The Spark: What Really Starts Great Strategy

Every great strategy begins the same way: with a spark.

Not a quarterly plan.
Not a KPI dashboard.
Not another “industry best practice” recycled for the millionth time.

A spark that snaps you awake.
A spark that whispers: “We can do better than this.”

Over the last year, I’ve found myself in rooms: nonprofit, private sector, government, startup, community tables. In most of them I felt an entire storm of things to say. Things like:

Marketing is not just lead generation.
Strategy is not a template.
And every sector being financially squeezed right now is not a coincidence - it’s a sign of deeper system shifts that demand new thinking, not tighter silos.

I’ve sat in conversations where people talk about revenue, sponsorships, partnerships, “engagement,” or donor and customer pipelines as if money is the only reason anyone should move. And I’ve watched organizations twist themselves into knots chasing stability in a world that refuses to stop changing.

But here’s the truth I keep returning to:

If you’re only moving for the money, you’ll miss the work that actually builds it.
Money follows meaning.
Momentum follows alignment.
Magnetic brands, and healthy communities, are built on intention, not desperation.

And if we’re really honest, when everything feels like disruption that is the most potent moment for innovation.

Which brings me back to the spark.

The spark is the moment you stop running on autopilot and start telling the truth. It’s the moment you give space to get candid and clear about what’s working, what’s not, and what you actually want to build. It’s when you realize that doing things like you have been isn’t going to carry you through to what’s next. It’s where positive disruption begins.

Disruption doesn’t have to be chaos.
It can be honest.
It can be human.
It can be brave.

We need that spark right now, both collectively and individually. We need that spark across every single sector. We need organizations willing to rethink the way they communicate, collaborate, and show up. We need leaders who aren’t afraid to be a little rebellious in the name of clarity. We need teams with the space to slow down long enough to hear themselves again.

Because you can’t build a magnet without a spark.
You can’t create alignment without intention.
And you can’t navigate a shifting world with strategies built for a different one.

Launching The Current felt like my own spark moment, a place to say the things that need saying, to explore the work underneath the work, and to invite leaders into deeper clarity and bolder creativity.

So this is where we begin.

Listen.
Be honest.
And get ready to build something real.