Alan Weiss’s Monday Morning Memo® – 2/16/26
When Alexander the Great encountered the Gordian Knot in Phrygia (today, Turkey) he was told anyone who could unravel it would go on to rule Asia. No one had ever managed it. So, he took out his sword, cut through it, and went on to rule Asia.
This is a prime example of “thinking outside the box” (outside the knot?) which I’ve come to call “reframing.” The mistake we often make in trying to help others solve problems is that we try to offer solutions. This might sound counterintuitive, but that’s the worst thing we can do.
We need to reframe.
People generally know quite well what they want, but they don’t know what they need. When you ask “Why?” you find out what the real objective is. “We need a leadership workshop.”
“Why?”
“Because we’re not all making decisions consistent with our strategy.”
“Then perhaps we should revisit and sharpen your company’s mission with all leaders present, and assign accountabilities?”
If you change a picture’s position within a frame, the picture will look different. (Never try this at home with the Mona Lisa.) The “frame” is the perspective with which people view others, situations, and even themselves. The assurance of a sale for me is not, “Well, you solved that for us in just ten minutes, thanks for stopping by,” but rather, “We never looked at this issue in this way.”
Stop trying to be a great debater, or an irresistible force, or merely stuck in those horrible cross-country ski ruts. Move from proximal to distal. Change perspectives and reframe—break through the ties that bind.
If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change. —Wayne Dyer
Everything you want is on the other side of fear. —Jack Canfield
The point of reframing is not to find the “real” problem but, rather, to see if there is a better one to solve. —Thomas Wedell-Wedellsborg
I am not what has happened to me. I am what I choose to become. —Carl Jung
My newest book, The Seven-Figure Consultant has been released by Wiley. You can find it here: https://www.amazon.com/Seven-Figure-Consultant-Alan-Weiss/dp/1394376235/ref=sr_1_1?crid=10LZPWEKEKVVO&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.4DOsAjKk1_7BcR2CORZ33LUA0PK27Pj1nwkbVhT_iGEkIT0LIiZ3OUVjGXHqjRG1L4qxf3b0Y86hdTYROiZpbhDfJwqIM42Aa6CHBKROY-0.2Ye40U6PGTaCNgw_Y33dlukT32UNl_aUloRsCDMF5Nc&dib_tag=se&keywords=the+seven+figure+consultant&qid=1771083845&sprefix=the+seven+figure+consultant+weiss%2Caps%2C193&sr=8-1 If you purchase two copies and inform me, I’ll include you as my guest in my $400 Zoom session about becoming and sustaining a seven-figure practice on March 9 at 10:30 eastern US time. https://alanweiss.com/growth-experiences/becoming-and-sustaining-the-seven-figure-consultant/ And, of course, I always appreciate a good review on Amazon!
AI:Alan Intelligence® Special Offer: You can now hear responses to your questions in my voice on this platform on my site. As an incentive to use this incredible resource, I’m offering lifetime (yours, not mine) membership on the platform for the original introductory fee of $450 (It is currently $1,250 so that’s a 65% discount.) The offer is good until March 15. This includes access to all of my books, and the site will respond in print in any language, as well. Use my Quick Pay and I’ll set this up for you: https://alanweiss.com/store/quick-pay/
London: On May 18-19 (1.5 days) I’m running a “cabaret style” session in my suite in London on how to create the identify, esteem, and market profile required to be a seven-figure consultant. The fee will be $4,500, which includes a reception/dinner evening at a Michelin-star restaurant, a light breakfast and lunch. Write me: [email protected] or register here. I have two spaces available.
Sentient Strategy Certification: This will be live, at my home in my retreat center. You can read about it here: https://alanweiss.com/growth-experiences/sentient-strategy/ We already have four people and I like to keep the group small. The fee is $15,000 which includes my support for 90 days thereafter. It’s not uncommon for participants to introduce this approach to present clients or prospects and immediately close $35,000 to $75,000 in new business. The dates are June 9-10. You can register here: https://alanweiss.com/store/quick-pay/
New Zoom Session: How to Become and Sustain Being a Seven-Figure Consultant
Based on my new book released this month, which hit Amazon at #4 in consulting immediately, I'll help you understand NOT the tactics but the Attitude to Gain Altitude and how to create and build upon the appropriate identity and build the right brand. Are you “stuck in the sixes”? If you're happy there, fine, but if not, come with me. It's only $400. If you can't afford that, then you need this more than you think. https://alanweiss.com/growth-experiences/becoming-and-sustaining-the-seven-figure-consultant/ (Review my book, the Seven-Figure Consultant, on Amazon and I'll give you a free pass to the workshop. Or buy two copies and you get that same deal.)
