It’s Personal: Tapping into Resilience When Our Lives are Upside-Down
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How we think and feel personally about what is happening directly affects how we show up every day.
In challenging times like these, when the sky seems to be falling, we cannot throw in the towel and give up. It’s the very moment we are called upon to double down on what’s most important and take radical action to reconnect with resilience, kindness and courage.
Human beings are hardwired to resist uncertainty, and therefore we experience greater stress when outcomes are uncertain. Plus our new normal in working in isolation adds a new vulnerability because it compounds feelings of not knowing what is going to happen next which impacts emotional well-being.
We can boost resilience by discovering the ways that will give us the necessary oxygen so we can be present to those we love and we can lead well in our personal and professional lives. Neuroscience studies all show that sleep, nutrition, and exercise are all key wellness components that enrich how we feel. Sleep in particular resets our brain and our body’s health each day. Mindset matters as well. The narrative we are tell ourselves about a given situation has a direct correlation to our emotional and physical well-being. If we are reacting, how we respond from that mental state greatly affects those around us.
Examining those narrative stories helps shift from reactivity to resilience. Ask, “What am I feeling? What story am I telling myself? Is it true? What are the facts? What can I control? What is out of my control? What can I choose that will empower me now?” Take a pause, and breathe deeply. Deep breaths slow the heartbeat, stabilize blood pressure and lower stress. Take time to reflect on our choices and commit to the action that reconnects us to our personal power and resilience.
Most of us are busy and juggling a lot already. Then add a crisis and it’s easy to forget about our own needs. Taking care of ourselves helps us be more creative and resilient. And that is a radical act.
Resilience boosters that help you stay calm and present:
1. Play:
Play is an excellent mood booster. It promotes brain functionality, releases endorphins and improves abilities to plan, organize, relate, and regulate emotions. So goof-off and laugh.
2. Focus on gratitude:
Research says a daily gratitude practice is healthy for the mind and body. It reduces stress, helps you sleep better and gives a well-being boost.
3. Create a routine:
A routine brings a feeling of order and gives a sense of control. Set a few manageable goals as less is more. Choose a schedule tailored to your needs that works for you and your family. If you have kids in the house, plan quality time to build stronger bonds. It makes them feel more secure.
4. Virtual connection:
Reach out to people you care about. Stay close to loved ones. Call up old friends. The more we stay connected the better we will feel.
5. Keep your mind and body active:
Listen to guided meditations, play music, dance, start a new hobby, build something, or create fun workouts. Invite someone to join you.
6. Limit news consumption:
It’s important to stay up to date but limit the amount of time as news negatively impacts your well-being. It’s okay to unplug.
7. Seek support when you need it:
If you are feeling overwhelmed, reach out to someone you trust. Teleservices are also available for therapy and coaching.
8. Healthy Habits:
Eating right can boost your energy and help you sleep. Take steps to create the right conditions for you to sleep well. Sleep is the ultimate rejuvenator.
And to those who are leading teams, you’ve got double duty. Be kind, be compassionate, practice self-care, and stay-informed. We don’t know what new moments are causing our people stress so it's important not to assume what is hard for them.
Three great questions to ask: How are you doing? What do you need? What could we be doing better? Then listen, deeply.
This disruption is real and the end unknown. Let's be curious and grant each other grace to be wherever we are and make it okay to feel whatever we feel in the midst of these chaotic times.
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From top-down to judgment all around: The AI imperative for organizations
Each business revolution has reshaped not only how businesses operate, but how they organize themselves and empower their people. From the industrial age to the information era, and now into the age of artificial intelligence, technology has always brought with it a reconfiguration of authority, capability, and judgment.
In the 19th century, industrialization centralized work and knowledge. The factory system required hierarchical structures where strategy, information, and decision-making were concentrated at the top. Managers at the apex made tradeoffs for the greater good of the enterprise because they were the only ones with access to the full picture.
Then came the information economy. With it came the distribution of information and a need for more agile, team-based structures. Cross-functional collaboration and customer proximity became competitive necessities. Organizations flattened, experimented with matrix models, and pushed decision-making closer to where problems were being solved. What had once been the purview of a select few, judgment, strategic tradeoffs, and insight became expected competencies for managers and team leads across the enterprise.
Now, AI is changing the game again. But this time, it’s not just about access to data. It’s about access to intelligence.
Generative AI democratizes access not only to information, but to intelligent output. That shifts the burden for humans from producing insights to evaluating them. Judgment, which was long the domain of a few executives, must now become a baseline competency for the many across the organization.
But here’s the paradox: while AI extends our capacity for intelligence, discernment, the human ability to weigh context, values, and consequence, is still best left in the hands of human leaders. As organizations begin to automate early-career work, they may inadvertently erase the very pathways and opportunities by which judgment was built.
