Field Notes: The Comfort Zone That Makes You Less

How Businesses Accidentally Train Customers to Lie

You can’t build great AI on top of bad customer behavior. And sometimes… businesses are the ones creating the behavior. After a frustrating moment in a dentist waiting room, Alyssa unpacks how outdated systems, unnecessary friction, and “required” fields are quietly training customers to give incomplete, inaccurate, or fake information. Because when the process feels like busy work, people stop trying to help you. This Field Note explores the connection between customer experience, operational design, and the future of AI powered businesses. What happens when the systems designed to collect better data are actually making your data worse?

Allow Me to Reintroduce Myself: Inside the Messy Middle of Building in Public

This is not a rebrand. It is a reset. Alyssa Nolte is changing the direction of Taking Back Monday. What started as conversations about entrepreneurship, leadership, and people strategy is becoming something more raw. Less theory. More action. This next phase pulls you into the messy middle of building a business in real time. If you are tired of polished advice and want to see what it actually looks like to build, pivot, and figure things out as you go, this episode is for you. This is about doing the work, not just talking about it. Alyssa shares why she stepped back, what she realized after clearing her interview backlog, and why now is the time to move from post corporate therapy to real execution. She is still hosting interviews on The Growth Signal, but Taking Back Monday is becoming a behind the scenes look at entrepreneurship in motion. 3 Key Takeaways: 1. Clarity comes when you pause. Clearing the backlog created space to rethink the future of the podcast. 2. Talking about change is not the same as making change. This next chapter is about action, not theory. 3. The messy middle matters. Growth does not happen in highlight reels. It happens in the uncertain in between. If you want to build something meaningful, lead better, and truly take back your Monday, follow along. Resources and Links: 1. alyssanolte.substack.com [http://alyssanolte.substack.com] 2. linkedin.com/in/alyssanolte [http://linkedin.com/in/alyssanolte] 3. https://rss.com/podcasts/thegrowthsignal/ [https://rss.com/podcasts/thegrowthsignal/]

Why KPIs Break Teams and What Actually Motivates People feat. Tim Townsend

In this episode, Alyssa Nolte talks with Tim Townsend about leadership, motivation, and what actually drives people at work. They dig into why KPIs often fail, how fear shows up inside big organizations, and what gets lost when work becomes impersonal. Why You Should Listen This conversation cuts through corporate theory and gets real about human behavior at work. If you lead teams, work inside large organizations, or feel frustrated by politics and misaligned incentives, this episode gives language and perspective for what you are seeing every day and how to think about it differently. 3 Key Takeaways 1. KPIs can backfire when they reward the wrong behavior and disconnect people from the bigger goal. 2. As teams grow, individual accountability often shrinks unless leaders actively reinforce shared purpose. 3. Personal connection and belief in the work drive better outcomes than measurement alone. People and Resources Mentioned * Simon Sinek * Kevin McLeod * Grand Designs

Rethinking How We Build: Craft, Risk, and Real Collaboration feat. Beau Dromiack

This episode looks at how teams actually build things together... and why so many groups still protect their own turf. Alyssa and Beau talk about architecture, construction, leadership, and how shared risk can transform the way people work. Beau explains why craft, coordination, and empathy matter more than ever, especially as AI begins reshaping technical work. This conversation is worth a listen if you work on any team where silos slow things down. Beau breaks down the real reasons teams clash and offers practical ways to build trust and make collaboration easier. Key takeaways: * Better buildings start with better teamwork. You can’t improve outcomes without understanding each person’s risks. * Craft matters. When quality drops, trust erodes and silos harden. When craft rises, collaboration gets easier. * AI will reshape the profession. Teams that work with shared values and strong coordination will have a major advantage. People and resources mentioned: * Norman Foster * The Toyota Way * The Innovator’s Dilemma Share your thoughts - send us a text [https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/2321575/open_sms] It's time to say "goodbye" to the Sunday Scaries.Connect with AlyssaLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alyssanolte/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/alyssanolte/]Subscribe to the Taking Back Monday Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7158635254474272768/ [https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7158635254474272768/]Follow the show on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TakingBackMondayPod [https://www.youtube.com/@TakingBackMondayPod]Follow the show on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@takingbackmondaypod [https://www.tiktok.com/@takingbackmondaypod]

Field Notes: The Comfort Zone That Makes You Less

I've lived by "be all in or be all out" for years. Then I realized I was the half-in person I couldn't stand. In this micro episode, I'm reflecting on my recent conversation with Rachel Burr, author of "Butterfly Goo," and something she said that stopped me mid-sentence: "When we choose to stay stuck, it is still a choice." I'm unpacking what that forced me to confront. Why comfort zones aren't neutral. What it means to build your path instead of find it. And what I'm choosing now. For all of my latest posts, musings and more…subscribe to my substack: https://alyssanolte.substack.com/ Share your thoughts - send us a text [https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/2321575/open_sms] It's time to say "goodbye" to the Sunday Scaries. Connect with Alyssa LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alyssanolte/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/alyssanolte/] Subscribe to the Taking Back Monday Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7158635254474272768/ [https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7158635254474272768/] Follow the show on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TakingBackMondayPod [https://www.youtube.com/@TakingBackMondayPod] Follow the show on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@takingbackmondaypod [https://www.tiktok.com/@takingbackmondaypod]