The No Normal® Newsletter
Seeing what others don’t notice, acting when others don’t move, living a life others can’t dream
Newsletter sections and examples of what will be included:
1. What I'm hearing and seeing: What's Happened (AI is not taking over, it's actually underutilized)
2. Turn your head, look around: What's Happening (The jobs and careers that are disappearing)
3. Assume Zebras: What's Coming (Removal of human judgment in almost all sports—and not merely for accuracy)
The No Normal Newsletter is a reflection on my trademarked idea that there will never be a “return to normal” nor a “new normal.” That’s because “normal” means “routine” or “average” and this is not an age of the mundane.
Each month I’ll provide what I’ve been hearing globally, from clients and colleagues in my coaching and consulting practice. I’ll indicate what’s happening around us that is opportunity (or threat) for readers. And I’ll dispel the old trope that if you hear hoofbeats you should assume horses are coming, the most obvious probability.
I’m going to show you how to, and why you should, assume zebras.
$250 for a year (or $3,000 for a year plus six coaching calls during the year at your preference). Starts January 15.
For about 20 bucks a month you’ll get the mix of my enormous perspective of four decades in this business, my current highly successful contacts and engagements around the world, and my keen insights into the zebras.
Join me in 2026 and continue your journey into prosperity. You can sign up here until it’s on my site: https://alanweiss.com/store/quick-pay/ If you don’t think 20 bucks a month is worth it for my guidance and insights, then poor you!
2026 Zoom Workshops
January 6 Maximizing the coaching/advisory dynamic
February 3 Maximizing speaking spin-off business
March 3 Role-playing tough conversations
April 7 Maximizing workshop effectiveness spin-off
May 5 Maximizing current events potential
June 9 Role-playing tougher conversations
July 7 Maximizing low project labor practices
August 13 Maximizing panels—participant/moderator
September 8 Role-playing toughest conversations
October 6 Maximizing publishing potential
November 2 Maximizing lifestyle potential
December 8 Maximizing 2027 personally and professionally
All sessions are approximately 90 minutes beginning at 10:30 US eastern time. These sessions are $450 each, or the entire year for $5,000. Add three months of weekly 30-minute coaching for $2,500, a total of $7,500. (My cards are accepted for the full-year, and for the full-year and coaching options, not for individual sessions.) All sessions will include video recording, visual photos, and Zoom Companion summary.
Register here: https://alanweiss.com/store/quick-pay/
AI: Alan Intelligence® My unique AI resource which will direct you to the relevant aspects of my entire body of work to answer your “real time” questions about proposals, value based fees, conceptual agreement, avoiding “ghosting,” and thousands of other issues with text, audio, and video resources, all of which you can download. Please go here to gain lifelong, constantly growing access to my work, including referral to specific pages in my books which you can access online: https://alanweiss.com/ai-alan-intelligence/ If you decide at any time to engage in one of my two elite, personal coaching relationships, I'll deduct the full fee you've paid for this resource. IT'S NOW IN MY VOICE! IN RECOGNITION OF THAT SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT, I'M OFFERING A SPECIAL MEMBERSHIP: INSTEAD OF THE CURRENT $1,200, JOIN FOR THE ORIGINAL CHARTER PRICE OF $450, FOR TOTAL ACCESS INCLUDING MY LIBRARY. YOU CAN DO SO HERE: https://alanweiss.com/store/quick-pay/ No annual fee, you can use this resource forever!
Million Dollar Consulting® for the World: I’ve provided 14 modules with videos from me, from your colleagues globally, slides, and text. They include everything from launch to self-esteem, proposals to fees, closing business to creating a brand. No upsells! It’s only $115. What do you think about a 10,000:1 ROI? We have over 500 people from 47 countries. https://milliondollarconsultingcourse.com
Million Dollar Consulting® for the World ADVANCED: The new program contains over 60 videos and has 15 modules focusing on what to do in the buyer’s office, overcoming crises, financial planning, and much, much more. https://alanweiss.com/growth-experiences/advanced-global-learning-program/
Million Dollar Consulting® for the World GRADUATE: Another 12 modules with videos by me and your peers on contemporary issues such as Raising Fees Aggressively, How to Be Consistently Interviewed, Maximizing Happiness, and Managing Multiple projects. Join the people from 57 countries who are availing themselves of this inexpensive way to dramatically grow their businesses in any economic times. How does 100:1 ROI sound? https://milliondollarconsultingcourse.com/graduate-learning-program/