How to Flourish in Flux: April Rinne’s Superpowers for Leading Through Change
Learn from keynote speaker April Rinne how to deal with change, thrive in flux, improve resilience, and lead with emotional intelligence.
June 5, 2025
Life’s only constant is change—and keynote speaker April Rinne helps us not just cope but thrive. A futurist, best-selling author of Flux: 8 Superpowers for Thriving in Constant Change, and seasoned women leader, April has navigated personal tragedy, legal careers, global development, corporate strategy, and even handstands in over 100 countries.
In our conversation, she maps out how to shatter the paralysis that uncertainty often brings, teaching leaders, teams, and individuals how to wield eight “Flux Superpowers” to transform chaos into an advantage.
We’ve all felt that sinking feeling when a familiar routine is upended—whether it’s a sudden leadership shakeup at work, unexpected economic turbulence, or even global crises that demand immediate pivots. Many professionals assault change like an adversary, resisting its current. But according to April, change isn’t something to be conquered. Instead, it’s an invitation to reinvent, evolve, and discover unforeseen opportunities.
How Change Shapes Leadership and Corporate Culture
The business world calls for crisis management plans and continuity roadmaps, yet true organizational resilience emerges when companies embed change navigation into their DNA. April noted that during the pandemic, companies that already treated flux as a friend—rather than a foe—were able to reconfigure operations overnight, support employee health & well-being, and even launch new digital products faster than competitors. Those leaders who understand that the next change horizon is never far behind cultivate a corporate culture of nimbleness, encouraging teams to experiment boldly, fail safely, and learn rapidly.
Consider Airbnb’s pivot from home-sharing to remote work “experiences” during lockdowns: they repackaged hosts’ talents into online classes—cooking, mixology, and cultural tours—keeping hosts engaged and revenue flowing. This strategic shift required a mindset that saw flux as a launchpad, not a derailment. April emphasizes that by thinking like a futurist—anticipating emerging customer needs and rapidly prototyping solutions—organizations can transform disruption into growth engines.
The Personal Toll of Resisting Change
On a personal level, resisting change generates stress, anxiety, and decision paralysis. When April lost both parents at age 20 in a car accident, she was thrust into a new life trajectory that demanded acute emotional intelligence and resilience. Rather than retreating into grief, she adopted tools—mindfulness, conscious decision-making, and active curiosity—to rewire her brain’s default fear responses. Through openness and self-inquiry, April discovered that change didn’t just force her to survive; it offered lessons on purpose, community, and the fragility of certainty. This deeply personal journey informs her work as a mental health advocate and best selling author, helping others reframe setbacks as catalysts for growth.
Research in mental health underscores that individuals who develop adaptability skills—such as cognitive reframing and seeking novelty—enjoy lower anxiety levels and higher life satisfaction. When we view change as opportunity rather than threat, our stress hormones dip, our creative circuits fire up, and we become better versions of ourselves.
Transform Uncertainty into Opportunity
Know Your Enough
In a world fixated on more—more revenue, more market share, more accolades—knowing when to say “enough” is revolutionary. April describes “knowing your enough” as calibrating ambition with contentment. This superpower stems from the Sanskrit concept of “santosha”, meaning internal satisfaction. It combats the perpetual anxiety of chasing ever-moving goals.
Why It Matters:
Leaders who know their enough curb toxic workaholism and promote sustainable health & well-being.
Teams free from constant “more or nothing” mindsets experiment more boldly—knowing they won’t be punished for choosing “enough right now.”
When organizations define success metrics that include qualitative, human-centered indicators—like employee engagement or community impact—teams feel empowered to innovate responsibly.
How to Apply It:
Implement a quarterly “enough audit” where leadership and staff evaluate if ongoing projects and KPIs still align with core values. Discontinue initiatives that no longer serve collective well-being.
Create team rituals—like a “gratitude round”—where members share wins and acknowledge progress rather than pushing immediately to the next target.
Use mindfulness exercises (e.g., guided breathwork) at the start of meetings to cultivate presence, reminding participants that “enough right now” can be transformative.
Rewire Your Default
Our brains evolved to prioritize certainty and safety—a legacy of prehistoric threats. In modern contexts, that default often triggers resistance to new ideas. “Rewiring your default” means creating neural pathways that favor exploration over avoidance.
