How to Use Appreciative Inquiry to Ignite Positive Change

What if the key to solving your organization’s biggest challenges wasn’t fixing what’s broken, but amplifying what’s already working?

If you're like many leaders, you're constantly putting out fires, fixing inefficiencies, or managing resistance to change. And while those efforts are necessary, they often miss a powerful opportunity: to tap into your organization’s strengths and build change from a place of possibility, not just problems.

That’s where Appreciative Inquiry (AI) comes in; a strategic approach to change that centers on what gives life to your organization when it’s performing at its best.

At its core, Appreciative Inquiry isn’t about ignoring problems. It’s about shifting the conversation from “what’s wrong” to “what’s right” and leveraging those strengths to spark transformational results.

What Is Appreciative Inquiry?

Developed by David Cooperrider and Suresh Srivastva, Appreciative Inquiry is a collaborative and strength-based approach to organizational development and change. Rather than focusing on gaps or dysfunction, it starts by identifying the best of “what is” and imagining “what could be.”

The process typically follows a 5D cycle:

1. Define – What is the focus of inquiry?

2. Discover – What gives life to the organization?

3. Dream – What might the future look like?

4. Design – How can we align systems to that vision?

5. Destiny/Deliver – What commitments will bring it to life?

Why It Works for Leaders and Teams

Appreciative Inquiry builds trust, breaks down silos, and energizes teams. For small to mid-sized enterprises and government agencies facing tight budgets, high turnover, or low morale, this approach can reignite engagement and accelerate transformation without burning out your team.

Here’s how:

• It engages everyone – From front-line staff to senior leadership, AI invites all voices into the conversation, creating buy-in from the start.

• It reframes resistance – Instead of pushing people to change, it pulls them toward a shared vision of success.

• It uncovers hidden assets – Every organization has strengths waiting to be uncovered, from informal influencers to underutilized processes.

Real Impact, Not Just Theory

Organizations that adopt Appreciative Inquiry often see measurable improvements in collaboration, innovation, and performance. It’s particularly powerful during:

• Strategic planning efforts

• Cultural transformation initiatives

• Mergers and post-acquisition integration

• Operational audits and redesigns

Imagine redesigning your workflows not by focusing solely on inefficiencies, but by learning what already enables flow, productivity, and success. The results are not only faster to implement but more sustainable.

Start Small. Think Big.

You don’t need to overhaul your whole organization overnight. Appreciative Inquiry can start with a single team, project, or initiative.

Ask:

• When has this team been at its best?

• What strengths made that possible?

• How can we build on that success?

From there, momentum builds. And with the right facilitation and intention, this strength-based approach can fuel lasting, positive change.

How to Align Your Organization Goals, KPIs and Incentives

You set clear goals. You’ve built dashboards. You even offer bonuses. So why aren’t results improving?

If you’re like many leaders, you’ve likely invested time and resources into defining strategic goals and tracking KPIs. But here's the silent killer of performance: misalignment. When your organizational goals, key performance indicators, and incentive structures don’t line up, you unintentionally create confusion, resistance, and even disengagement.

At Raspberry Business Solutions, we see this pattern constantly: Leaders articulate bold goals, but the way success is measured or rewarded tells a different story. The result? Teams spin their wheels, strategic plans stall, and transformation efforts fall short.

The Misalignment Trap

Misalignment often creeps in subtly. A team is told to innovate but is evaluated on short-term efficiency. Employees are encouraged to collaborate but rewarded for individual output. Leaders want digital transformation but still tie bonuses to outdated metrics.

This disconnect sends mixed signals and creates friction in day-to-day operations. People want to succeed, but only when they understand what success looks like and how it benefits them. Without alignment, even your most talented employees will struggle to drive meaningful progress.

The Three-Part Formula for Real Alignment

To create momentum and measurable impact, your goals, KPIs, and incentives must work in harmony. Here’s how:

1. Start with Strategic Clarity

Your goals should be specific, actionable, and deeply rooted in your organization’s current reality; not aspirational fluff. Make sure every department and leader can articulate how their work drives those goals forward. Strategy isn’t just about vision, it’s about translation.

2. Redefine the Right KPIs

Once goals are clear, choose KPIs that actually reflect progress, not just activity. Avoid vanity metrics. Choose indicators that show traction, highlight gaps, and drive conversations. For example, if your goal is to increase customer satisfaction, measure resolution time, not just ticket volume.

