Sneak Peek
On TIGNUM’s B-LD KITCHEN Hub, our world-class Performance Specialists share their latest insights on human performance and discuss real-life experiences and best practices with industry leaders.
Here is a limited selection for you to explore:
Harnessing the Collective: Community as a Catalyst for Change
Jeff Keith embarked on a remarkable journey with a profound mission: to combat human trafficking head-on. His path began with five years of dedicated research and establishing crucial partnerships with key stakeholders, including law enforcement, public service, ministry, and the military.
Project: The Guardian Group
B-LD KITCHEN Member: Jeff Keith
Jeff Keith embarked on a remarkable journey with a profound mission: to combat human trafficking head-on. His path began with five years of dedicated research and establishing crucial partnerships with key stakeholders, including law enforcement, public service, ministry, and the military.
He soon recognized a critical gap in the fight against trafficking. While these authorities were tasked with solving the issue, they often lacked the essential resources and specialized knowledge needed to do so effectively.
Human traffickers can target anyone, but certain groups are more vulnerable, such as young individuals with high ACE scores (a measure of neglect and abuse in childhood), those experiencing homelessness, foster care youths, and those involved in the juvenile justice system.
Among the most disproportionately affected are minority populations, specifically Black, Latino, and Native American girls from underrepresented and underserved communities. Shockingly, victims are often openly advertised online, with approximately 150,000 new online advertisements selling women and children for sex in the U.S. each day. Law enforcement agencies were stretched thin, lacking the time, resources, and skills to locate, rescue, and support these victims.
It was clear that a fresh and courageous approach was needed to make a meaningful impact.
Jeff Keith firmly believes in the strength of community. His innovative solution was to unite the power of the community with the expertise, diligence, and experience of intelligence and law enforcement agencies. This combination created a force multiplier approach, empowering authorities with vital insights, data, and expertise.
The Guardian Group recruits, vets, and trains a dedicated team of volunteers who actively search for online advertisements to gather leads and information about victims. They call this Project 1951, named after the U.S. statute code that makes child trafficking a federal offense.
The Guardian Group's pioneering approach was launched in 2022, and its impact has been extraordinary. In just the first quarter of 2023, it led to a remarkable 200% increase in victim identifications, a trend expected to grow exponentially by year-end.
They assemble the necessary evidence and insights, which are then carefully passed on to the relevant authorities. This collaborative effort makes law enforcement more effective in apprehending the perpetrators.
Now, having developed a groundbreaking model for combating human trafficking, Jeff faces the challenge of scaling up to help even more victims. His personal motto is: Until All Are Free.
Jeff knows this endeavor will demand incredible mental agility and unwavering determination. Expanding will require fresh inspiration, innovative ideas, and support from unexpected sources.
The project is rooted in the belief that diverse thinking is the key to overcoming this challenge. This is precisely why Jeff has joined TIGNUM’s B-LD KITCHEN. He recognizes that the diverse collective and inspirational dialogues within it will uniquely empower him and the Guardian Group to have a lasting impact on people's lives.
There are various ways to support this project, as an individual and an organization.
For more information, contact
Jeff directly at:
jeff@guardiangroup.org
You can learn more about
the Guardian Group:
https://guardiangroup.org
ABOUT TIGNUM’S B-LD KITCHEN
Ever wondered how top performers reach success? It’s not luck; it’s their boldness and constant readiness to face challenges in a complex, uncertain, and volatile world.
We get it—nowadays it’s tough to stay on top of things without the right energy or tools. That’s why our TIGNUM experts have created the B-LD KITCHEN. Packed with constant inspiration, ongoing conversations, and expert-designed human performance tools and strategies, we aim to significantly impact your work and life, no matter the challenges.
ABOUT TIGNUM
TIGNUM is the major performance building block for business professionals, designed around a skill- and data-based approach that respects the individuality, focuses on the brain, evolves constantly, and creates lasting impact.
Its international team comes from a wide range of fields, including human behavior, elite athletics, special forces, performance medicine, executive coaching, change consultants, and more.
Fundamental Force: How Core Principles Propelled a Record-BREAKING Global Cycle
Laura Penhaul (Performance Innovation Officer at TIGNUM) was Mark Beaumont's performance manager when he set out to pedal the globe in less than 80 days. It wasn't just a triumph of endurance; it was a masterclass in prioritizing fundamental gains over marginal ones.