Why It Matters:
High-performing organizations thrive when employees lean into novelty. A 2023 study found that teams encouraged to explore alternative approaches achieved innovation milestones 30% faster.
Resilience is strengthened when individuals train their brains to see uncertainty as a frontier, not an abyss.
Leaders who model curiosity over certainty foster psychologically safe cultures where dissenting views and creative risk-taking flourish.
How to Apply It:
Incorporate a weekly “Challenge Everything” session where team members question assumptions—both personal and organizational. Document findings and encourage small experiments that test new approaches.
Practice daily micro-changes: take a new route to work, use your non-dominant hand for routine tasks, or change your meeting environment—each shift sends signals to the brain that novelty is okay.
Leverage communication workshops that teach active listening and reframing techniques, equipping teams to handle ambiguity in client negotiations or project pivots.
Surf the Flux
“Surfing the flux” is April’s metaphor for riding waves of change—anticipating them, positioning yourself on top, and leveraging their energy rather than getting pummeled by them.
Why It Matters:
Business cycles aren’t linear; they come in surges—market disruptions, technology breakthroughs, or regulatory shifts. The ability to anticipate these currents (much like a skilled surfer reads the sea) translates to strategic agility.
When leaders internalize that flux is not a random threat but a predictable pattern of waves, they can invest in strategy systems that monitor early indicators and pivot quickly.
How to Apply It:
Adopt the “Now-Next-Future” continuum to visualize probable short- and long-term influences. April’s framework, also known as the “Now-Next Continuum,” advises starting with current data (Now), projecting trends (Next), and brainstorming ideal scenarios (Future). This three-step process empowers teams to choose interventions that align the present with the aspirational future.
Create a dashboard of “flux indicators”—key signals that presage change, such as social media sentiment shifts, regulatory alerts, or competitor moves. Plot these visually and convene monthly “surf sessions” to decide when to pivot or steady the course.
Celebrate small wins when teams successfully surf a mini-wave: launching a new product line ahead of a competitor or integrating a micro-innovation before it becomes mainstream.
Zoom Out and Zoom In
Life in flux often feels like a tunnel—caught in day-to-day turbulence. “Zooming out and zooming in” is a mental shift that helps maintain perspective: zooming out to see the broader context and zooming in to focus on actionable details.
Why It Matters:
Leadership that only zooms in on quarterly targets becomes reactive; teams feel micromanaged and lose sight of the strategic horizon.
Conversely, leaders who only zoom out risk paralysis—unable to translate vision into concrete action. They breed confusion, as teams don’t know where to start.
How to Apply It:
Schedule “20% time” for team members to step away from daily tasks and explore industry trends, network insights, or read thought leadership pieces (e.g., April’s columns in Fast Company and Harvard Business Review). This zoom-out practice fuels strategic thinking.
In weekly team huddles, start with a 2-minute “macro moment” where someone reports on an external shift (e.g., a competitor’s new partnership). Then spend 3 minutes “micro-breaking” a specific task (e.g., optimizing the sales funnel). This ritual trains brains to oscillate between context and execution.
Know Your Poles
Poles represent stable anchors in our lives—values, relationships, and fundamental beliefs. In April’s framework, knowing your poles means identifying what anchors you when tides of change threaten to pull you adrift.
Why It Matters:
Anchors counterbalance chaos. When a project shipment derails or a client relationship dissolves, recentering on core values—like customer-centricity or community impact—keeps teams grounded and aligned.
In the broader domain of corporate culture, organizations with clearly articulated poles—mission statements, ethical codes, or DE&I commitments—demonstrate higher retention and employee engagement during upheavals.
How to Apply It:
Host a “Poles and Values” workshop: have each team member list personal and organizational anchors—such as “transparency,” “continuous learning,” or “community well-being.” Then, co-create a shared anchor chart posted in the workspace and on the event app for hybrid teams.
When major decisions arise (e.g., budget cuts, reorganizations), evaluate options against the pole chart: “Does this decision uphold our commitment to diversity?” or “Will this align with our mental health objectives?”
Make Ripples, Not Waves
April encourages us to focus on small, consistent actions—ripples—rather than grandiose changes that may crash unproductively. This approach resonates deeply with resilience research, which highlights the power of micro-habits in sustaining long-term momentum.
Why It Matters:
In uncertain times, sweeping transformations often stall in bureaucratic hurdles. Small “ripples” accumulate, producing compounding effects.