3. Link Incentives to What Matters Most

Incentives don’t have to be financial. Recognition, professional growth, and autonomy can be powerful motivators, if they align with what you’re asking people to deliver. Incentives should reinforce, not contradict, your goals and metrics. Otherwise, you risk paying people to ignore what matters.

The Ripple Effect of Alignment

When your goals, KPIs, and incentives are aligned, something powerful happens: performance accelerates. Teams focus. Leaders make better decisions. Progress becomes visible. And most importantly, your people feel connected to the mission.

If you want your strategy to stick, alignment isn’t optional. It’s the operational glue that turns plans into performance.

The Misalignment Mess: When Strategy, Structure, and Culture Don’t Sync

You’ve hired great talent. You’ve restructured twice in three years. You’ve even launched a bold new strategy. So why does progress still feel like pushing a boulder uphill?

If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. Many organizations, especially small to mid-sized enterprises and government teams, invest heavily in planning and headcount, only to find their efforts undercut by invisible friction. The culprit? Misalignment between strategy, structure, and culture.

When Your Strategy Says One Thing, But Your Culture Says Another

A strategy might declare a commitment to innovation or speed. But if the organizational culture still rewards risk aversion, punishes mistakes, or clings to rigid approval chains, employees will default to what’s safe; regardless of what’s on the PowerPoint slides. People don’t follow mission statements. They follow norms. That’s why even the most well-articulated plans fail without cultural alignment.

When Structure Is Built for Yesterday’s Problems

A common red flag: your org chart has evolved more than your workflows.

Businesses often reshuffle teams or add roles in response to surface-level symptoms—slowing delivery, internal confusion, duplicated efforts—without questioning whether the underlying structure still supports the current strategy.

Example: You may have centralized a process to improve consistency, but now decisions bottleneck and staff feel disempowered.

Strategy calls for adaptability. Structure should enable it, not choke it.

When Everyone’s Rowing—But in Different Directions

Culture tells people “how we do things around here.” Structure determines how power and decision-making flow. And strategy outlines what you're aiming to achieve.

When these aren’t aligned, you get people working hard, but at cross-purposes.

You see:

• Constant fire-fighting

• Low morale despite high effort

• Strategic initiatives stalling mid-execution

• Leaders confused why their teams “don’t get it”

The issue isn’t individual performance. It’s systemic misalignment.

How to Realign for Real Progress

1. Start with Honest Diagnosis
   Conduct an operational audit that goes beyond KPIs and surveys. Look at how work actually flows, where people get stuck, and which behaviors are reinforced, intentionally or not.

2. Clarify the Strategic Priorities
   Many organizations are chasing too many goals. Identify 2–3 non-negotiables that your structure and culture must support.

3. Adjust Structure with Purpose
   Instead of just moving boxes on an org chart, map out the decision rights, communication flow, and accountability loops. Structure should reflect strategy not legacy titles.

4. Align Culture Through Reinforcement
   If innovation is the goal, reward experimentation. If agility is key, reduce approval bottlenecks. You can’t change culture overnight, but you can change what gets recognized, funded, and celebrated.

The Real ROI of Alignment

When your strategy, structure, and culture work together, not against each other, you’ll feel the shift.

Decisions get made faster. Teams become self-directed. Leaders finally get traction on transformation. And employees stop asking “why are we doing this?” because the answer is embedded in how things operate.

Misalignment is a silent killer of momentum. But it’s fixable with the right lens, intentional shifts, and a commitment to leading change from the inside out.

Why Strategy Fails: The Hidden Execution Gap Sabotaging Your Plans

You’ve spent weeks or maybe months crafting the perfect strategic plan. The vision is clear, the goals are ambitious but achievable, and the leadership team is aligned. Yet six months later, progress has stalled. Teams are confused, timelines have slipped, and momentum is gone. Sound familiar? 

This frustrating scenario plays out across countless small to mid-sized organizations and government agencies. The strategy itself isn’t the problem, it’s the execution gap that’s killing progress. That invisible space between intention and action is where even the most brilliant plans wither.