Project: Cycle Around the World in Under 80 Days
B-LD KITCHEN Founding Member: Laura Penhaul
Laura was the performance manager for Mark Beaumont when he set out to pedal the globe in less than 80 days. It wasn't just a triumph of endurance; it was a masterclass in prioritizing fundamental gains over marginal ones.
Observers and spectators of any sporting or endurance endeavor are often captivated by the minutiae — the sleek aerodynamics of a helmet, the skin-tight efficiency of a racing suit, or the power-to-weight ratios that speak to an athlete's sheer force. Yet, for Laura and Mark, success hinged on the sport's core tenets, tailored to his unique capabilities and the calculated risks involved.
To circumnavigate the globe, the core principles were clear-cut:
Maintain 15mph for 16 hours each day, no matter what.
It had to be done in 80 days, with a mere 3 days reserved for flights and an allowance of 4-6 hours of sleep nightly.
Endure temperature fluctuations from a balmy 28°C to a chilling 2°C, all while keeping a steady output of 190 watts per hour.
He would need to climb 149,871 meters (equivalent to climbing Everest 17 times).
In order to achieve this, Laura created a strategy based on four fundamentals:
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Choosing sustainable comfort over ephemeral speed was crucial. It meant favoring a higher posture over an aggressive, low aero position that could cut each day short through pain and power loss.
It's about the right gear for the conditions, ensuring that saddle sores or wrist strains don't derail the journey. This is more than just avoiding the immediate aches. It's the safeguard against tendon wear and the cognitive decline that comes from fatigue.
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Every element demanded uniformity, from training to power output to routine adherence. Wasting five minutes post-break could culminate in losing a whole day over the long haul — unacceptable when chasing a sub-80-day record.
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Skincare, oral care, clean apparel, meticulous food preparation — they weren't just routines; they were non-negotiables.
With illness posing a significant threat to the mission, hygiene standards were paramount for the entire team.
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The right nutrition at the right time wasn't just about energy; it was about maintaining the necessary power to keep the wheels turning.
It encompassed everything from macro and micro-nutrient distribution to gut health and the psychological well-being that comes from satisfying meals.
Mark and Laura's story isn't just one of physical prowess; it's a testament to a holistic approach where big-picture thinking trumps the allure of marginal gains. It's about the wisdom of working with what you have and recognizing that the strength to push through doesn't start with a single pedal stroke — it begins with a mindset geared toward the foundational elements that drive success in the face of global ambition.
What are the fundamentals for your own projects? Are you focusing on your fundamentals or the marginal gains of so-called performance culture behaviors?
It is an interesting topic we have been exploring through our B-LD KITCHEN conversations.
ABOUT TIGNUM’S B-LD KITCHEN
Ever wondered how top performers reach success? It’s not luck; it’s their boldness and constant readiness to face challenges in a complex, uncertain, and volatile world.
We get it—nowadays it’s tough to stay on top of things without the right energy or tools. That’s why our TIGNUM experts have created the B-LD KITCHEN. Packed with constant inspiration, ongoing conversations, and expert-designed human performance tools and strategies, we aim to significantly impact your work and life, no matter the challenges.
ABOUT TIGNUM
TIGNUM is the major performance building block for business professionals, designed around a skill- and data-based approach that respects the individuality, focuses on the brain, evolves constantly, and creates lasting impact.
Its international team comes from a wide range of fields, including human behavior, elite athletics, special forces, performance medicine, executive coaching, change consultants, and more.
Redefining What it Means to be Human
Discover Deb Bubb's journey from HR leader to founder of The Institute for Moral Imagination, where she uses creativity and neuroscience to enhance professional and personal growth.
Project: The Institute for Moral Imagination
B-LD KITCHEN Founding Member: Deb Bubb
Deb is a trailblazer in the human resources realm, celebrated for infusing genuine humanity back into the corporate world. Respected for her deep experience in leadership development and talent management within the tech industry, she's held influential positions at UnitedHealth Group, Optum, IBM, and Intel—steering the course of leadership, diversity, talent management, and organizational vitality.
