The foundations of social interaction and knowledge of how systems work are future-proof skills for addressing complexity.
A kaleidoscope reveals beautiful patterns from apparent meaningless connections of isolated elements. Adaptive leaders identify drivers and dynamics in complex systems. This ability is the source of their authority. The novelty is that these leaders recognize and multiply power from the elements within the system. Learn how to build your own kaleidoscope.
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Agriculture is often perceived as a biological activity. Plants capture sunlight, convert carbon dioxide into biomass, and produce food, feed, or materials. This perception is correct, but incomplete. Modern agriculture is also one of the largest energy-consuming systems ever organized by humankind. Every hectare cultivated requires energy long before a seed germinates. Nitrogen fertilizers must…
Keep readingImagine if managers could measure focus, alignment, organizational learning, behavioral change, and social engagement in real time, on a continuous basis? Most organizations use financial results, hard project indicators, or surveys as proxies for the performance of the abstract concepts above. These proxies are approximations that do not identify the real drivers of focus, alignment,…
Keep readingA list of the hundred most influential young leaders in France draw my attention. Published by Le Figaro, the list celebrates professionals under 40 who already influence their industry and the future of their country. Forbes and Politico publish similar lists of influential under-30 politicians and executives of diverse continents who are shaping tomorrow. In…
Keep readingIn my career, I have led countless projects just as taught in traditional MBA curricula. But working in the digital world changed my perspective completely. In The Unconscious Skill, How To Prepare For An Adaptive Leadership, I recollect the toolkit that fills the gaps left by Agile, Lean, ADKAR, and every other framework I once…
Keep readingAgriculture is presented as the original foundation of civilization: the moment humanity learned to cultivate plants and raise animals, societies could settle, specialize, and grow. For millennia, farming was understood as a fragile symbiosis between humans and nature, governed more by ritual and prayer than by knowledge. This changed with science, particularly after Thomas Malthus…
Keep readingCurrent world affairs triggered business strategists into action. Regardless of industry, company size, or geography, corporate boards are piecing together the picture of the future. Predicting, forecasting, and foresighting are hard, expensive activities with no guarantees. However, the quality of the questions raised during the exercise is what drives insights in the right direction. For…
Keep readingWhat happens when we doubt the scientist? A while ago, I dedicated a post to truth. I argued that science was the most reliable approach to truth. By truth, I mean the arguments widely accepted to explain behavior and phenomena. Throughout History, religion and science have tried to explain our origins, behavior, and Nature. The…
Keep readingIn Human Nature, The Why of Things, I revisited the sources of all human ideological drivers. Sibling rivalry: conflicts between close relations. The hero defeating the monster: triumph over evil or challenge; security and order. The struggle for purity: primal instincts that avoid disease; group cohesion in the social dynamics of “us-versus-them.” The struggle for…
Keep reading“In warfare, amateurs talk strategy; professionals talk logistics.” The five-star General Omar Bradley, in charge of diverse World War II operations, could easily tell who to trust by observing officials presenting their plans. The general’s simple criteria are also applicable to business. In the above context, logistics meant placing the right people, information flow, decision-making,…
Keep readingWhere does intuition come from? What is the role of emotions in communication and decision-making? If you think you are mostly rational, surprise! Ninety-five percent of your decisions and actions are unconscious, emotional, or instinctive. Memory is a key element of decision-making. We learned that memory is stored in synapses through neural connections. The general…
Keep readingHistorians’s reports show that humankind evolved in the what and how, but not the why we do things. The “what and how” connected to the technology of things; the “why” connected to the moral motivations. Since the hunter-gatherer times, humanity went through historical revolutions in farming, industry, railways, electricity, internal combustion, information, artificial intelligence and…
Keep readingRecently, one of these superstars proposed that money will become irrelevant. This futurologist is also a billionaire. He predicts that robots and artificial intelligence will turn work into a hobby. Just like in a sci-fi movie, humans do not work, but technology takes care of all aspects of decision and production. What then shall replace…