The Strategy-Execution Disconnect

Here’s the truth: most organizations don’t fail because they lack ideas. They fail because they can’t bridge the gap between strategy and day-to-day operations. Teams are unsure how to prioritize. Processes aren’t updated to support the new direction. And change is announced without being embedded into culture, routines, or systems. It’s like giving someone a map but no instructions on how to use a compass. 

Warning Signs of an Execution Gap

How can you tell if your organization is struggling with execution?

• Misaligned Teams: Staff are unclear on their roles in the strategy.

• Lack of Follow-through: Initiatives are launched but quickly lose steam.

• Firefighting Culture: Tactical urgencies constantly derail strategic focus.

• No Measurement or Accountability: Goals exist, but there’s no system for tracking or adjusting.

These symptoms often show up as siloed efforts, wasted resources, and employee disengagement.

Closing the Gap

To move from idea to impact, organizations need more than vision; they need execution infrastructure. Here’s how to start closing that gap:

1. Translate Strategy into Operational Terms

Break big-picture goals into specific actions. Identify who owns what, how it will be measured, and the resources needed.

2. Update Your Processes

A strategic pivot often requires process redesign. If the way work flows hasn’t changed, your team may be stuck operating under old assumptions that no longer serve the mission.

3. Build Change into Culture

Strategy isn’t a memo; it’s a mindset. Communicate consistently, involve key influencers early, and reinforce desired behaviors in meetings, feedback, and rewards.

4. Monitor Progress Religiously

Use dashboards, regular check-ins, and pulse surveys to keep a finger on the pulse. Execution thrives on visibility and iteration.

5. Empower the Middle

Middle managers make strategy real. Equip them with tools, context, and decision-making authority to drive alignment across teams.

Your Strategy Deserves Better

Strategy without execution is hallucination. But the good news? The execution gap is fixable. With the right systems, support, and process design, your strategy can become more than words on paper; it can become the engine that drives measurable, lasting change.

If your organization has bold ideas but struggles to implement them, it may be time to rethink how you execute. At Raspberry Business Solutions, we specialize in turning strategy into action; efficiently, sustainably, and with your people on board.

The Human Side of Automation - Managing People Through Workforce Transitions

Automation promises efficiency, scalability, and speed—but for employees, it often signals uncertainty, fear, and disruption. If your organization is implementing new technologies or streamlining operations through automation, your team may be asking: “What does this mean for me?” For many small to mid-sized enterprises and government agencies, the emotional and operational fallout from poorly managed transitions can derail even the most promising initiatives.

Let’s be clear: it’s not just about the tech. It’s about the people. And if your workforce doesn’t come along for the journey, your automation efforts will stall before they start.

Why the Human Side of Automation Is Often Overlooked

Executives tend to focus on ROI, systems integration, and process optimization. But employees are focused on job security, skill gaps, and the fear of being left behind. When change is announced without a clear people strategy, it can trigger resistance, confusion, and disengagement. Leaders must recognize that automation isn’t just an IT project—it’s an organizational change effort that requires empathy and intentionality.

The Hidden Costs of Ignoring Workforce Transitions

Ignoring the emotional and cultural impact of automation can lead to:

• Low morale and trust erosion: If employees feel blindsided or devalued, engagement plummets.

• Productivity dips: Distracted or disempowered employees struggle to maintain performance.

• Talent flight: Skilled employees may leave rather than face uncertainty.

• Change fatigue: Teams already weathering transformation may become resistant to future initiatives.

These human costs quietly eat away at the efficiency gains automation is supposed to deliver.

How to Manage Workforce Transitions Thoughtfully

To drive sustainable change, leaders must integrate a human-centered strategy into every automation rollout. Here’s how:

1. Start with transparent communication. Don’t sugarcoat or delay the message. Be honest about the “why” behind automation and what it means for individuals and teams. Address fears head-on.

2. Engage employees early and often. Invite input, surface concerns, and give people a seat at the table. When employees are part of the planning process, they become partners—not opponents—of change.

3. Provide reskilling opportunities. Automation often redefines jobs rather than eliminates them. Offer targeted training to help employees grow into new roles or expand existing capabilities.

4. Align automation goals with your values and culture. If your organization values collaboration and integrity, automation initiatives should reflect that. Let your culture guide your approach—not just your technology roadmap.

5. Celebrate quick wins and human impact. Highlight stories where automation made work easier, freed up creative time, or helped someone develop a new skill. Don’t just measure success in dollars saved—measure lives improved.

