By
Mendy Green
October 20, 2022
•
20 min read
Professional Development
The #RisingTide LevelUp Challenge
The butterfly effect is a term used to reference a scenario where, if you were to go back in time 1000 years and step on a butterfly and then return to your current time, you would find that everything has been changed. Potentially even you would no longer exist. This is explained as being caused by the fact that everything in the world is connected (as being part of the same ecosystem) and therefore given enough time the effects of a tiny butterfly being squashed can exponentially grow into an event where the Germans won World War II, or your parents never met.
In a world today where we are too busy to look beyond the face value, the lesson is pretty clear. If you go back in time, make sure you don’t step on any butterflies. If we were to stop and look beyond the face value, the lesson hits far closer to home. Scientists use this to explain that even a small change in a complex system can have a huge impact, but even they distill the true lesson down to its practical use for themselves.
Have you ever watched a Wave roll through the stadium audience, proud to join the hundreds raising their hands but jealous you weren’t the one who started it? What did the other person have that you don’t? Why couldn’t you be the source of this impressive movement visible throughout the entire stadium? The answer is honestly, nothing. Just the courage to go first, and be the leader, influencing others around you and creating an impact that spreads.
You have been created in order that you might make a difference. You have within you the power to change the world. – Andy Anderson
The Rising Tide Consulting Group is movement looking to start the waves, creating the tide, that will subsequently create larger waves, and larger waves, eventually rising higher and elevating everyone within the ecosystem. Let’s go back to the Wave in the stadium, can you imagine if the first person lifted their hands to create the Wave and the person next to them watched, acknowledged it was cool, and did nothing? The only reason why the Wave works is because the second person who follows, then the third, and the fourth and so-on. This is why at Rising Tide we are hyper-focused not on your business, but on your people. If we do your work for you, there is no impact, and we are left deciding if we should keep raising our hands to make up for the effort of those who aren’t joining or give up! If we can influence you doing your work, we can be the start of a massive wave that will spread not only throughout your entire business, but to your clients, and your vendors, raising the level of partnerships and quality of service being delivered to you, and by you.
The Rising Tide LevelUp Challenge is our ‘Audience in the Stadium Wave’. A movement started by our mentor Mendy Green on LinkedIn, where you take three stories, or analogies, and you pull out a lesson learned from each one (similar to how we did it with The Butterfly Effect mentioned above). After your three lessons you call out three new people to partake in the challenge and post their own. The lessons can be repeated, but the analogies or stories must be different.
In every situation, scenario, or story, there’s always a lesson to be learned. The scientists knew that when they framed the Butterfly Effect to teach their lesson, but each person will look at these stories and lessons through a colored lens filtered for their specific use case! It’s up to each individual as they hear these to take a lesson that relates to them. In fact, it is with Elizabeth Copeland’s lesson from the challenge (“Sometimes you need to stop and take in the view”) that we can examine analogies and situations and pull out a lesson from each one relevant to us to help us grow; the difference between taking something at face value or looking for that deeper meaning.
You can find her lesson and more by looking for the tags #RisingTideChallenge or #RisingTide on LinkedIn.
I'm passionate about IT, driven by a dual love for solving complex problems and a commitment to transforming the stereotype of technical support into a positive and enjoyable user experience. For over 13 years, I've been deeply involved in the MSPGeek community, lending my expertise to various Managed Service Providers (MSPs), while also serving as the CTO at IntelliComp Technologies.
My journey in the tech world is fueled by a passion for teaching others. I find great satisfaction in imparting problem-solving and critical thinking skills, and offering practical guidance during the troubleshooting process. It's this enthusiasm for mentorship and improvement that led me to my current venture.
Today, as the founder of Rising Tide, I'm focusing on the MSP industry, dedicating my time to coaching and assisting both individuals and businesses. At Rising Tide, we're not just about providing solutions; we're about nurturing growth, fostering innovation, and building a community where everyone can rise together. Whether it's through hands-on problem solving or strategic planning, my goal is to make the IT experience not just efficient, but also empowering and enjoyable
See some more of our most recent posts...
Rising Tide Book Club: Think Naked - Week 1
In Rising Tide’s Winter 2026 Book Club, we explore Think Naked by Marco Marsan and challenge the idea that creativity fades with age. Instead, we examine how risk, labels, and permission shape curiosity — and what it looks like to think more like a kid in modern technical work.
Read post
About this Series
This discussion guide is part of Rising Tide’s Winter 2026 book club, where we’re reading Think Naked by Marco Marsan.
If you’re just joining us, here are a few pages you’ll likely benefit from:
- Book Clubs, Conversations, and Curiosity for why we started a book club for a technical team here
Chapter Summary
In the introduction and first chapter, Marco Marsan proposes to the readers that creativity is not lost as we age — it is trained out of us. He cites research suggesting that young children test at very high “genius” or creative problem-solving levels, and that this capacity sharply declines by adulthood.
