Defying Drift: Why Deloitte’s Geoff Tuff and Steven Goldbach Say Leaders Must Hone, Not Transform
The authors of HONE explain how purposeful refinement—not constant reinvention—helps marketers sustain clarity, relevance, and organizational momentum amid exponential change.
For years, business leaders—and marketers in particular—have been urged to disrupt, reinvent, and transform. But according to Geoff Tuff and Steven Goldbach, Principals at Deloitte and authors of HONE: How Purposeful Leaders Defy Drift, that relentless pursuit of transformation may be part of the problem.
In HONE, the final book in their trilogy following Detonate and Provoke, Tuff and Goldbach make a compelling case that the greatest risk facing organizations today isn’t inertia—it’s drift.
Drift is the quiet erosion of purpose, clarity, and alignment that occurs not through bold missteps, but through countless small reactions to noise, pressure, and short-term demands. Over time, those micro-adjustments dull an organization’s edge and weaken its connection to customers, employees, and stakeholders alike.
For marketing leaders, this idea hits close to home. CMOs are often asked to be both disruptors and guardians—driving growth and relevance while protecting brand trust, reputation, and long-term purpose. In that tension, marketing teams can easily slide from strategy into reaction, mistaking activity for progress. HONE offers an alternative mindset: honing—the discipline of continuous, intentional refinement that keeps organizations sharp without exhausting them through constant reinvention.
VIEW A QUICK CLIP FROM THE INTERVIEW
Drawing inspiration from craftspeople—a chef, a filmmaker, a photographer, and a rock band—Tuff and Goldbach reframe leadership as a form of practice. Honing, they explain, is about realignment, not overhaul; maintenance, not spectacle. It’s a way of working that favors small, meaningful changes to systems, behaviors, and incentives—changes that compound over time and prevent the need for dramatic, often failed transformations.
In this Trendsetters conversation with The Internationalist, the authors explore why marketers are uniquely positioned to spot early signs of drift, how concepts like “minimally viable moves” can be applied to brand and performance marketing alike, and why behavior change—not messaging alone—is at the heart of true differentiation. They also discuss the role marketing leaders can play in shaping the management systems that connect purpose to practice, particularly as organizations navigate AI-driven change, sustainability commitments, and growing consumer apathy toward brands.
To learn more from Deloitte Principals Geoff Tuff and Steven Goldbach about why the real danger facing organizations today isn’t moving too slowly—it’s drift. watch the video interview on Internationalist Marketing TV (IMTV) on YouTube by CLICKING HERE …
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In this Trendsetters conversation, Geoff and Steven share:
- Why drift happens in marketing organizations
- How honing helps leaders maintain strategic and creative clarity
- What “minimally viable moves” look like inside modern marketing teams
- Why behavior change—not messaging alone—fuels differentiation
- And how marketers can play a unique role in designing the systems that keep organizations aligned
Listen to Geoff Tuff and Steve Goldbach make the case for a different kind of leadership: one rooted in steady, intentional refinement rather than constant transformation. You can also listen to The Internationalist’s entire Trendsetters podcast series here on iHeartRadio’s Spreaker or wherever you download your podcasts.
Their perspective is both practical and refreshing, offering marketers a leadership model grounded in craft, not chaos—and one that ensures purpose endures, even as the world continues to accelerate. They invite marketers to slow down just enough to stay sharp, focused, and meaningfully aligned with what matters most.
About Geoff Tuff and Steven Goldbach:
GEOFF TUFF is a Principal at Deloitte Consulting LLP who leads sustainability work globally
for energy, resources and industrial clients.
STEVEN GOLDBACH leads Deloitte’s Sustainability practice in the US after serving nearly a
decade as Deloitte’s Chief Strategy Officer.
Together, Tuff and Goldbach are co-authors of the new book Hone: How Purposeful Leaders Defy Drift (Wiley; September 30, 2025), which completes a trilogy that began with the national bestseller Detonate (2018) and the Wall Street Journal bestseller Provoke (2021). Tuff and Golbach are also co-hosts of the monthly podcast Provocateurs: Profiles in Leadership and were short-listed for Thinkers50’s Distinguished Achievement Awards in both Strategy (2019) and Leadership (2021).
