The Business Emergency Room: For Leaders Facing Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity & Ambiguity (VUCA)

Maartje van Krieken | The Chaos Games Consulting
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Scaling a business isn’t just about strategy—it’s about navigating chaos, making fast but sound decisions, and keeping teams aligned under pressure. The Business Emergency Room helps leaders, founders, and decision-makers sharpen their decision-making mechanics, master people dynamics, and build resilience in uncertain markets. Host Maartje van Krieken shares battle-tested frameworks to eliminate bottlenecks, avoid analysis paralysis, and turn turbulence into traction. Tune in weekly for real-world insights to lead with confidence and thrive in turmoil. For leaders facing: High-stakes decisions, VUCA market conditions, crisis management, and rapid business growth pains.

  1. Silence Is Not Neutral: Why Avoided Conversations Cost Your Business

    21H AGO

    Silence Is Not Neutral: Why Avoided Conversations Cost Your Business

    The conversations leaders avoid are the fastest way to lose trust, stall performance, and weaken credibility. In this episode, Maartje van Krieken speaks with executive coach Emma Collyer to explain why leaders hesitate to say what needs to be said and how that hesitation quietly undermines teams. Avoidance often comes from care rather than neglect, yet softened feedback and delayed conversations leave people unclear about expectations. When clarity fades, trust in leadership weakens and performance follows. Direct communication, handled thoughtfully, becomes a form of respect rather than confrontation. The conversation also looks at how difficult communication shifts under pressure. Change and uncertainty demand more than one-way messages. Leaders need space for dialogue, trusted voices to help carry clarity, and the discipline to show up calm and composed when stakes are high. The episode challenges leaders to reflect on a simple question: are your conversations creating alignment, or protecting short-term comfort at long-term cost? Episode Breakdown: 00:00 The Hidden Cost of Avoiding Difficult Conversations 03:15 Why Leaders Avoid Honest Feedback 06:55 Framing and Timing Difficult Conversations 08:45 Communicating Hard Messages During Change 14:30 Emotional Regulation Under Pressure 21:00 Practical Frameworks for Difficult Conversations 27:45 Turning Difficult Conversations Into Clear Action Connect with Emma Collyer: Connect with Emma on LinkedIn Follow Emma on Instagram Visit the Aspire Executive Coaching website Email: emma@aspireexecutivecoaching.ca Freebie: https://needmoretrust.com Emma Collyer is the owner and principal coach of Aspire Executive Coaching, where she helps leaders turn everyday interactions into powerful, two-way conversations that spark trust, creativity, and results. Known for her down-to-earth approach and energy in the room, she transforms “tough talks” into growth moments that bring teams closer together. A certified ICF-ACC coach and Emotional Intelligence practitioner based in Canada, Emma works with leaders around the world—helping them communicate with clarity, lead with empathy, and enjoy the ride along the way. Connect with Maartje van Krieken: Connect with Maartje on LinkedIn Visit The Chaos Games Consulting website Visit The Business Emergency Room website Subscribe to The Business Emergency Room on YouTube Subscribe to Maartje’s Substack Host Maartje van Krieken is a crisis strategist and decision-making expert who thrives in high-stakes business environments. Combining disaster management training, hands-on experience in global industries, and...