Deb's approach is unique. Throughout her career, she's turned to the fascinating insights of neuroscience and evolutionary biology to deepen our understanding of what it truly means to be human – and how that humanity plays a critical role in our professional performance. She's dedicated to the premise that art and creative self-expression are fundamental to our human experience, shaping our understanding of the world and ourselves.
This insight led her to a profound question: How might we leverage our innate creativity to envision and build the future we aspire to?
So, Deb founded The Institute for Moral Imagination. Centered on the idea that every life is a creative act, the Institute is dedicated to nurturing the artist within us and deepening our moral clarity, imagination, and courage to create a world where we can all flourish. The Institute is a generative resource to build a world where our workplaces, communities, and day-to-day lives are a canvas for creative and moral thought—a future shaped by a collective humanity.
“We're being saturated today with messages and experiences that come out of an echo chamber and keep us in a narrower and narrower slice of our brain. Art and creativity invite us to experience and use all of our brains, many different ways that our brains are designed, to sense and experience the world.”
Deb Bubb, B-LD KITCHEN Founding Member and
Co-Founder of the Institute for Moral Imagination
CEO of the kyu collective, Michael Birkin, co-founder of SYPartners, Keith Yamashita, and Deb are undertaking a powerful initiative cut from the same cloth.
The movement is called “20 Summers” and asks: If you had 20 good summers left, how would you live your life? The effort has two major offerings:
1) A group-based, in-person set of experiences where we work with people in “cohorts” to plan for and flourish throughout their next twenty years and
2) An online and digital platform designed to serve millions with tools, experiences, and learning solutions to facilitate their growth and development into elderhood
Through 20 Summers, the team hopes to:
- Help people explore, reckon, and contend with the life they have built so far—taking the best elements of their life and building a new collage
- Forge new mindsets and beliefs that will sustain people through their elderhood—this often means reshaping one’s identity, self-image, self- esteem, and relationships within groups
- Help people define their purpose, direction, and approach
- Unleash people to experiment, practice, and build new rituals to create this preferred future and life
Deb is embracing a new chapter, moving beyond the corporate sphere to wholeheartedly devote herself to The Institute for Moral Imagination and 20 Summers. Her journey and this significant transition were the focal points of her B-LD KITCHEN Roundtable session, which marked the first time she spoke openly about her shift in focus.
The exchange she had with other members wasn’t just informative—it was a galvanizing experience that reinforced her conviction in the Institute’s mission. This kind of exchange is precisely what the B-LD KITCHEN aims to foster: an environment where dialogue ignites innovation and emboldens the kind of thinking that leads to breakthroughs.
“We can only answer questions we have the courage to ask.”
Keith Yamashita, co-founder of 20 Summers
ABOUT TIGNUM’S B-LD KITCHEN
Ever wondered how top performers reach success? It’s not luck; it’s their boldness and constant readiness to face challenges in a complex, uncertain, and volatile world.
We get it—nowadays it’s tough to stay on top of things without the right energy or tools. That’s why our TIGNUM experts have created the B-LD KITCHEN. Packed with constant inspiration, ongoing conversations, and expert-designed human performance tools and strategies, we aim to significantly impact your work and life, no matter the challenges.
ABOUT TIGNUM
TIGNUM is the major performance building block for business professionals, designed around a skill- and data-based approach that respects the individuality, focuses on the brain, evolves constantly, and creates lasting impact.
Its international team comes from a wide range of fields, including human behavior, elite athletics, special forces, performance medicine, executive coaching, change consultants, and more.
HUMANIZING BIOTECH - HOW COLLABORATIVE CULTURES DRIVE INNOVATIONS TO PATIENTS
Bringing over two decades of experience to his work in developing new cancer treatments and with a history of leading large teams around the world, Dave Lennon emphasized the importance of a strong team spirit, learning from failures, and turning challenges into opportunities for growth.
with Dave Lennon - CEO at Aadi Bioscience. B-LD KITCHEN Founding Member.
Dave Lennon is the current CEO of Aadi Bioscience and brings over two decades of experience to his work in developing new cancer treatments. With a history of leading large teams around the world, Dave emphasized the importance of a strong team spirit, learning from failures, and turning challenges into opportunities for growth.
