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Friday Takeaway: Create, don't react

The Friday Takeaway3 min readSam Page

I’ve been thinking a lot this week about the difference between noise and signal. Whether it’s in a strategy workshop, a moment of personal feedback, using AI, or the hype cycle of new technology, the challenge is always the same... pausing long enough to find the real value.

Here are 4 takeaways from my week:

1. Start with the "Why" or it’s just noise: I’ve been supporting and facilitating workshops all week, ranging from one of the country's largest companies to a brand-new startup. Despite the difference in scale, the task is identical: getting to the root of the problem they are solving for their customer, and bringing an outside-in lens to help explore that.

If you don’t understand why the customer/audience has the need in the first place, everything that follows is just noise. If you want to deliver value that actually works, you have to start here.

2. Don't fall into the AI trap: I attended the "How agentic AI is changing the insurance industry" InsTech event this week. I’ll do a full write-up next week, but one insight from Dr Paul Dongha stuck with me immediately.

He warned against falling into the trap of FOMO. Technology is only ever part of the solution. If you ignore change management - taking your people and processes along with you - the tech won't save you.

3. Create vs. React: I had some brilliant feedback from a member of staff this week about something I could be doing better. If I’m honest, my immediate internal reaction was to be defensive.

But I managed to catch myself. I went back to a play on words my coach, Bruce O'Brien CPCC, PCC , taught me years ago: React vs. Create. It is so easy to react. But if you can take a breath, you can usually choose to "create" a positive outcome instead. It takes work, but creating that conversation was infinitely better than defending my ego. I go back to this simple play on words on almost a daily basis.

4. The value of peer support: I caught up with a CEO from one of our clients this week. We try to chat once a month, not about the work (although of course that comes up), but mainly to connect and support each other as peers.

The conversation almost always comes back to people and teams. Getting that dynamic right is how you get the business outcomes you need. We ended by swapping book recommendations.

I recommended The Trillion Dollar Coach - see my post on it here https://www.linkedin.com/posts/samuelpage_the-best-leadership-book-i-have-read-in-years-activity-7399717779915948032-V16W. They recommended All the Best for the Future: Growing Up Without Growing Old by Greg James.

If you don't do this already, I highly encourage you to find peers in other companies to chat with. The conversation, no matter what it is about, is priceless.

On to next week. When you get tough feedback, do you tend to react or create?

First published on LinkedIn.

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---
title: "Friday Takeaway: Create, don't react"
url: https://sam-page.com/thinking/friday-takeaway-create-dont-react
date: 2025-11-28
author: Sam Page
type: The Friday Takeaway edition
categories: [The Friday Takeaway]
reading_time: 3 min
summary: "I’ve been thinking a lot this week about the difference between noise and signal. Whether it’s in a strategy workshop, a moment of personal feedback, using AI, or the hype cycle of new…"
first_published: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/friday-takeaway-create-dont-react-sam-page-p5vxe
---

# Friday Takeaway: Create, don't react

I’ve been thinking a lot this week about the difference between noise and signal. Whether it’s in a strategy workshop, a moment of personal feedback, using AI, or the hype cycle of new technology, the challenge is always the same... pausing long enough to find the real value.

Here are 4 takeaways from my week:

**1. Start with the "Why" or it’s just noise:** I’ve been supporting and facilitating workshops all week, ranging from one of the country's largest companies to a brand-new startup. Despite the difference in scale, the task is identical: getting to the root of the problem they are solving for their customer, and bringing an outside-in lens to help explore that.

If you don’t understand why the customer/audience has the need in the first place, everything that follows is just noise. If you want to deliver value that actually works, you have to start here.

**2. Don't fall into the AI trap:** I attended the "How agentic AI is changing the insurance industry" InsTech event this week. I’ll do a full write-up next week, but one insight from Dr Paul Dongha stuck with me immediately.

He warned against falling into the trap of FOMO. Technology is only ever part of the solution. If you ignore change management - taking your people and processes along with you - the tech won't save you.

**3. Create vs. React:** I had some brilliant feedback from a member of staff this week about something I could be doing better. If I’m honest, my immediate internal reaction was to be defensive.

But I managed to catch myself. I went back to a play on words my coach, Bruce O'Brien CPCC, PCC , taught me years ago: React vs. Create. It is so easy to react. But if you can take a breath, you can usually choose to "create" a positive outcome instead. It takes work, but creating that conversation was infinitely better than defending my ego. I go back to this simple play on words on almost a daily basis.

**4. The value of peer support:** I caught up with a CEO from one of our clients this week. We try to chat once a month, not about the work (although of course that comes up), but mainly to connect and support each other as peers.

The conversation almost always comes back to people and teams. Getting that dynamic right is how you get the business outcomes you need. We ended by swapping book recommendations.

I recommended **The Trillion Dollar Coach** - see my post on it here <https://www.linkedin.com/posts/samuelpage_the-best-leadership-book-i-have-read-in-years-activity-7399717779915948032-V16W>. They recommended **All the Best for the Future: Growing Up Without Growing Old** by Greg James.

If you don't do this already, I highly encourage you to find peers in other companies to chat with. The conversation, no matter what it is about, is priceless.

**On to next week.** When you get tough feedback, do you tend to react or create?