    33 min
  2. Making Elephants Run: Reinventing Every Business at the Speed of AI

    JAN 28

    Making Elephants Run: Reinventing Every Business at the Speed of AI

    The real risk of AI is not the technology itself, but what happens when leaders hold on to identities built for a slower world. This episode of Business Emergency Room explores why reinvention has replaced transformation as the defining leadership challenge. Maartje van Krieken and Nikki Barua examine how accelerating change has reshaped work, decision-making, and competitive advantage, leaving many organizations stuck in inertia as AI removes the luxury of long adaptation windows. At the center of the conversation is leadership identity. Reinvention requires leaders to release outdated definitions of value tied to effort, time, and expertise. The episode explains why human–AI collaboration only works when leaders start with people, rethink roles and workflows, and redirect human energy toward judgment, creativity, and perspective while machines handle what they do best. The result is a clear, grounded view of what leadership demands when change never slows down. Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Why Transformation No Longer Works in a World of Constant Change 03:59 Reinvention at Scale Inside Large Enterprises 06:16 Reinvention vs Transformation and Leadership Identity 10:18 How AI Is Eroding Competitive Advantage Faster Than Ever 14:46 Where Real Advantage Comes From When Speed Is No Longer Enough 16:24 Why AI Pilots Fail Without Human–AI Collaboration 18:01 Shifting From Effort-Based Value to Impact-Based Leadership 22:58 Learning and Unlearning as the Core Skill for Adaptability 26:48 Why Perspective Matters More Than Expertise in the AI Age 30:04 Reinvention as a Human Opportunity, Not a Technological Threat Connect with Nikki Barua: Visit Nikki's website Visit the Flip Work website Connect with Nikki on LinkedIn Follow Nikki on X Follow Nikki on Instagram Nikki Barua is a serial entrepreneur, keynote speaker, bestselling author, and globally recognized expert on transformation. She is the CEO & Co-Founder of FlipWork, the human + agentic system for workforce reinvention. For over 25 years, Nikki has helped global brands reinvent their culture, capabilities, and competitive edge. Her work spans strategy, digital transformation, and organizational change, rooted in a belief that people, not just technology are the key to future success. Nikki has built and scaled high-growth businesses as a tech entrepreneur, earning accolades for her visionary leadership and impact. Her personal journey of rising from humble beginnings has made her a sought-after voice on resilience and reinvention. She has won many accolades and leadership awards and her story has been featured in CNBC, Bloomberg, Fortune, and Forbes. Connect with Maartje van Krieken: Connect with Maartje on LinkedIn Visit The Chaos Games Consulting website Visit The Business Emergency Room website Subscribe to The Business Emergency Room on...

    31 min
  3. “I Thought You Meant…”: The Hidden Assumptions Breaking Your Business

    JAN 21

    “I Thought You Meant…”: The Hidden Assumptions Breaking Your Business

    The most expensive failures in business rarely come from bad strategy and instead come from assumptions no one ever said out loud. Maartje van Krieken looks at how unspoken assumptions quietly undermine decision making, weaken business alignment, and slow execution long before problems show up on a dashboard. She reframes assumptions as hidden requirements for success and explains why shared language often masks very different realities. Teams leave meetings believing they agree, yet they move forward with conflicting interpretations that later surface as friction, stalled progress, or blame. How often does alignment exist in theory but not in practice? Drawing on disaster management, Maartje offers a more resilient approach to leadership under pressure. Operational resilience depends on naming what is believed to be true, revisiting assumptions on purpose, and treating course correction as competence rather than failure. AI, she cautions, does not remove assumption risk and can deepen it when clarity is missing. The real work lies in making assumptions visible, defining tripwires, and updating decisions as reality shifts. The question for leaders is simple: are you managing the plan, or managing the assumptions holding it together? Episode Breakdown: 00:00 The Most Expensive Sentence in Business 03:10 Assumptions as Hidden Requirements in Decision Making 08:45 When Communication Failure Is Really Assumption Failure 13:20 Why AI Doesn’t Solve Assumption Risk 16:45 What Disaster Management Teaches About Operational Resilience 22:30 Triggers, Assumption Expiration, and Leadership Discipline Connect with Maartje van Krieken: Connect with Maartje on LinkedIn Visit The Chaos Games Consulting website Visit The Business Emergency Room website Subscribe to The Business Emergency Room on YouTube Subscribe to Maartje’s Substack Host Maartje van Krieken is a crisis strategist and decision-making expert who thrives in high-stakes business environments. Combining disaster management training, hands-on experience in global industries, and leadership skills honed as a seasoned sailor, she helps businesses navigate chaos with precision. Whether tackling transformation, scaling challenges, or leadership bottlenecks, Maartje delivers actionable insights to turn turbulence into traction. Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

    29 min
  4. Hero Ball or Healthy Systems? The Truth About Supply Chain Resilience

