Since 2009
Making leaders, teams, and organizations more agile and antifragile
In a complex world, established organizations know they need to become more agile. The challenge? They're trapped by the very success patterns that got them here.We help Fortune 1000 leaders and teams evolve—without losing what made them successful in the first place.
The challenge most leaders face
Your organization achieved success by being cautious, politically careful, and avoiding mistakes. But that same "play it safe" mindset now limits your ability to:
+ Take calculated risks that drive innovation
+ Move fast enough to stay ahead of disruption
+ Navigate uncertainty with confidence
+ Turn culture into competitive advantageThe result? While you're "playing not to lose," more agile competitors are learning faster, innovating more effectively, and reshaping your industry's future.
What we do
We evolve leaders and culture for competitive advantage.
Leadership & Team Development
Powerful coaching journeys for individual leaders and intact teams. Often, in large, complex organizations that need to be more bold and agile. With our support, they get there faster.
Culture Transformation
We help leadership teams create fit-for-purpose culture metrics using our proven Know/Feel/Do® framework, then move the needle with Five Frequencies®—the leadership signals that turn culture into competitive advantage.
Strategic Leadership Programs
Strategic leadership development explicitly designed around the capabilities required to deliver your targeted business outcomes. Tight, scalable design + high-impact delivery. Real business impact tied to real business priorities—not flavor-of-the-month workshops divorced from operational realities.
AI-Accelerated Leader Growth
Our breakthrough SparWith.Me platform provides leaders with 24/7 access to AI sparring partners customized to both your organizational context and their developmental journey. The AI reinforces program content while generating intelligence reports that make human coaches exponentially more effective—true human-AI integration, not replacement.
How we think differently
Navigating Bold Moves and Moments of Truth with Clarity and Confidence
Most leaders treat all risks the same. That's a mistake."Risk of Ruin" Environment: Like Russian Roulette—one unlucky outcome is catastrophic and irreversible. So you’ve got to “play it safe” here. Examples: product and employee safety, regulatory compliance, data security."Risk of Irrelevance" Environment: Like flipping coins for five heads in a row. You’re unlikely to succeed on the first attempt. But so what? In this environment, it’s important to go for great instead of playing too safe—and shamelessly continue to iterate. Examples: innovation, market expansion, strategic initiatives, people development, etc. (Basically, most of everything else.)Two common but completely-solvable problems:#1 Failures in pressurized Moments of Truth are the leading root cause of both ruin AND irrelevance.#2 Most organizations apply "risk of ruin" thinking to "risk of irrelevance" situations—and wonder why they can't innovate. The result? While you're "playing not to lose," more agile competitors are learning faster, innovating more effectively, and reshaping your industry's future.
Other leadership principles that drive results
+ Culture is the #1 leading indicator of future success you're probably not meaningfully measuring or managing+ Leadership development is a process, not an event—or it's a waste of time and money+ If all our recommendations fit within your current comfort zone, we've committed professional malpractice+ Antifragility comes from knowing when to think more and when to think less+ The simplest, most reliable way to become a more agile leader: Insert a choice between stimulus and response. (Not easy to execute, however.)
Our competitive edge
Small firm, global impact
Our clients are household names. Our methods are not.As a boutique firm, we move fast and stay focused on what matters. Our global network of proven partners allows us to scale up with people we've actually worked with successfully—not strangers meeting for the first time at your site.
Breakthrough AI integration
Real ROI on leadership and team development happens after formal sessions—when leaders either apply new mindsets and practices (even in pressurized Moments of Truth)—or, instead, revert to old habits. Our SparWith.Me platform dramatically improve the odds it’s the former, not the latter.+ Leaders love 24/7 access to practical, trustworthy, context-aware, and confidential guidance when they need it most.+ Our sponsors (in HR or elsewhere) appreciate the platform’s (GDPR-compliant, EU-hosted) security; the customization to the client’s business and cultural context; and, most importantly, the strategic impact—delivered cost-effectively and readily scalable.
