In this conversation, Jeroen Kraaijenbrink unpacks why CEOs are usually the last to know — how information travels sideways through rumors and gossip but rarely up the org chart, because speaking up vertically comes with real career risk. He shares the finding that only about 1% of employees feel confident voicing concerns in crucial moments, and tells the story of a hundred-year-old company where the CEO stared at two green dashboard numbers while the top thirty managers underneath him described a "sick company," a "sick culture," and "the black period in history." He walks through PACE — Purpose, Awareness, Connection, Energy — one pillar at a time, tells the story of the confidential email a CEO forwarded to the person it was about, and closes on the single uncomfortable conversation every leader has to have first: the one with themselves. Jeroen Kraaijenbrink is a strategy author, teacher, and independent consultant with more than twenty years in the field — writing, teaching, and working directly with the executive teams trying to actually make their strategies work. His current argument, after all of it, is that most companies don't have a strategy problem at all. They have an honesty problem. And nobody in the building is willing to name it out loud. He is the author of several books, including The One Hour Strategy, and he has developed a diagnostic framework called PACE — Purpose, Awareness, Connection, Energy — to check whether the human conditions for honesty are actually in place before a company writes another plan. CHAPTERS [00:00] Cold open — Jeroen on the "honesty problem"[01:01] Why CEOs are the last to know — rumors travel sideways, not up[01:32] The truth doesn't travel vertically[02:23] Strategy isn't strategy — it's analysis, and 100 frameworks in a textbook[04:28] "Brains at the top, hands at the bottom" — where that idea comes from[05:47] The One Hour Strategy — everyone in a company owning their piece[06:51] 50–90% of strategy execution fails, and only 13% of workers engaged[07:56] Only 1% feel confident voicing concerns in crucial moments[09:11] Coordination is part of the problem — and part of the solution[10:13] The dashboard CEO vs. the sick company — a hundred-year-old company in denial[11:55] Why history gets into the DNA — new leaders can't always break the past[13:15] The red flags — the first three seconds on Teams, and the forwarded confidential email[14:56] PACE — Purpose, Awareness, Connection, Energy[15:47] Purpose: why people only speak up if they care about the cause[16:36] Awareness: knowing your own blind spots and biases[17:00] Connection: no psychological safety, no honesty[17:51] Energy: fear mode, ego, and the split between work and home[19:57] The one uncomfortable conversation a leader needs to have — with themselves[22:37] "Just like in airplanes" — start with yourself, then help the rest[24:11] Be the drop in the water — the ripple effect Guest: Jeroen Kraaijenbrink · Host: Kristian Luoma (In Parallel) GUEST & SHOW LINKS Jeroen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeroenkraaijenbrink/Jeroen's website: https://www.jeroenkraaijenbrink.com/