    JAN 14

    Hero Ball or Healthy Systems? The Truth About Supply Chain Resilience

    This conversation on The Business Emergency Room looks at why supply chain resilience often decides whether a company absorbs disruption or stays stuck in recovery mode. Maartje van Krieken and Brent Hagan unpack how dashboards can look healthy while serious operational blind spots grow underneath. What happens when KPIs stay green but systems strain as you start scaling logistics, and who usually spots the cracks first? A recurring theme is the cost of relying on people to compensate for broken systems. Heroics and workarounds can keep things moving for a while, but they also create fragility and burnout. How long can a business depend on a few key individuals before risk compounds? Resilience shows up earlier, through systems that absorb pressure instead of teams forced to catch problems at the last moment. The discussion also touches on the tension between growth and stability. Early success often rests on relationships and informal fixes that do not hold as complexity increases. Without revisiting assumptions and being intentional about scaling logistics, leaders can stretch operations beyond what they can support. The episode invites a deeper look at how success is defined, who owns decisions, and how stronger systems make growth more sustainable. Episode Breakdown: 00:00 When Green KPIs Hide Supply Chain Risk and Operational Blind Spots 02:45 Cost Structure Decisions That Create Downstream Problems 06:31 People Versus Systems in High-Pressure Operations 10:10 Scaling Logistics Without Breaking the First Act 16:17 Why KPIs Like Forecast Accuracy Can Be Misleading 22:41 Learning From Misses Builds Real Resilience Connect with Brent Hagan: Visit the Lob website Connect with Brent on LinkedIn Brent Hagan is the chief supply chain officer at Lob, a direct mail platform for forward-thinking businesses, where he leads logistics, supply chain and operations. With experience spanning Amazon, Deliverr and Eaton, Hagan specializes in scaling complex logistics systems, optimizing middle-mile logistics and building resilient supply chains that bridge traditional operations with SaaS innovation. He has completed multiple executive programs at Wharton and holds a Bachelor's degree in organizational leadership, with a focus on manufacturing engineering technology, from Purdue University. Connect with Maartje van Krieken: Connect with Maartje on LinkedIn Visit The Chaos Games Consulting website Visit The Business Emergency Room website Subscribe to The Business Emergency Room on YouTube Subscribe to Maartje’s Substack Host Maartje van Krieken is a crisis strategist and decision-making expert who thrives in high-stakes business environments. Combining disaster management training, hands-on experience in global industries, and leadership skills honed as a seasoned sailor, she helps businesses navigate chaos with precision. Whether tackling transformation, scaling challenges, or leadership bottlenecks, Maartje delivers...

    29 min
  5. The AI Intervention: Rescuing Decision-Making from Overwhelm - with Nissim Titan

    JAN 7

    The AI Intervention: Rescuing Decision-Making from Overwhelm - with Nissim Titan

    Most leaders believe they are making data-driven decisions, yet under pressure many are still reacting on instinct with better dashboards layered on top. What changes when leaders stop responding to problems and start choosing real options? Maartje van Krieken speaks with Nissim Titan, CEO and founder of 4Cast, about how AI decision-making can bring clarity in moments of uncertainty. Their conversation explores why more data does not automatically lead to better decisions and how decision intelligence helps leaders frame choices, understand trade-offs, and connect daily decisions to long-term outcomes. Drawing from examples in emergency management and critical infrastructure, Nissim shows how running multiple scenarios can expose blind spots and reduce human bias. The result is stronger business resilience, not through automation, but through better options, clearer risks, and faster learning under pressure. This episode invites leaders to reflect on a simple question: when disruption is constant, are your decisions helping you react, or helping you adapt? Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Why Most Leaders Are Not Truly Data Driven 02:06 What Decision Intelligence Means for Modern Leadership 04:02 Moving From Problems to Real Decision Options 06:16 Why More Data Often Leads to Worse Decisions 09:51 How AI Reduces Bias and Reveals Better Scenarios 12:01 AI Agents and Human Judgment in High Pressure Decisions 17:57 Using Scenario Planning to Build Business Resilience 19:53 Making Better Decisions Under Real Time Pressure 23:46 Decision Mapping, Fine Tuning, and Organizational Learning Connect with Nissim Titan: Connect with Nissim on LinkedIn Visit the 4Cast website Nissim Titan is the CEO and founder of 4Cast, a Decision Intelligence company that helps organizations make smarter, faster, and more transparent decisions through AI. With more than 20 years of experience building AI-driven platforms, he has worked across defense, homeland security, government agencies, energy, and utilities. He holds degrees in Industrial Management and Engineering along with a B.Arch from Tel Aviv University, bringing a strong analytical and systems-based foundation to his work in decision intelligence. Connect with Maartje van Krieken: Connect with Maartje on LinkedIn Visit The Chaos Games Consulting website Visit The Business Emergency Room website Subscribe to The Business Emergency Room on YouTube Subscribe to Maartje’s Substack Host Maartje van Krieken is a crisis strategist and decision-making expert who thrives in high-stakes business environments. Combining disaster management training, hands-on experience in global industries, and leadership skills honed as a seasoned sailor, she helps businesses navigate chaos with precision. Whether tackling transformation, scaling challenges, or leadership bottlenecks, Maartje delivers actionable insights to turn turbulence into traction. Podcast production...