ABOUT TIGNUM’S B-LD KITCHEN
Ever wondered how top performers reach success? It’s not luck; it’s their boldness and constant readiness to face challenges in a complex, uncertain, and volatile world.
We get it—nowadays it’s tough to stay on top of things without the right energy or tools. That’s why our TIGNUM experts have created the B-LD KITCHEN. Packed with constant inspiration, ongoing conversations, and expert-designed human performance tools and strategies, we aim to significantly impact your work and life, no matter the challenges.
ABOUT TIGNUM
TIGNUM is the major performance building block for business professionals, designed around a skill- and data-based approach that respects the individuality, focuses on the brain, evolves constantly, and creates lasting impact.
Its international team comes from a wide range of fields, including human behavior, elite athletics, special forces, performance medicine, executive coaching, change consultants, and more.
CHASING THE IMPOSSIBLE
From Tour de France triumphs to smashing unthinkable marathon records and reshaping an iconic fashion brand, the discussion with Fran Millar centers on the transformative influence of a people-focused culture in both sports and business.
with Fran Millar - CEO at Belstaff, ex-CEO of TEAM SKY and INEOS Grenadiers, Tour de France winning teams. B-LD KITCHEN Founding Member.
From Tour de France triumphs to smashing unthinkable marathon records and reshaping an iconic fashion brand, the discussion with Fran Millar centers on the transformative influence of a people-focused culture in both sports and business.
Fran’s story illustrates that merging innovative approaches with authentic human connections reveals the team's hidden drive, sparking an unparalleled passion that leads to extraordinary achievements.
ABOUT TIGNUM’S B-LD KITCHEN
Ever wondered how top performers reach success? It’s not luck; it’s their boldness and constant readiness to face challenges in a complex, uncertain, and volatile world.
We get it—nowadays it’s tough to stay on top of things without the right energy or tools. That’s why our TIGNUM experts have created the B-LD KITCHEN. Packed with constant inspiration, ongoing conversations, and expert-designed human performance tools and strategies, we aim to significantly impact your work and life, no matter the challenges.
ABOUT TIGNUM
TIGNUM is the major performance building block for business professionals, designed around a skill- and data-based approach that respects the individuality, focuses on the brain, evolves constantly, and creates lasting impact. Its international team comes from a wide range of fields, including human behavior, elite athletics, special forces, performance medicine, executive coaching, change consultants, and more.
Bringing Sustainable Human Performance to the team with Dirk-Maarten Molenaar
Work and life are not two different spheres that need to be balanced - sustainable human performance is a much more appealing and integrative approach to simply being our best version.
Dirk Maarten-Molenaar, Managing Director and Senior Partner, BCG
Sustainable Human Performance is both simple and complex at the same time. Dirk-Marten Molenaar shares how learning about Sustainable Human Performance profoundly changed his life and how he consequently introduced the concept to his teams and initiated major shifts company-wide.
He has an in-depth understanding that there is no one perfect performance strategy, but rather it differs from person to person and over time. Yet, adopting your performance strategies according to need and context should never mean letting them drop, no matter how turbulent the times. Why? If you are a paid thinker, like many of us are, you should never compromise on your own brain power.
ABOUT TIGNUM THOUGHTCAST
TIGNUM ThoughtCast is a series of short interviews in which TIGNUM co-founder Scott Peltin sits down with friends, clients, and human performance experts to explore the application of Sustainable Human Performance.
Managing Extreme Circumstances: Mindset is the Key with Laura Penhaul
Just over 5 years ago, Laura Penhaul led a crew of four women on a groundbreaking journey, becoming the first four-person boat crew to row across the Pacific Ocean. In this episode, Laura shares with Scott the High Performance Mindset and leadership skills that fueled their incredible 9,200-mile (14,800 km), 257-day journey.
Laura Penhaul, TIGNUM Performance Specialist
"Why do we wait for significant adversity to maximize our abilities? Why don't we explore maximizing what we've got when we've got it?"
Just over 5 years ago, Laura Penhaul led a crew of four women on an unprecedented journey, becoming the first-ever four-person boat crew to row across the Pacific Ocean.