Keep readingHope contradicts the claim that people don’t like change. In an earlier post, I criticized the Stoic concept of zones of influence and control. The current political environment favors those who stay in their tight zone of control. It reduces any effort to influence and challenge the status quo. This is happening all around us,…
Keep readingIf the Nobel Prize were an exam, what would be the score of a laureate? Earlier, inTruth, What is it?, I hypothesized that science is the final arbiter between true and false. Religion, another source of truth, is now disrupted by technology. The question opening this post came to me after reading “Evaluating Large Language…
Keep readingOnce upon a time I was a student. Sitting on the bench of a class I heard a pearl of wisdom from professor Wellington Penaforte. As a medical doctor, he taught me general physiology, but one single lesson stood out with me for many years: “In my many years of teaching”, he said, “I observed…
Keep readingSelf-sufficiency is power. In organizations, it means the end of collaboration. Yves Morieux and Pieter Tollman have a pragmatic definition of power. In a group, “[…] power is the possibility of one person to make a difference in what matters to another. Power is the influence of managing or influencing uncertainties relevant to others.” *…
Keep readingRecently, in my habitual LinkedIn scrolling routine, I see posts referring to the dead horse syndrome. The analogy refers to projects or strategies that require a huge amount of effort and investment, but does not move anywhere. Cases where hours are dedicated to looking at the horse in different angles, the amount of resources and…
Keep readingHarry Truman had a definition of leadership: “A leader has two important characteristics. First, he is going somewhere. Second, he is able to persuade other people to go with him.” Truman had these traits. He managed the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe in the post-war period, broke the American isolationism of the early 20th century,…
Keep readingHave you ever noticed that we all have a peculiar pattern of communication? The way we articulate thoughts, craft sentences, and inflect messages reveal who we are. Communication traits are clustered around personality types. Let me give you a funny example of what I mean. Pay attention to the masters of wisdom you know. I…
Keep readingThe relative peaceful and stable Western development of the past 80 years gave Boomers, Gen Xers and Millenials a false impression that society evolves in a linear fashion throughout History. In the bipolar world of the Cold War, the general affairs of geopolitics, economic development and trade were predictable. Many signs indicated the apparent linear…
Keep readingMuch of my self-awareness came from observing my children grow older. Looking at them revives memories of my childhood and the influence family, friends, and community had on my formation. In Jungian psychology, archetypes emerge from the collective unconscious. This is not exoteric or metaphysical, but simply how psyche perceives and responds to life experiences…
Keep readingGender equality changed the workplace in the Western world. Rightfully so. Yet, another element of change awakes in the horizon; the Generational characteristics will command change. In the next years, generation will replace gender in transforming the workplace. As time ages people, technology ages generations. The technological evolution renders ideas, methods, priorities, and values obsolete.…
Keep readingSome people sense things and anticipate events. Especially events sparked by human action. A candidate has a perfect résumé and education profile for the job, but you sense something doesn’t quite match. The suspect tells agents how the heist unfolded, but they perceive the story is odd. Trained yogis can exit meditation at a precise…
Keep readingI have asked one of these LLM tools, a.k.a AI, for a critique review of The Unconscious Skill. The output came below: “The book’s standout idea is that true mastery in leadership and decision-making often operates below conscious awareness—what Marcos calls “unconscious skill.” It argues that high-performing leaders don’t just rely on deliberate reasoning; they…
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Born in Brazil, now rooted in the Netherlands, Marcos has built his career in agribusiness —multinationals, family enterprises, and cooperatives. His most profound lessons on leadership come from mentoring and coaching managers across cultures and industries.
With business experiences spanning 45 countries, Marcos has seen firsthand how diverse values and contrasting paradigms shape decisions.
Fluent in Portuguese, English, Spanish, French, and Dutch, Marcos thrives on connecting ideas and people. He holds an MBA in Business Management and a Doctor Scientiae degree in Agricultural Engineering.
Motivation for journaling: Rationality alone in a complex world is insufficient; emotional intelligence, empathy, and intuition are hidden superpowers that unlock success. Writing favors reflection and self-awareness.
The Unconscious Skill 