Teams that celebrate incremental progress—like implementing a daily 5-minute reflection session or incrementally shifting to digital-first communications—cultivate a sense of empowerment and forward movement.
How to Apply It:
Launch “Weekly Flux Challenges”: each week, challenge team members to adopt one new habit—e.g., “Spend 10 minutes offline to reflect on personal well-being,” or “Send a handwritten note to a colleague to strengthen connection.” Track participation and share impact stories.
For organizations seeking digital transformation, rather than migrating all systems at once, pilot a single AI-driven tool (e.g., an artificial intelligence–powered chatbot for inbox triage). Measure efficacy, gather feedback, and iterate before scaling.
Channel Your Inner Yogi
April’s background as a certified yoga teacher informs this superpower. “Channeling your inner yogi” means cultivating mindfulness, breath control, and embodied presence to navigate high-pressure situations with poise.
Why It Matters:
Mindfulness interventions—like focused breathing or short meditation breaks—reduce cortisol levels, improving cognitive flexibility and stress management.
Teams that incorporate short “mindful reset” sessions between high-intensity sprints exhibit 25% lower burnout rates and report greater health & well-being.
How to Apply It:
Start meetings with a 2-minute guided breathing exercise—invite participants to close their eyes, breathe deeply, and set an intention for the session. This primes the brain for communication clarity and empathic listening.
Organize monthly “Wellness Fridays” where teams participate in a virtual yoga or meditation class. This communal practice fosters a sense of shared resilience and promotes emotional intelligence.
Build with Heart
Building with heart means leading with empathy, compassion, and genuine human connection—key elements in corporate culture and leadership. In times of flux, honoring the emotional experience of stakeholders fosters trust and accelerates collective progress.
Why It Matters:
Empathetic leadership can boost team morale by up to 30%, as studies in emotional intelligence suggest.
Organizations that prioritize mental well-being and cultivate open dialogues about mental health experience higher retention and lower absenteeism.
How to Apply It:
Introduce “Compassion Check-Ins” at the beginning of leadership huddles—ask managers to share one personal highlight and one challenge. This practice normalizes vulnerability and encourages supportive problem-solving.
Offer tailored mental health resources—virtual counseling sessions, mental health days, or employee assistance programs. When team members see organizations invest in their mental health, loyalty deepens, and productivity rises.
Harnessing Change to Transform Uncertainty into Advantage
April’s eight Flux Superpowers are not mere abstract concepts—they’re actionable mindsets and practices that can reshape how you and your organization navigate every twist and turn. Let’s explore how to integrate these superpowers into daily routines and larger strategic initiatives.
Cultivating a “Flux Mindset” Across Your Organization
Leadership Rallies and Training: Host monthly leadership workshops where C-suite and managers commit to at least one Flux Superpower shift. For example, a session could focus on practicing “Zoom Out and Zoom In”—reviewing quarterly performance while also micro-optimizing weekly tactical tasks. Invite April’s thought leadership articles as pre-reading.
Team Huddles with Superpower Themes: Each week, spotlight a different superpower. One week, “Know Your Enough”—team members share personal wins and reflect on whether they feel stretched too thin. Another week, “Make Ripples, Not Waves”—groups present incremental improvements they’ve piloted. This rotational approach embeds Flux principles into the organizational rhythm.
Scenario Planning for Strategic Agility: Conduct quarterly “Flux Forecast” sessions. Using a simplified version of April’s “Now-Next-Future” model, teams map likely industry shifts—such as imminent regulatory changes, emerging customer behaviors, or disruptive technology breakthroughs. Then pivot to envision ideal outcomes. Comparing the two, leadership identifies high-leverage actions—for instance, accelerating an AI pilot to secure first-mover advantage.
Personalized Development Plans: For each team member, co-create a learning roadmap aligned with superpowers. A marketing manager might focus on “Knowing Your Enough” by taking a mindful living course; a product developer could prioritize “Rewire Your Default” through design thinking workshops. Include metrics—like reduced meeting overload or increased innovation submissions—to measure progress.
Embracing Change for Sustainable Leadership and Growth
Leaders who once prided themselves on “having all the answers” are discovering that in a world of exponential disruptions—AI breakthroughs, geopolitical volatility, climate imperatives—the only competitive edge is adaptability. April Rinne’s Flux Superpowers equip individuals and organizations with practical mindsets and behaviors to convert upheaval into opportunity.
