In yesterday’s blog, I shared lessons I’ve been learning from the audiobook The Advantage by Patrick Lencioni. During my run this morning, one of his insights on a concept called “Cascading Communications” struck me as being a teachable lesson. Anyone who aspires to prepare for success in the face of a crisis could find value in Lencioni’s message.
With that in mind, I’m dedicating today’s blog to exploring this idea further. Think about how it could apply to your own life—whether you’re working to reshape your personal narrative or positioning yourself for new opportunities in the future.
Patrick Lencioni describes “Cascading Communications” as a critical element in fostering organizational health and ensuring alignment across a business. At its core, the concept emphasizes the intentional, step-by-step dissemination of key messages through all levels of an organization.
Besides being an author, he works as a consultant to business leaders, and he encourages them to over communicate with all members of the team. To achieve clarity and alignment in discussions, he repeats the message seven times, trying to make sure that everyone on the team fully understands and supports the message.
From there, they play an active role in communicating ideas to their teams. The team members then carry on the mission, passing it along to other stakeholders. This ripple effect lessens the possibility for miscommunication. It also builds a foundation of trust, transparency, and unity.
Lencioni stresses that cascading communication serves as the glue that holds a healthy organization together, enabling everyone to move in the same direction toward shared goals.
Writing a new Narrative
As I listened to Lencioni’s chapter, I understood that his concept of Cascading Communication didn’t only apply to organizational alignment. In the Straight-A Guide, we wrote about the same message as a tool for personal growth, especially when navigating life’s most challenging crises.
With the Straight-A Guide, we try to show people that regardless of what challenges they’re facing today, they can begin to write a new narrative. Yet writing the narrative once isn’t enough. Anyone can write the following statement:
- I am sorry for what I have done.
- I think that I’m deserving of a second chance.
- I’m never going to be in this position again.
- It’s not really my fault.
Such statements may or may not be true. To succeed, however, a person has to do much more than write a sentence. A person must build a body of work that resembles Cascading Communications.
I learned that concept while I served a 45-year prison term. I’d made some bad decisions as a young man, and there wasn’t any way to undo those decisions. If I didn’t create a body of work that repeated itself over and over, it would be more difficult for people to believe in me. If someone lives with the baggage of a criminal conviction, and a person aspires to be successful in society again, it’s crucial to create a body of work that resembles all that I learned from the chapter that I listened to while running this morning.
Consider how this lesson relates to the work that I do with Prison Professors. I make three promises:
- I’ll always be truthful.
- I’ll never ask anyone to do anything that I’m not doing.
- I’ll never ask anyone to pay a penny for any of the work that I offer through Prison Professors.
Writing such sentences wouldn’t mean much if I didn’t follow through with Cascading Communications. Although no one but me will know how hard I work on the website, anyone can see the amount of writing that I publish. Start with the Founder’s Page, where I wrote about the many influences who helped me learn how to think differently, from the start of my sentence until today.
Then, look at the daily blogs. Since launching the website, I’ve published a blog every day. Those blogs include a series of self-directed questions, where I prompt others to think about how they can apply the lessons to their life. For example:
- What is one challenge you’ve faced recently, and how did you approach finding a solution?
- Can you identify a moment from today where you could have viewed a situation from a different perspective?
- What small steps can you take this week to align your actions with your long-term goals?
- Who has influenced your way of thinking, and how can you honor their impact in your daily life?
- If you could change one habit to enhance your personal growth, what would it be and why?
- How do you currently measure success, and is it aligned with your values and aspirations?
If a person were to write responses to those questions and publish those responses on a personal profile they built at Prison Professors Talent, they would build a body of work. That work would become a tangible asset, something they could use to write a new narrative, or a release plan, or a pathway to a new opportunity.
Each time I write a new blog, it furthers my message, showing that I would never ask anyone to do anything that I’m not doing.
- At the beginning of the year, I wrote a series of goals that I would achieve in 2025.
- I write daily because I pledged to offer lessons that would teach people in prison the same lessons that leaders taught me.
- I publish the information in video, audio, and text format so that people can freely distribute the content.
By publishing daily, I reaffirm my commitment to the mission and ensure my personal values, beliefs, and strategies remain consistently visible and actionable. Each post reinforces the importance of self-directed learning, accountability, and resilience—core principles of our shared journey.
Why write every single day?
Just as organizational leaders reinforce messages at every level, I reinforce my message of personal accountability and preparedness with every post. This disciplined practice keeps me aligned with my purpose and holds me accountable to the very guidance I offer others.
Moreover, by distributing these lessons widely, I encourage a ripple effect—a personal cascade—where readers can internalize these strategies and further pass along the insights. This creates a community empowered by clarity, consistency, and shared purpose.
For those experiencing crises or adversity, adopting your own cascading approach can open new opportunities. Regularly clarify and reaffirm your goals, strategies, and values. Communicate these clearly and consistently, not only to others but, most importantly, to yourself. Use daily reflection, journaling, or sharing insights with a trusted network as your personal cascading communication method.
This structured discipline not only fortifies your resilience—it amplifies your ability to remain focused on your desired outcomes, no matter how significant the obstacles.
Remember, clarity, consistency, and accountability form the foundation of lasting transformation. Through your own cascading communication, you take ownership of your narrative, empowering yourself and inspiring others on the path toward success.