Technology is only as effective as the people empowered to use it. If your automation strategy doesn’t include a plan for managing workforce transitions, you’re only doing half the work. By putting people first, you not only reduce disruption—you unlock the full potential of innovation.

Because at the end of the day, it’s not about replacing people. It’s about elevating them.

The Productivity Trap: Why “Busy” Teams Aren’t Always High-Performing

Your team is constantly in motion—meetings, emails, approvals, reports. But despite the nonstop hustle, results aren’t reflecting the effort. Deadlines slip. Projects stall. Growth feels sluggish. If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone.

Many organizations confuse activity with achievement. The real culprit? A lack of operational focus and strategic clarity. In this post, we’ll unpack the difference between being busy and being effective—and share how to build a truly high-performing team without burning everyone out.

Busy ≠ Productive

It’s a common scenario: employees juggling multiple tasks, leaders buried in fire drills, and a culture that equates responsiveness with results. But motion without direction leads to burnout, not breakthroughs.

High-performing organizations don’t just work harder—they work smarter. That means aligning operations with strategy and ensuring that every effort ties back to clear, measurable goals.

Signs You’re Trapped in a “Busy Work” Culture:

1. Redundant Meetings: Hours spent talking instead of doing.

2. Unclear Priorities: Teams unsure what to focus on first.

3. Approval Gridlock: Delays caused by layers of unnecessary sign-offs.

4. Low Morale: Constant busyness leads to fatigue and disengagement.

If this looks like your organization, it’s time to reassess—not your people, but your systems.

The Shift: From Motion to Momentum

Here’s how to redirect your team’s energy from chaotic activity to strategic productivity:

• Start with Operational Clarity: Define what success looks like, and eliminate work that doesn’t directly contribute to it.

• Simplify Processes: Map out where work gets stuck. Often, it’s not the people—it’s the workflow.

• Set a Rhythm: Build an operating cadence that includes planning, executing, reviewing, and improving. Weekly huddles, monthly retros, and quarterly planning are small changes that drive big alignment.

• Prioritize Outcomes Over Hours: Focus on impact. Celebrate completed milestones, not packed calendars.

Case in Point: What Success Looks Like

One client slashed 10 hours a week of “status check” meetings by implementing a dashboard and restructuring how teams updated each other. Another redefined team priorities quarterly, cutting down wasted effort by 30%.

The results? Higher engagement, faster decisions, and a leadership team finally focused on growth.

Being busy may look impressive—but it rarely moves the needle. If your team is exhausted and still underperforming, the answer isn’t to push harder—it’s to lead smarter.

At Raspberry Business Solutions, we help organizations break the busy trap by creating operational clarity, improving workflows, and embedding sustainable rhythms. The result? A team that performs, not just one that works.

Ready to stop spinning your wheels and start scaling impact?

The Real Reason Your Team Isn't Scaling—And What to Do About It

You’ve invested in systems. You’ve hired smart people. Yet, somehow, growth stalls. The team feels maxed out, deadlines slip, and scaling feels just out of reach. You’re not alone. For many growing organizations, the biggest barrier to scaling isn’t talent or tools—it’s the absence of a scalable operating rhythm. Without clearly defined routines, aligned priorities, and structured decision-making, your team ends up improvising their way through chaos.

The Invisible Drag: Unstructured Growth

In the early days of business, ad hoc decisions and organic collaboration work just fine. But as your team grows, what once felt nimble becomes messy. Meeting overload. Redundant work. Constant fire drills. The real cost? Diminished productivity and rising burnout.

Organizations often think adding more people or tech will solve the problem. But without an operational cadence that supports scale—weekly priorities, accountability check-ins, streamlined workflows—more resources just magnify the chaos.

What a Scalable Operating Rhythm Looks Like

A scalable rhythm isn't about bureaucracy. It’s about building a structure that frees your team to do their best work. That looks like:

• Clear priorities that are aligned from leadership to the front lines

• Standardized weekly check-ins that drive accountability and unblock progress

• Defined decision rights, so every approval doesn’t bottleneck in one inbox

• Embedded reflection cycles to continually improve processes

Why Teams Resist Operational Discipline

Many teams resist adding “structure” because it feels like red tape. But the right rhythm is actually liberating—it gives your team clarity, confidence, and room to focus on what matters. The key is co-creating processes with your team instead of imposing them.