In this episode, Laura talks with Scott about the High Performance Mindset and leadership skills that helped her and her crew complete their astounding 9,200-mile (14,800k), 257-day journey.
Her inspiring perspective, stemming from her work as a Physiotherapist for the British Paralympic team, challenges us all to explore our potential by finding our own version of the Pacific to cross.
ABOUT TIGNUM THOUGHTCAST
TIGNUM ThoughtCast is a series of short interviews in which TIGNUM co-founder Scott Peltin sits down with friends, clients, and human performance experts to explore the application of Sustainable Human Performance.
The Leader's Loneliness
Leadership has many benefits, but it also has many challenges and many unfortunate truths. One of those unfortunate truths is that leadership can often be lonely. The fact is that the higher up you move on the leadership ladder, the lonelier it can be. In this TIGNUM Thought, Scott Peltin discussed how to deal with feelings of loneliness as a leader.
Leadership has many benefits, but it also has many challenges and many unfortunate truths. One of those unfortunate truths is that leadership can often be lonely. The fact is that the higher up you move on the leadership ladder, the lonelier it can be.
Being a leader involves having a high emotional load
In working with many CEOs and other members of executive leadership teams, we often help them deal with the complexity of emotions that come with being a leader. There are many hard decisions that, even on the best day, will be unpopular. This fear of being unpopular can contribute to a feeling of loneliness. There is also the issue of confidentiality. Due to the multitude of complications that any decision can have, leaders often have to hold their thoughts and decisions close to their chest until the final moment. This can contribute to a leader feeling deceitful, detached, and again, lonely.
Additionally, leaders must play a multitude of roles in a day. From being the ultimate decision-maker to being the motivator to just being an equal partner or, as many of us know, to just being an unprepared parent. As William Shakespeare described in Richard II’s dilemma: “Thus I play in one person many people, and none contented.” This lack of clarity can lead to feelings of loneliness.
Finally, there is the loneliness of insecurity. Having worked with many leaders and teams that have gone through significant reorganizations, we have seen how tough they are. For those who leave the company, there is the loneliness of leaving friends, leaving the company you have helped shape and build, and of course, leaving your source of income. For those who stay with the company, there is the loneliness of losing friends, losing familiar infrastructure and stability, losing the sense of security that existed before the big change, and having to develop all-new teams and support systems. For both those who stay and those who leave, the feelings of loneliness are completely normal.
Dealing with the loneliness that comes with being a leader
From a TIGNUM perspective, what can you do to help comfort these feelings?
First, acknowledge to yourself that these feelings exist because you are human. This means also accepting that these feelings come with the job and since you chose to be a leader, you must accept all that comes with that.
Second, embrace your lonely times as a great source of self-reflection, self-growth, and remotivating yourself for the future.
Third, take time to grieve the endings that come with being a leader (both through sadness and celebration). Being able to let go of the past is a critical step to being open to “try the untried” in the future.
Fourth, always remember that you are not your job, and therefore, maintaining a life away from your work is critical to staying grounded in who you really are.
Finally, make your own Sustainable Human Performance a priority. During times of loneliness, it is easy to sacrifice the habits you know are critical to building your energy, resilience, mental agility, and executional stamina. Without these things, you not only won’t be a great leader, but you also won’t be a great you.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Scott Peltin // Co-Founder and Chief Catalyst
As the Co-Founder and Chief Catalyst of TIGNUM, Scott has coached many top CEOs, executives, professional athletes, and others to Rule Their Impact. Scott’s unique blend of his 25 years in the Fire Service, education, and coaching experience helps him combine the art and science of Sustainable High Impact to help TIGNUM clients be better, for longer, when it counts the most.
ABOUT TIGNUM
TIGNUM is the major performance building block for business professionals, designed around a skill- and data-based approach that respects the individuality, focuses on the brain, evolves constantly, and creates lasting impact. Its international team comes from a wide range of fields, including human behavior, elite athletics, special forces, performance medicine, executive coaching, change consultants, and more.
The Opinion Pause: Using Humility and Curiosity to Think More Critically
The opinion pause is a great way to build your Performance Mindset and multiply the energy of those around you. It makes you smarter, makes others less defensive, and helps you think at a deeper level.
