Want Real Transformation? Think Big and Small

Author

Charlene Li
December 23, 2024

If you're anything like me, you end each year thinking about the kinds of changes you plan to make in the next.

In my family, we make a big thing of it. On January 1, we look ahead. We sit down to a big dinner (full disclosure: we also have a big dinner the night before, but we reserve that one for looking back), and we talk about what we're moving towards, what we're seeking, what we want to change.

For so many people I know and love, getting healthy is often at the top of the list. 

Let’s be honest: Getting healthy and losing weight are some of THE hardest things you can do. I struggled for 23 years after the birth of my children to lose the baby fat, and honestly, working and parenting left little time to take care of myself. 

A meditation retreat in the summer of 2021 crystalized things for me, and I came back determined to lose weight and get my lipids and glucose levels under control. It was time for real transformation.

In just five months, I went from 146 pounds to 116 pounds. 

To be sure, I didn't do it alone—I had help from a weight loss clinic. I used appetite suppression drugs. I worked out to maintain muscle. I had momentum and a team of people supporting me, especially my friends and family.

These changes were huge—and hard. But the biggest change I've made is in my diet. For the past five years, I’ve spent 10 days in January doing Dr. Hyman’s 10-day Detox. Each year, I realize that I'm having to change my diet less and less to do the detox. I'm now mostly gluten-free, mostly dairy-free, eating a protein-rich, mostly plant-focused diet. 

(Still, I enjoy my ice cream and boba. My philosophy: Don’t go crazy!) 

My health journey mirrors what I see in organizations every day. Whether you're trying to lose weight or lead your company through digital transformation, you need the same elements: Clear accountability structures, scaffolds and support systems, and absolute commitment. 

Years of working with leaders on the edge of transformation has taught me that change happens at two speeds. There's the fast, disruptive change. Those five months of intense weight loss were hard and incredibly disruptive. But small changes are difficult, too. In my case, they're the daily decisions I make to live, think, and feel differently about food. 

Small and large changes are required to achieve the kind of meaningful transformations so many of us seek—in work and in life.

As you sit down to your own year-end celebrations, what changes are you considering for 2025? Hit reply and let me know.

-Charlene

What I Can’t Stop Talking About: 

  • Taking a cue from the kitchen. My son’s experience working in a restaurant offered me a valuable lesson in leadership. One word in particular transformed my understanding of workplace communication: "Heard." No agreement required, no debate needed—just pure acknowledgment. Here's why this kitchen wisdom belongs in every leader's recipe book. 👩‍🍳

  • Want to know the next big thing? When entrepreneurs ask me about the next breakthrough idea, I tell them to shadow a parent. Their complex, contextual problems are unsolvable by current tech—but AI agents might change that. Here's what that could look like. 🤖

  • When reality bends, we need to bend, too. A mind-bending photo from Dent The Future has me thinking deeply about leadership. As AI reshapes our world, the best leaders won't cling to control—they'll learn to roll with discomfort. Here are 5 principles to help you lead through change. 

My Latest: 

  • Catch up on my webinars! You can still review the slides and recordings of my two new webinars. In “Unlocking The Power of Generative AI,” I explain how to set up a generative AI “playground,” three ways to elevate your leadership with step-by-step instructions, and the broad outlines of creating a strategy. In “Developing a Winning Generative AI Strategy for Competitive Advantage,” I walk through the steps needed to create a cohesive AI strategy. 

  • Your AI strategy is only as strong as your capabilities. Stop letting today's limitations dictate tomorrow's possibilities. In Leading Disruption, I share my framework for the 5 must-have capabilities that will turn your AI aspirations into reality. Head over to my newsletter to learn how to build what matters. ✨

  • 2025 predictions—and what to do with them. Predictions are useful—but only when they’re married to actionable advice. Watch my final livestream of 2024 to learn what I’m thinking about for the year ahead, and how best to prepare. 

My Upcoming Appearances:

If you want me to speak at an upcoming event or conduct a workshop with your executive team, please drop me a note at [email protected]. 

If this information was helpful, there’s plenty more!

📌 Sign up for updates and early access to my upcoming book, co-authored by Katia Walsh, which is all about creating a winning generative AI strategy.

📌 Want more? Check out my weekly publication, Leading Disruption, on LinkedIn.

Thank you for subscribing to The Big Gulp Newsletter, which goes out to thousands of disruptors every other week to help you on your disruption journey—plus a curated recommendation list of the things I can’t stop talking about. 

Charlene Li

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