To return to this childlike, “genius” mindset, Marsan introduces five “rules” that mirror how children naturally engage with problems:
- Wear your cape (be fearless)
- Blockbuster (question defaults and conventions)
- Look at Your Neighbor’s Paper (learn by copying and remixing)
- Show-N-Tell (learn publicly and collaboratively)
- I’m the boss of me (take ownership and agency)
Discussion Questions
Use these open-ended prompts to guide reflection and conversation. Remember, there are no right answers!
- What did you agree with in these chapters?
- What did you disagree with in these chapters?
- Do you agree that creativity declines because of conditioning rather than capability? Why or why not?
- Who or what defines a genius?
- Do any of the five lessons intrigue you more than the others? Which of the five principles feels most uncomfortable to you right now?
- Where do you avoid experimentation because the cost of being wrong feels too high?
- Where in your work do you default to “this is how it’s always been done”?
- What would “thinking more like a kid” actually look like in one small, real decision this week?
Rising Tide Input for your Consideration
- What causes us to lose our creativity?
- The team proposed that people don’t lose creativity as they age, but rather they close off the permission rather than the capability because creativity becomes risky. As adults, mistakes have consequences: reputational, financial, professional. Most environments reward predictability over curiosity, so people adapt accordingly.
- Are children actually ‘geniuses’?
- Evidence that children become less creative over time (and how to fix it) - Idea to Value
- As a team, we felt that the label “genius,” isn’t particularly useful. It’s poorly defined, and even more poorly measured. What matters is not intelligence labels, but how people approach problems: curiosity, iteration, and willingness to engage with uncertainty.
- In fact, as a team we consistently seem to pushback on: Labels (“genius,” “best practice,” or “industry standard”), Claims without sources, and Metrics without definitions.
- Children also don’t ask if they’re allowed to participate, they assume they are. Adults often operate transactionally, constantly checking for permission. That hesitation suppresses experimentation and ownership.
- How does technology factor into creativity loss?
- Convenience is a trade. Offloading is good if the saved energy is reinvested into higher-order problem-solving. As a result, technology can either dull skills or enable deeper thinking depending on how we use it as a tool.
- Automation is welcomed after understanding exists. Technology should support people who know why, not replace them.
About Rising Tide and our Book Club
Rising Tide helps MSPs and service-focused teams build better systems: the kind that align people with purpose.
Every Friday at 9:30 AM ET, we host Rising Tide Fridays as an open conversation for MSP owners, consultants, and service professionals who want to grow both professionally, technically, and emotionally. In Winter/Spring 2026, we’re walking through Think Naked.
If that sounds like your kind of crowd, reach out to partners@risingtidegroup.net for the Teams link. Bring your coffee and curiosity…no prep required.
Chapter-by-Chapter Discussion Questions for The Go-Giver by Bob Burg: Chapter Fourteen: The Go-Giver
Chapter 14 ties The Go-Giver up neatly, and our team's conversation unpacked whether or not Joe’s ending was a success, and if it was relatable to anyone else.
Read post
About this Series
This discussion guide is part of Rising Tide’s Fall 2025 book club, where we’re reading The Go-Giver by Bob Burg and John David Mann.
If you’re just joining us, here are a few pages you’ll likely benefit from:
- Chapter One – The Go-Getter for an introduction on how to use these Discussion Questions
- Book Clubs, Conversations, and Curiosity for why we started a book club for a technical team here
Chapter Summary
In the final chapter of The Go-Giver, we meet Claire, who is on her way to meet the partners behind an amazingly (even stratospherically) successful new business: Rachel’s Famous Coffee. Chapter 14 ties up the story of The Go-Giver in a neat little bow, showcasing the stratospheric success possible, and encouraging us to share the secret with others along the way.
Discussion Questions
Use these open-ended prompts to guide reflection and conversation. Remember, there are no right answers!
- Joe ends the book in a completely different role than he started. Did that feel like success to you?
- How has your own definition of success changed over time?
- How do you tell the difference between quitting, failing, and evolving? Would this ending feel different if Joe were less financially secure?
- What did you learn from this book? What do you think your key takeaway will be?
Rising Tide Input for your Consideration
- Joe didn’t land the sale, he completely changed his trajectory. What does that mean for you? Sometimes success isn’t what we imagine or set out to accomplish, sometimes it’s adjacent.
- Joe isn’t keeping the secret or the process to himself, he’s actively sharing it with others and using the same framework Pindar gave him.
- As a team, we didn’t really like this book and wouldn’t recommend it to peers who already have practical experience in business or leadership.
- The parable format wasn’t great for our team. It was a good basic overview, but it didn’t go as deep as we felt some of these concepts deserved. While we get that it’s a book with a story that needed to be simplified to get the author’s key ideas across, seven days isn’t enough time for meaningful personal or professional change, and we felt the timeline and simplicity undercut the book’s credibility. Many felt the book oversold its lesson without adequately showing how it applies in complex, real-world situations, added to the fact that since Joe doesn’t apply the lessons over time and he’s rewarded through proximity to power, it made the ending feel uncomfortably like access solves everything.