Why judgment matters more than ever
Deloitte’s 2023 Human Capital Trends survey found that 85% of leaders believe independent decision-making is more important than ever, but only 26% say they’re ready to support it. That shortfall threatens to neutralize the very productivity gains AI promises.
If employees can’t question, challenge, or contextualize AI’s output, then intelligent tools become dangerous shortcuts. The organization stalls, not from a lack of answers, but from a lack of sense-making.
What organizations must do
To stay competitive, organizations must shift from simply adopting AI to designing AI-aware ways of working:
- Build new learning paths for judgment development. As AI replaces easily systematized tasks, companies must replace lost learning experiences with mentorship, simulations, and intentional development planning.
- Design workflows that require human input. Treat AI as a co-pilot, not an autopilot. Embed review checkpoints and tradeoff discussions. Just as innovation processes have stage gates, so should AI analyses.
- Make judgment measurable. Assess and develop decision-making under ambiguity from entry-level roles onward. Research shows the best learning strategy for this is high-fidelity simulations.
- Start earlier. Leadership development must begin far earlier in career paths, because judgment, not just knowledge, is the new differentiator.
What’s emerging is not just a flatter hierarchy, but a more distributed sense of judgment responsibility. To thrive, organizations must prepare their people not to outthink AI, but to out-judge it.
BTS acquires Nexo to strengthen its position in Brazil and Latin America
P R E S S R E L E A S E
Stockholm, May 5, 2025
STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN – BTS Group AB (publ), a leading global consultancy specializing in strategy execution, change, and people development, has agreed to acquire Nexo Pesquisa e Consultoria Ltda., Nexo, a boutique consulting firm headquartered in São Paulo, Brazil.
Nexo has been growing continuously since it was founded in 2017. With revenues of approximately 12 million Brazilian Reales (approx. 2.1 million USD) in 2024, and a highly capable team of 21 members, Nexo has built a strong reputation for delivering transformative projects in strategy, innovation, leadership, and culture.
Nexo collaborates with a great portfolio of clients across sectors such as financial services, consumer goods, and technology, assisting both local and global companies in navigating uncertainty, unlocking creativity, and activating strategy through people. Their work encompasses culture transformation, leadership development, employer value proposition, innovation culture, and vision alignment – supported by proprietary methodologies and frameworks.
BTS currently operates in Brazil servicing both local and multinational clients with a team of 13 employees. By acquiring Nexo, BTS not only increases the Group’s footprint in Brazil but also adds significant capabilities in culture and transformation services. Nexo’s client base has limited overlap with BTS, creating strong growth potential and synergy opportunities.
“Nexo is known for helping leaders and organizations tackle some of the most complex, human-centered challenges with creativity, empathy, and strategic clarity and the Nexo team is loved by their clients,” says Philios Andreou, Deputy CEO of BTS Group and President of the Other Markets Unit. “Their products and services complement and elevate our existing offerings, especially in culture transformation, and we are thrilled to welcome the Nexo team to BTS.”
“We’re excited to join BTS. We’ve long admired BTS’s approach and unique portfolio to support large organizations and leaders in connecting strategy with culture across the organization,” says Andreas Auerbach, co founder of Nexo. “Becoming part of BTS, allows us to scale our impact and bring more value to our clients while staying true to our values and culture,” adds Mariana Lage Andrade, co-founder of Nexo.
Upon completion of the transaction, Nexo’s business and organization will merge with BTS Brazil. Nexo’s founders will assume senior management roles in the joint operation.
The acquisition includes a limited initial cash consideration. Additional purchase price considerations will be paid between 2026 and 2028, provided Nexo meets specific performance targets. A limited portion of any such additional purchase price considerations will be paid in newly issued BTS shares. The transaction is effective immediately.
BTS’s acquisition strategy continues to focus on broadening our service portfolio, expanding our geographic reach, and enhancing our capabilities to support future organic growth in a fragmented market.
For more information, please contact:
Philios Andreou
Deputy CEO
BTS Group AB
philios.andreou@bts.com
Michael Wallin
Head of investor relations
BTS Group AB
michael.wallin@bts.com
+46-8-587 070 02
+46-708-78 80 19
High-performing teaming
Work today is too complex for individuals to succeed in isolation. Almost every critical decision, innovation, or transformation depends on teams working effectively together. Leaders rely on their teams to deliver results. Teams, in turn, rely on their leaders to create the conditions where performance is possible. This exchange, what leaders need from their teams, and what teams need from their leaders, sits at the heart of what we call teaming.
When teaming is strong, leaders get what they need from their teams [creativity, resilience, execution] and teams get what they need from leaders [direction, support, and the conditions to thrive]. It’s how strategy becomes action, how uncertainty becomes opportunity, and how businesses stay competitive in a fast-changing world.