    29 min
  6. Trust Elasticity: What Bends, What Breaks, What Bounces Back

    12/31/2025

    Trust Elasticity: What Bends, What Breaks, What Bounces Back

    Disruption does not have to break trust when leaders respond with clarity, care, and honesty during uncertainty. Maartje van Krieken sits down with Kim Bohr, President and COO at SparkEffect, to explore how trust in disruption can either erode or strengthen based on leadership transparency and the choices leaders make under pressure. Kim shares insights from her research that connect trust directly to retention, reputation, and performance, while also unpacking how modern disruptors like AI and rapid organizational change shape trust inside organizations. This episode examines why organizational resilience grows through curiosity, empathy, and consistent communication rather than perfection. It shows how leaders can turn moments of disruption into opportunities to strengthen trust and build more resilient organizations. Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Trust In Disruption And Modern Leadership 03:36 Measuring Trust As A Strategic Business Asset 06:18 Technology, AI, And Leadership Transparency 09:35 Trust Dividends And Leading Through Micro Disruptions 11:59 Empathy, Imperfection, And Human Leadership 16:55 Warning Signs Of Trust Breakdown In Fast Growth Teams 22:29 Leadership Transitions And Organizational Resilience Connect with Kim Bohr: ​​Download Free Leadership Tools on Trust and Disruption Connect with Kim on LinkedIn Visit the SparkEffect website Tune in to the SparkEffect Podcast - Courage to Advance Kim Bohr is the President & Chief Operating Officer at SparkEffect, where she leads the firm in helping executive teams navigate disruption without fracturing trust. With over 25 years of cross-functional leadership experience, Kim advises leaders on aligning strategy with human-centered practices that drive performance. Her approach centers around SparkEffect Trust Elasticity™, a well-researched framework designed to evaluate and fortify trust during periods of change, whether it be AI integration, leadership turnover, or restructuring. Connect with Maartje van Krieken: Connect with Maartje on LinkedIn Visit The Chaos Games Consulting website Visit The Business Emergency Room website Subscribe to The Business Emergency Room on YouTube Subscribe to Maartje’s Substack Host Maartje van Krieken is a crisis strategist and decision-making expert who thrives in high-stakes business environments. Combining disaster management training, hands-on experience in global industries, and leadership skills honed as a seasoned sailor, she helps businesses navigate chaos with precision. Whether tackling transformation, scaling challenges, or leadership bottlenecks, Maartje delivers actionable insights to turn turbulence into traction. Podcast production and show notes provided by...

    29 min
  7. Episode 75 Holiday Special: Gratitude, Scar Tissue, and 5 Business Gifts for 2026

    12/24/2025

    Episode 75 Holiday Special: Gratitude, Scar Tissue, and 5 Business Gifts for 2026