How to Implement It (Without Breaking the Business)

Start small. Pilot a rhythm in one team or function. Test a weekly priority-setting ritual. Introduce a shared dashboard for goals. Get feedback. Then expand. The goal isn’t perfection—it’s momentum.

Your Next Step

If your organization is feeling the pressure of growth without the systems to support it, it’s time to build your rhythm. Let’s work together to create a structure that scales with your vision—without burning out your people.

The CFO's Role in Leading Organizational Change Efforts

Most CFOs didn’t sign up to be change agents—they signed up to manage financials. But in today’s volatile and fast-moving landscape, finance leaders are increasingly being pulled into the driver’s seat of transformation. Whether your organization is navigating digital upgrades, restructuring operations, or improving performance, your CFO can either be a strategic catalyst—or a silent bottleneck.

The challenge? Too many organizations still treat change management like a soft skill, when in reality, it's a financial imperative. If change fails, the costs show up in the numbers: missed ROI, wasted budgets, delayed projects, and disengaged teams. This is where a forward-thinking CFO becomes indispensable.

Why the CFO Must Be Involved in Change Initiatives

Change efforts often fail due to lack of alignment between strategy and execution. CFOs bring clarity, discipline, and structure to that gap. By integrating financial foresight with operational decision-making, they can champion data-driven change—not just approve funding for it.

Finance leaders can:

• Evaluate the true cost and benefit of change initiatives

• Translate organizational vision into tangible KPIs

• Ensure resource allocation aligns with transformation goals

• Serve as a trusted voice across departments

In short, they’re uniquely positioned to connect the “why” with the “how” and the “how much.”

From Scorekeeper to Strategic Partner

Modern CFOs are no longer just scorekeepers of past performance. They’re expected to be architects of the future. This shift requires expanding their influence beyond budgets and into business transformation.

CFOs can strengthen change efforts by:

• Embedding change metrics into dashboards: Monitor adoption, progress, and financial outcomes in real time.

• Communicating the financial logic of change: Help teams understand not just what’s changing, but why it matters to the bottom line.

• Driving accountability: Use financial data to keep initiatives on track and expose hidden costs of inaction.

This proactive role doesn’t diminish HR or operational leaders—it strengthens them. When the CFO champions change, it sends a clear message: this is a business priority, not just a cultural initiative.

When the CFO Leads, Others Follow

CFOs carry influence. When they visibly support a change initiative, others take it seriously. This leadership by example can help overcome internal resistance, especially in risk-averse environments like government agencies or regulated industries.

Examples include:

• In a federal agency, a CFO helped shift outdated processes by tying efficiency metrics to funding requests.

• In a mid-sized manufacturing firm, the CFO co-led an ERP rollout, ensuring every decision mapped to ROI and cash flow impact.

In both cases, the CFO wasn’t just a sponsor—they were a change leader.

How to Equip Your CFO to Lead Change

Not every finance leader is ready to take the reins on transformation. But with the right support, they can be powerful allies.

Here’s how to start:

• Involve them early in strategic planning conversations—not just budget reviews.

• Train them in organizational development principles, including change models and stakeholder engagement.

• Encourage cross-functional visibility so they understand operational realities, not just financial reports.

In today’s environment, transformation isn’t optional—it’s survival. If your organization wants to lead, not lag, in innovation, your CFO must be more than a numbers person. They must be a strategic partner in leading change.

The question isn’t whether the CFO has a role in change management. It’s whether your organization is leveraging them to their full potential.

Why Your Team Resists Change (And What to Do About It)

You’ve invested in new systems, clarified strategic goals, and even brought in consultants—yet your change initiative feels like it’s dragging through wet cement. Sound familiar? You’re not alone. Many business and government leaders face this frustrating reality: well-designed transformations stall, not because the strategy is flawed, but because people resist.

That resistance doesn’t come from stubbornness or incompetence. It stems from something deeper—uncertainty, fear of the unknown, and a lack of connection to the “why.” Until you address that, no amount of process improvement or digital upgrade will stick. The good news? You can turn resistance into readiness. And it starts with understanding what’s really going on.