Proven frameworks that deliver
+ Know/Feel/Do® culture metrics+ Five Frequencies® culture change methodology+ Two Risk Environments decision framework for managing bold moves and moments of truth+ Heat MVPs: Small, 2-week experiments that deliver real value while pushing comfort zone boundaries (and literally strengthen the brain)+ Leadership Circle Profile 360 expertise (500+ debriefs between our founders)
Who we work with
If you're like most visitors to our website, you're here to credential us. Good. That’s what it’s here for.
We've never gotten a new client from a Google search. We get them because someone they trust said: "You need to meet these people."Thanks to those referrals, we’re fortunate to work with great organizations like:
Baltimore Gas & Electric + Beiersdorf + Brother + Carnival + Children's Hospital of Philadelphia + City of Detroit + Comcast + Con Edison + Delta Air Lines + DLL + Dominion + DTE Energy + Entergy + Eversource + Exelon + FMC + Goldman Sachs + Goodyear + Henkel + Honda + IHG/Kimpton + Johns Hopkins University + Kaiser Permanente + KPMG + McDonald's + McKinsey + Merck & Co. + Merck KGaA + NASA + PG&E + Pfizer + PPL + Qualcomm + Roche + Royal Caribbean + State Farm + Takeda + University of Texas + Yale University+ …and many others
What our clients say
Executive coaching
“My MGStrategy coach is solid. He doesn’t just talk about things to say them, but to make an impact. He is open, honest, and direct—which is what you need from a coach.”
—Marketing VP“[My MGStrategy coach] is super insightful and manages conversations in very deep yet actionable way.”
—Legal / Finance leader“I learned more about myself in our last coaching session than I’ve learned about myself in the past ten years.”
—Chief Customer Officer
Team coaching
“Thank you, for your time, energy, guidance, and perspective the past couple of days. It was super engaging. Throughout the two days I never once looked at my watch, was waiting for a break, or was wishing it to be over 😊. I think this is a testament not only to the content but the style in which you deliver it and the connections you made.”
—CFO“I really liked how you and your team managed this, a great performance to get the best of my team. I am often disappointed by consultants. But I must say I was impressed. I also liked the way you created build up, every session building on the one before and getting to crispier and more impactful engagement. Thanks a lot also for your detailed follow-up coaching and recommendations….that’s also something I am not used to getting from others in your field!”
—CEO“This experience has meant a lot to me. I now think about my role differently. And I think about my colleagues differently. We’re much more comfortable being vulnerable with one another and collaborating on tough challenges.”
—Manufacturing Leader“The truths you delivered were hard to hear. But you convinced us we owed it ourselves to ‘lean into discomfort,’ and ‘hug the cactus.’ And then you gave us the tools and confidence to actually do it.”
—Senior VP
Strategic (cohort-based) leader development
“Very practical content tied to our current business context. My first thought was ‘How have I never heard of the two risk environments framework before?’ I’m taking it back to lead a 'go for great' sprint with my team.”
—Supply Chain leader“Even when I’m overloaded, I look forward to these bite-sized sessions. The time goes by so fast. And we also learn something practical and then in our small groups we coach and challenge each other to actually put it into practice. I have followed through on all my Heat MVP experiments, even though each one has pushed me further and further out of my comfort zone.”
—Marketing leader
Principals
Our co-founders launched MGStrategy in 2009. Today, they bring to the table a combined 50+ years of trusted advisor experience, helping clients navigate complex transitions, bridge their values and results, and build future-ready capability.
Tanya Mann
Tanya helps leaders deliver business results through high-performing teams and cultures of accountability. With her support, clients have built collaborative partnerships, confronted brutal facts, and led sustainable change. She's built a reputation as an engaging but fiercely outcomes-driven partner. She is co-author of Five Frequencies: Leadership Signals that Turn Culture into Competitive Advantage and contributor to graduate textbooks on organizational alignment.
Jeff Grimshaw
Over the past 30+ years, Jeff has helped hundreds of executives across six continents to align people, strategy, and culture in support of important business outcomes. He is co-author of Leadership Without Excuses: How to Create Accountability and High-Performance (Instead of Just Talking about It) and Five Frequencies. Jeff is a passionate advocate for "long-term greedy" (calculating ROI based on longer-than-typical time horizons) and “shamelessly reserving the right to get smarter.”