In today’s highly connected world, it is easy to quickly share your opinions. LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter - all designed for the rapid viral spread of information. We could fill books with the reputation damage one flippant response to the wrong person at the wrong time can make, but let’s focus on the impact it has on your ability to be mentally agile, resilient, energized, and a multiplier of energy.
When you reflexively form and share an opinion, you rely 100% on a bias that you have previously created based on a multitude of historic contributing factors. By doing this, you are destroying the Performance Mindset skills of challenging your biases, having a growth mindset, being open-minded, and being curious. You are robbing your brain of the opportunity to ask more questions and to do more research to update your thinking with the latest knowledge. You are building the walls around your “fixed” mindset, which reduces the expansion of your “growth” mindset.
Less opinionated means better critical thinking
As we have discussed many times, curiosity is the Performance Mindset skill that leads to openness, growth, new knowledge, innovation, and meaningful relationships. By asking great questions, you create a pause that allows you to learn and challenge what you may think you already know.
Similarly, when you quickly form an opinion and openly share it, you are diminishing the skill of humility. By forcibly being so opinionated, you are skipping the vital step of critical thinking, which is to ask yourself, “What if I’m wrong?” Humility tears down walls and provides an opening for people to approach you and create a relationship. It is vital for collaboration.
From a Sustainable Human Performance standpoint, when you quickly form and share your opinions, you are emphatically expressing that you are right, and that’s the end of the discussion. It forces your brain into defense mode and creates defensiveness in those around you.
Challenge your opinions to create deeper understanding
Sustainable Human Performers make another choice. Instead of hitting the send button, they hit the pause button (in their brain). They stop and consider the opinion of others (the intentions, the intensity, the knowledge, etc.). Then they ask themselves, “What do I think about this issue, and why do I think that?” In the pause, they examine this answer and ask other questions like, “What if I’m wrong?” “What am I not seeing? “If I were in their shoes, how would I see it?” “How can I learn more about this topic to challenge my own belief?”
The opinion pause is a great way to build your Performance Mindset and multiply the energy of those around you. It makes you smarter, makes others less defensive, and helps you think at a deeper level. In addition, it reduces your stress response and builds your compassion, empathy, patience, and listening skills. Sustainable Human Performance doesn’t happen by chance; it’s a choice, and choosing the opinion pause may be a good one for us all.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Scott Peltin // Co-Founder and Chief Catalyst
As the Co-Founder and Chief Catalyst of TIGNUM, Scott has coached many top CEOs, executives, professional athletes, and others to Rule Their Impact. Scott’s unique blend of his 25 years in the Fire Service, education, and coaching experience helps him combine the art and science of Sustainable High Impact to help TIGNUM clients be better, for longer, when it counts the most.
ABOUT TIGNUM
TIGNUM is the major performance building block for business professionals, designed around a skill- and data-based approach that respects the individuality, focuses on the brain, evolves constantly, and creates lasting impact. Its international team comes from a wide range of fields, including human behavior, elite athletics, special forces, performance medicine, executive coaching, change consultants, and more.
Unleashing People to do Their Life's Best Work with Debb Bubb
Dedicated people with high expectations can amplify their impact both at work and at home. It works both directions. Deb Bubb (Executive Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer, Optum) shares how becoming a better mother, wife, daughter, sister, and friend made her a better leader at work.
Deb Bubb, Executive Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer, Optum
"Everybody is somebody's somebody."
Deb Bubb's long track record of thought leadership in human resources, leadership, and talent development is well documented. On her journey from Intel, to IBM, to United Healthcare, to her current role as CHRO at Optum, she's made an incredible impact.
In this conversation with Scott Peltin, she shares:
Why dedicated people with high expectations can amplify their impact with Sustainable High Performance strategies.
How becoming a better mother, wife, daughter, sister, and friend made her a better leader at work.
The key question many women are asking themselves as we exit the pandemic.
The new strategies she deployed to stop feeling like she is "burning the candle at both ends."
How she infuses Sustainable Human Performance into her family.
ABOUT TIGNUM THOUGHTCAST
TIGNUM ThoughtCast is a series of short interviews in which TIGNUM co-founder Scott Peltin sits down with friends, clients, and human performance experts to explore the application of Sustainable Human Performance.