Filed Under: Intrinsic Branding, Leadership
By Chris Klonoski
ROOT: Go Inward
It’s the month for graduations.
Graduation is rightfully framed as a celebration. We pause to acknowledge and appreciate all the work it took to complete something. Sometimes it’s a relief. Sometimes it’s a triumph. But at its core, a graduation is a threshold moment, a crossing from what was into what’s next.
This is an opportunity to look back, to anchor ourselves in the familiar, or to boldly step into reinvention. Most of us choose something in between: we carry forward what has served us well while letting go of what no longer fits.
“He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.” — Muhammad Ali
Leaving what you’ve known (as a role, an identity, or a way of thinking) is exhilarating, daunting, and deeply courageous. Courage is often framed as something we summon. But more often, it’s something forced upon us. Life, change, challenges, they don’t wait until we are ready. Yet, we move forward. We stumble, adapt, learn, and try again.
Courage isn’t always heroic, it’s habitual. It’s that decision you make to keep going even when the road is unclear (especially when the road is unclear!). It’s the quiet strength to reinvent yourself, again and again.
River: Go Outward
Businesses have their own graduations, moments when a chapter ends, and a new phase begins. A product launch. A strategy pivot. A leadership transition. Market shifts.
These are more than milestones; they, too, are thresholds. These events demand that we honor what got us here and ask us what we need to evolve.
As with ourselves as humans, businesses must decide:
- Do we cling to what is comfortable?
- Do we repeat what has always worked?
- Do we take what we learned and offer something new?
- Do we start over? Expand? Contract? Shake up the team?
- Do we evaluate the math and mindset, like our friend Stephanie Sims recommends? (Read it here…it’s excellent!)
Most will choose the middle path, preserving culture and proven strengths, tinkering more than tearing down.
And, just like people, businesses will become courageous as a necessity, not a choice.
Whether responding to disruption, uncertainty, or failure, businesses must summon the will to move forward. This might look like launching something new before it feels “ready”. Or making a hard decision without full clarity (or conviction).
Threshold moments are where growth lives. Not just for graduates, but for all of us, as individuals, teams, and businesses.
Whether you’re traversing a personal transition or challenge, or leading your company through one, take a moment to honor both – what you’re carrying forward, and what you’re choosing to become.
