there, folks.
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Erica and the Two Piers Team
PO Box 554 Woolwich, Maine 04579-9998, United States