    Most businesses do not break in a single moment. Pressure builds quietly, decisions get heavier, and strategic focus starts to slip long before a crisis forces attention. In this milestone 75th episode of The Business Emergency Room, Maartje van Krieken reflects on why organizations reach a breaking point and what leaders can do earlier to change the outcome. Drawing on her experience in disaster management and strategic decision making, she explores how business resilience is built by recognizing small issues before they compound and by responding more effectively to uncertainty and overload. Maartje offers decision-making tools to help leaders regain momentum, including a simple framework to break decision paralysis and restore forward movement. She also shares habits that protect time, energy, and clarity, along with guidance on sharpening strategic focus so teams can reduce noise and concentrate on what truly drives value. This episode is a thoughtful reset for leaders who want to lead more proactively, strengthen resilience, and enter the next season with clearer direction and better decisions. Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Why the Business Emergency Room Exists 02:33 The Plaque Buildup That Breaks Businesses 05:33 What Business Resilience Really Requires 12:18 Decision Defibrillator: A Tool to Break Decision Paralysis 15:06 Cancel Three Things to Reclaim Time and Energy 18:26 Using Outside Eyes to Reveal Blind Spots 24:46 Strategic Focus as the Foundation for Momentum 29:34 Leading Forward With Clarity and Momentum Links: The Decision Defibrillator Tool Connect with Maartje van Krieken: Connect with Maartje on LinkedIn Visit The Chaos Games Consulting website Visit The Business Emergency Room website Subscribe to The Business Emergency Room on YouTube Subscribe to Maartje’s Substack Host Maartje van Krieken is a crisis strategist and decision-making expert who thrives in high-stakes business environments. Combining disaster management training, hands-on experience in global industries, and leadership skills honed as a seasoned sailor, she helps businesses navigate chaos with precision. Whether tackling transformation, scaling challenges, or leadership bottlenecks, Maartje delivers actionable insights to turn turbulence into traction. Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

    30 min
  8. Red Clouds & Quick Wins: Mapping Your Way Out of Chaos

    12/17/2025

    Red Clouds & Quick Wins: Mapping Your Way Out of Chaos

    Most companies grow by accident instead of design, and this episode reveals how intentional process mapping transforms chaos into predictable value creation through true operational excellence. Maartje van Krieken and Joe Bockerstette, the managing partner of Business Enterprise Mapping, explore why even strong teams struggle when the underlying system works against them. Joe explains how process mapping uncovers the hidden structures that drive performance and why misaligned workflows, unclear deliverables, and outdated habits quietly erode value as a business grows. His examples challenge leaders to ask themselves whether they truly understand how their organization produces its results.  This conversation shows how clarity and intentional design create the foundation for operational excellence and offers a reminder that value creation comes from improving the system, not pushing people harder. Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Automating Chaos and the Need for Process Foundations 00:53 Why Structures and Systems Shape Business Value 02:24 How Process Mapping Identifies Root Causes 06:18 When Growing Companies Hit the Wall 10:14 Case Study A Bank Overrun by Manual Work 12:13 How Redesigning Processes Increased Valuation 16:21 Red Clouds and Quick-Win Improvements 22:23 Why Leadership Commitment Drives Operational Excellence 24:06 Aligning Processes With True Value Creation Connect with Joe Bockerstette: Connect with Joe on LinkedIn Joe Bockerstette is the Managing Partner of Business Enterprise Mapping in Phoenix, a firm focused on transformative workflow improvement. He brings more than 30 years of experience as a CEO, business consultant, and private equity and angel investor. Joe previously served as a Consulting Partner at PwC, co-founded Equity Management Group, and was the first Managing Partner of Indiana’s Main Street Venture Fund. He holds an engineering degree from the University of Cincinnati and an MBA from Xavier University, has served on multiple public, private, and nonprofit boards, and is the co-author of three books on entrepreneurship, process management, and strategic advantage. Connect with Maartje van Krieken: Connect with Maartje on LinkedIn Visit The Chaos Games Consulting website Visit The Business Emergency Room website Subscribe to The Business Emergency Room on YouTube Subscribe to Maartje’s Substack Host Maartje van Krieken is a crisis strategist and decision-making expert who thrives in high-stakes business environments. Combining disaster management training, hands-on experience in global industries, and leadership skills honed as a seasoned sailor, she helps businesses navigate chaos with precision. Whether tackling transformation, scaling challenges, or leadership bottlenecks, Maartje delivers actionable insights to turn turbulence into traction.  Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

    29 min
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Scaling a business isn’t just about strategy—it’s about navigating chaos, making fast but sound decisions, and keeping teams aligned under pressure. The Business Emergency Room helps leaders, founders, and decision-makers sharpen their decision-making mechanics, master people dynamics, and build resilience in uncertain markets. Host Maartje van Krieken shares battle-tested frameworks to eliminate bottlenecks, avoid analysis paralysis, and turn turbulence into traction. Tune in weekly for real-world insights to lead with confidence and thrive in turmoil. For leaders facing: High-stakes decisions, VUCA market conditions, crisis management, and rapid business growth pains.

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