From Personal Loss to Global Insights
April’s own story—losing both parents at 20—reminds us how personal tragedy can catalyze profound insight. Out of grief, she cultivated a lifelong passion for exploring new cultures, immersing herself in 100+ countries, and working with organizations from Airbnb to the World Bank. Her legal training at Harvard and global development roles sharpened her analytical lens, while her mental health advocacy and yoga practice developed her emotional agility. In effect, she embodies the Flux Superpowers she now teaches, weaving resilience and curiosity into every stage of her journey.
Real-World Impact: Case Studies of Flux in Action
Airbnb’s Remote Experiences Pivot: Mid-2020, as travel ground to a halt, Airbnb repurposed hosts’ local skills into digital experiences—yoga classes in Bali, virtual wine tours in France, and cooking lessons from Rome. By applying “Surf the Flux,” Airbnb turned a crisis into a new revenue stream and diversified customer touchpoints, netting a 25% increase in off-platform engagement.
Nike’s Mindful Leadership Initiative: Facing societal upheavals—racial justice protests, pandemic stress—Nike launched a “Mindful Leadership Lab” for executives, blending emotional intelligence coaching, mental health resources, and resilience workshops. Leaders who “Channeled Their Inner Yogi” reported 40% reductions in burnout and improved team morale.
Intuit’s Agile Innovation Cells: To accelerate product adaptation amid rapidly changing small business needs, Intuit formed cross-functional “Agile Innovation Cells” empowered to pilot micro-solutions. Team leads used “Zoom Out and Zoom In” techniques to balance quarterly financial targets with granular user feedback. Over a year, these cells contributed to a 15% revenue increase in the QuickBooks platform.
These examples illustrate how organizations that tap into Flux mindsets outperform peers in volatile environments, building lasting customer trust and enabling sustainable growth.
The Ripple Effect: How Individuals Can Thrive Daily
While organizational shifts require strategic investments, individuals can harness change in daily life—fostering well-being, sharpening decision-making, and cultivating fulfilling careers.
Self-Coaching Toolkit: Daily Practices to Build Superpowers
Morning Reflection (Know Your Enough): Each morning, write down three things you feel grateful for and one area where you sense “enough”—whether it’s a skill you’ve mastered, a goal you’ve accomplished, or a personal need met. This sets a mindful tone, reducing the urge to chase endless goals.
Lunch Break Experiment (Rewire Your Default): Allocate one midweek lunch break to try something outside your comfort zone—visit a new café, strike up a conversation with a colleague you’ve never met, or take a different route to the gym. Capture your observations—how did novelty feel? What new insights emerged?
Weekly “Now-Next-Future” Map (Surf the Flux): On Friday afternoons, spend 15 minutes mapping current challenges (Now), identifying emerging trends or signals (Next), and brainstorming one aspirational idea (Future). Document this map in a shared digital journal and revisit it monthly.
Micro-Meditation (Channel Your Inner Yogi): Implement a “2-minute reset”—sit upright, close your eyes, and focus on inhaling and exhaling for two full minutes between meetings. Notice how this brief pause refreshes your attention.
Anchor Check-In (Know Your Poles): At the end of each day, reflect on which of your core values you honored—integrity, compassion, innovation—and which felt compromised. Use that awareness to adjust tomorrow’s actions.
Kindness Ripple (Build with Heart): Commit to one small act of compassion each workday: thank a co-worker publicly, offer to help without being asked, or send a supportive message to someone going through a tough time. These ripples strengthen social bonds and elevate collective morale.
Career Resilience Through Flux
Skill Agility: In flux, skills become outdated quickly. Proactively invest time in micro-learning: subscribe to online courses on digital strategy, future of work trends, or crisis management frameworks. Commit to learning one new skill quarterly—data literacy, AI basics, or mindful leadership techniques.
Network Diversification: Avoid relying on a single professional circle. Join at least two cross-industry networks—one focused on change leadership, another on women leaders. Attend meetups, participate in webinars, and volunteer to speak on relevant panels to expand your network. This practice ensures that when a sectoral disruption hits, you have alternate pathways and mentors to guide you.