The Psychology Behind Resistance

Most employees aren’t actually resisting the change itself—they’re resisting the perceived loss that comes with it. Loss of control, status, routines, or even job security. When change is announced without clarity or involvement, fear fills in the blanks. Left unchecked, it becomes disengagement, pushback, or quiet sabotage.

Here’s the truth:

• People don’t fear change. They fear being unprepared for it.

• They don’t hate new systems. They hate being left out of the decision-making.

• They don’t resist transformation. They resist transformation done to them, not with them.

Three Reasons Resistance Persists—and How to Break Through

1. Lack of Trust in Leadership - When leaders drive change from a distance, employees feel blindsided. Build trust by being transparent—even about the parts you’re still figuring out.

2. No Emotional Connection to the Vision - Facts tell. Stories sell. If your team can’t see how the change will improve their work lives or the organization’s mission, they’ll drag their feet. Use narrative, not just data, to paint a picture of the future.

3. Inadequate Tools and Support - Change fatigue sets in when people are expected to adopt new processes without proper resources. Invest in training, quick wins, and listening tours.

Turning Resistance into Momentum

A successful change initiative doesn't start with a Gantt chart—it starts with a conversation. Here’s what works:

• Involve stakeholders early. Ask what’s working and what’s broken before introducing solutions.

• Create champions. Equip internal influencers with tools and talking points to model the change.

• Celebrate micro-wins. Momentum is built on progress, not perfection.

At Raspberry Business Solutions, we specialize in change that sticks. Our approach embeds change readiness into the DNA of your organization, so transformation doesn’t feel like a disruption—it feels like a next step. If your last change initiative fell short—or you’re about to launch a new one—don’t just manage resistance. Eliminate it at the root. Let’s talk about how we can partner to create change that actually works.

Ditch the Manual Chaos: How Automating Processes Can Save Your Business

Does your team spend hours every week tracking spreadsheets, chasing approvals, or re-entering the same data into multiple systems? If so, your business is bleeding time—and money. For many small to mid-sized organizations, manual processes feel like a necessary evil. But over time, they become growth killers.

You didn’t build your business to be buried in repetitive tasks. It’s time to move from hustle to high-impact. And that starts with automation.

Manual Processes: The Hidden Productivity Trap

At first glance, a manual task might seem harmless—an invoice here, an email there. But when multiplied across departments and repeated daily, these inefficiencies snowball into:

• Wasted labor hours

• Increased risk of human error

• Frustrated, disengaged staff

• Slower turnaround times

Manual processes create bottlenecks that choke your ability to scale and respond quickly to change.

Signs You’re Due for Automation

1. Work is tracked in spreadsheets or emails

2. Approvals require chasing people down

3. Data is re-entered in multiple systems

4. Your team is “busy” but rarely ahead

5. You rely on one person to remember how a process works

Sound familiar? You’re not alone. Many of our clients come to us thinking these problems are “just part of the job”—until we help them replace chaos with clarity.

What Happens When You Automate

Automation doesn’t mean replacing people. It means removing the friction that slows them down. With the right systems in place, you’ll see:

• Faster turnaround times (think hours, not days)

• Better data accuracy

• Less burnout from repetitive work

• More time for strategy, innovation, and customer service

In short, automation gives your team room to breathe—and your business room to grow.

Where to Start: The 3-Step Approach

1. Identify High-Frustration Areas - Start by mapping out processes that are slow, error-prone, or overly dependent on one person. Examples: onboarding, invoicing, document routing, and reporting.

2. Prioritize for Impact - What tasks eat up the most time and cause the most delays? Start there. You don’t have to automate everything at once—target wins build momentum.

3. Choose the Right Tools - Don’t get dazzled by flashy software. Look for tools that are intuitive, scalable, and integrate well with your current systems. Think project management platforms, no-code workflow builders, or digital form automation.

Common Automation Wins for SMBs and Agencies

• Employee onboarding: Digital forms, auto-approvals, and checklists

• Invoice management: Auto-generating and tracking payments

• Client communications: Templates and triggered follow-ups

• Reporting: Real-time dashboards instead of monthly fire drills

These improvements create ripple effects across your organization.

If your team is still drowning in tasks that could be automated, you're paying more than you realize. At Raspberry Business Solutions, we help businesses like yours streamline operations and implement smart, practical automation—without the tech overwhelm.

Let’s turn your bottlenecks into breakthroughs.