- The main character wasn’t relatable or aspirational. The team generally struggled with Joe! He started unlikable and never quite crossed into someone the team wanted to root for or become, in fact, as a result, the story ended up feeling like it was more about “who you know.” and being in the right place at the right time. While generosity mattered, only once the right people were involved, which ignores how uneven access to networks really is.
- There are possibly better books out there that communicate similar ideas more effectively. Here are a few of our favorites:
- We hope you’ll join us in 2026 for our next book: Think Naked: Childlike Brilliance in the Rough Adult World by Peter Lloyd Marco Marsan | Goodreads. Get a copy of the book and mark your calendar for January 09, 2026 to talk through the cover and reading plan.
About Rising Tide and our Book Club
Rising Tide helps MSPs and service-focused teams build better systems: the kind that align people with purpose.
Every Friday at 9:30 AM ET, we host Rising Tide Fridays as an open conversation for MSP owners, consultants, and service professionals who want to grow both professionally, technically, and emotionally. Our book for 2026 Quarter 1 is Think Naked: Childlike Brilliance in the Rough Adult World by Marco Marsan.
If that sounds like your kind of crowd, reach out to partners@risingtidegroup.net for the Teams link.
Bring your coffee and curiosity…no prep required.
Chapter-by-Chapter Discussion Questions for The Go-Giver by Bob Burg: Chapter Ten - The Law of Authenticity
What if the real value you bring to your work, clients, and relationships isn’t your pitch, your process, or your polish—but you? This post walks through The Go-Giver’s Law of Authenticity, major blows to self-esteem, and why relationships aren’t 50/50. Learn how to add value simply by showing up as your honest, imperfect self.
Read post
About this Series
This discussion guide is part of Rising Tide’s Fall 2025 book club, where we’re reading The Go-Giver by Bob Burg and John David Mann.
If you’re just joining us, here are a few pages you’ll likely benefit from:
- Chapter One – The Go-Getter for an introduction on how to use these Discussion Questions
- Book Clubs, Conversations, and Curiosity for why we started a book club for a technical team here
Chapter Summary
In Chapter 10, Joe learns the Fourth Law of Stratospheric Success — “The Law of Authenticity” — from a now-successful saleswoman who found this truth when she was at her lowest.
Discussion Questions
Use these open-ended prompts to guide reflection and conversation. Remember, there are no right answers!
- “These lessons don’t apply only to business…the true bottom line is whether it improves your life’s balance sheet.” What are things that improve your own balance sheet of life? Family? Hobbies? Travel?
- Have you ever had a major blow to your self-esteem like Debra’s husband leaving her? Have you ever looked at is as a gift? What if you did?
- “Add value. I had nothing to add but myself”. Have you ever considered that you, as you are, brings value to a relationship? Yes, your perspective, your experiences, but more than that, your presence is valuable in a relationship!!
- What do you consider to be people skills? To be a person?
Rising Tide Input for your Consideration
- How does privilege (financial cushion, partner support, social safety nets) affect whether we’re able to call adversity a “gift”? As leaders or teammates, what responsibility do we have to build safety nets for our people (policies, culture, financial practices) so they don’t fall off a cliff when life hits?
- John & Julie Gottman – Fighting Right & Repair. The Gottmans’ work shows that what predicts relationship health is not whether you fight, but whether you repair effectively afterward, mirroring what we discussed about client relationships and authenticity.
- Julie and John Gottman: Relationship advice from 50+ years of marriage | TED Talk
- “Happily ever after simply means that both partners are known, valued, accepted for who they are and who they are becoming.” - John M. Gottman
- Julie and John Gottman: Relationship advice from 50+ years of marriage | TED Talk
- Brené Brown – “Marriage is Never 50/50” - Short clip where Brown explains why healthy relationships aren’t equal splits but ebb and flow based on capacity, reinforcing the idea that we bring our best available self, not a fixed quota.sometimes they're 30-70...and sometimes they're 30-30...you should only be expected to bring your best. Because we are rarely able to be 100% consistently!
- The Framemaking Sale - by Brent Adamson and Karl Schmidt; so often relationships aren’t just about US or what we perceive we need to be, but rather how we can make the other person feel confident and comfortable in their own decisions.
About Rising Tide and our Book Club
Rising Tide helps MSPs and service-focused teams build better systems: the kind that align people with purpose.
Every Friday at 9:30 AM ET, we host Rising Tide Fridays as an open conversation for MSP owners, consultants, and service professionals who want to grow both professionally, technically, and emotionally. In Fall/Winter 2025, we’re walking through The Go-Giver, chapter by chapter.
If that sounds like your kind of crowd, reach out to partners@risingtidegroup.net for the Teams link.
Bring your coffee and curiosity…no prep required.