Portfolio Mindset: Instead of pinning your identity on a single job title, cultivate a portfolio of roles and projects—consulting, volunteering, freelance work—so that if one avenue contracts, other opportunities sustain your growth. April’s career exemplifies this: she’s simultaneously a consultant, author, investor, and educator, each role reinforcing the others.
Measuring Impact: How to Track Your Flux Evolution
Reflecting April’s emphasis on data-driven yet human-centric approaches, tracking your progress involves both quantitative and qualitative metrics.
Quantifiable Indicators of Flux Mastery
Adaptability Score: Use an online self-assessment tool (e.g., the “Adaptability Quotient” test) quarterly to measure improvement in cognitive agility, emotional flexibility, and learning orientation.
Stress Variability Index: Monitor changes in your weekly stress levels—using simple mobile apps that ask you to rate stress on a 1–10 scale. Over three months, a downward trend indicates improved resilience.
Innovation Count: Track the number of new ideas you propose to your team or organization each quarter. Aim for a minimum of three small-scale innovations per quarter.
Learning Hours: Log hours spent on professional development—online courses, webinars, or reading industry publications. Set a target (e.g., 10 hours/month) and record progress.
Qualitative Measures of Growth
Peer Feedback Themes: Ask colleagues and mentors for biannual feedback on your flexibility, leadership presence in crises, and ability to foster collaboration. Identify recurring compliments or concerns to guide next steps.
Reflective Journaling: Maintain a weekly journal capturing moments when you: recognized a personal bias, pivoted gracefully under uncertainty, or introduced a small innovation. Over time, patterns will surface—revealing deeper growth arcs.
Success Stories Log: Document at least one example per month where applying a Flux Superpower directly led to a positive outcome—closing a deal, resolving a team conflict, or launching an experimental project.
Two Practical Lists for Embedding Flux at Scale
List 1: Organizational Policies to Embed Flux Mindsets
Flexible Work Frameworks: Adopt hybrid and remote work policies that allow employees to choose environments where they thrive. Incorporate “flux-friendly” measures—such as adjusting office hours based on evolving local conditions (e.g., commuting disruptions, health alerts).
Cross-Functional “Innovation Intercepts”: Schedule biweekly sessions where product, marketing, and operations teams share emerging challenges. These intercepts spark cross-pollination of ideas—solving problems before they escalate.
Resilience Coaching Programs: Invest in internal or external coaches to guide employees through uncertainty-related stress, teaching mindfulness, self-compassion, and cognitive reframing.
Value-Based Decision Gateways: Require that major initiatives pass through a “values alignment” filter—ensuring each project supports core corporate culture principles (e.g., diversity, innovation, social responsibility).
List 2: Individual Practices to Foster Personal Flux Resilience
Weekly “Flux Review” Ritual: Every Friday, spend 15 minutes reflecting on challenges encountered that week: How did you respond? Which superpower did you invoke? Document one insight and one action item for next week.
Daily Breathwork & Journaling: Begin each day with a 5-minute breathing exercise, followed by three bullet journaling prompts: “Today, I will practice curiosity by…,” “I will honor my values by…,” and “One small ripple I’ll make is…”
Micro-Learning Micro-Commitment: Choose a new skill related to technology or emotional intelligence each quarter. Dedicate 15 minutes every weekday to learn—via podcasts, articles, or short online courses—and track progress publicly in a team Slack channel.
Empathetic Check-Ins: On Monday mornings, schedule a quick 1:1 “How Are You?” check-in with at least one colleague. Practice active listening without problem-solving, building trust and psychological safety.
Scenario Writing Exercise: Once a month, pick a “what-if” scenario—e.g., “What if our competitor launches an AI-driven product next quarter?”—and write a brief plan of responses. This imaginative practice strengthens strategic agility.
Conclusion: Rethinking Change as Lifelong Advantage
April Rinne’s journey—from Harvard Law to global development, from personal tragedy to fearless voyages across 100+ countries—reveals that change is not an obstacle but our most potent teacher. By embracing the eight Flux Superpowers, leaders and individuals can cultivate the resilience, emotional intelligence, and creative agility needed for the future of work.
Whether you’re steering a startup, guiding a multinational, or charting your personal path, April’s frameworks transform uncertainty into a frontier of possibility. By integrating these mindsets—using data to forecast trajectories, anchoring decisions in values, embedding health & well-being practices, and fostering empathetic connection—you build organizations and lives that don’t just survive flux but flourish through it.
