Meet Kristin Bryce | Founder, CEO, Innovator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kristin Bryce and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kristin, what role has risk played in your life or career?
Last year, I took a Core Strengths assessment that ranks people across 26 traits. My number one strength? Risk taking. I wasn’t surprised. Looking back, I realize that my version of seeking purpose and meaning has always looked like diving headfirst into unfamiliar territory. That could mean switching industries, challenging old systems, or building something from scratch.

While others may have seen a young girl, and later a woman, experiencing the worst case of Fear of Missing Out, in reality it was Fear of Missing Growth. I didn’t want to experience everything just for the sake of it. I wanted to understand myself, challenge my limits, and see what I was capable of becoming.

To me, risk isn’t recklessness. It’s belief. Belief in your ability to learn, adapt, and turn discomfort into discovery. Some of the biggest decisions I’ve made (leaving comfort, questioning norms, launching Managed Chaos Innovations) came with a very real chance of failure. But each time, I saw the bigger risk as standing still.

I don’t take risks just to be bold. I take them because there is often something essential waiting on the other side: clarity, connection, insight, or innovation. And every time I’ve chosen risk over routine, I’ve grown.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Please tell us more about your business. How did you get to where you are today business-wise?

Managed Chaos Innovations gamifies organizational change. Our official mission statement is “To reimagine the workplace as a collaborative ecosystem where purpose, connection, and growth are unlocked through human-first, gamified transformation — turning challenges into clarity and driving lasting organizational change.” We do this by bridging the communication gaps between leadership and employees and bringing difficult, often unspoken issues into the light. One of our most powerful tools is the personification of shared workplace challenges into “monsters”. These are symbolic villains that remove blame from individuals and help teams see their struggles as systemic issues they can overcome together in pursuit of a shared goal.

We advocate for removing barriers that prevent people from being productive and fulfilled. Our adaptable 10-phase framework is designed to ensure that every effort made toward change is meaningful, manageable, and directly supportive of employee workloads. No wasted effort. Forward progress in short, focused timeframes. Every activity ties back to business needs and personal capacity.

Getting to this point has taken decades of experimentation, introspection, education, and real-world experience. I actually began personifying challenges into monsters as a child. It was how I processed confusion and fear in an unpredictable environment. As I grew, I used this method to help others, especially trauma survivors, externalize negative self-beliefs and recognize them as symptoms of their circumstances, not permanent flaws.

As my professional path evolved, so did the framework. I blended my creative instincts with my love for systems thinking, eventually weaving in LEAN principles, strategic planning, and hands-on facilitation. I became known for being a bit quirky; the person always pitching creative twists to tackle big initiatives.

The real turning point came in 2022. I pitched a gamified initiative to a government department that aligned staff toward a strategic goal. Leadership gave me the green light to pursue it on a volunteer basis. My first attempt? Zero volunteers.

But then something clicked.

I took the feedback I’d heard – the exhaustion, constant emergencies, shifting priorities, and lack of time – and turned them into monsters. Each objective became a “boss battle”, and the steps to reach them were missions to defeat their “minions”. People across the department started contributing names and characteristics for each monster that were playful, biting, and hilariously accurate.

The initiative, tasks, and deliverables didn’t change. But the framing did. And suddenly, 94% of the department volunteered.

The same technique I used to help trauma survivors regain power over their narrative turned out to be incredibly effective in the workplace.

That’s the spirit behind Managed Chaos Innovations; using imaginative, strategic approaches to drive real results. Helping people feel seen and proving that even the messiest challenges can be transformed into meaningful progress.

Was it easy?

Bringing Managed Chaos Innovations to life has been the hardest thing I’ve ever done. It’s required me to show up in an entirely new way, not just as a professional, but as a whole person. Our work centers on authentic connection, which means being honest about hard things: the impact trauma has on individuals and businesses, what global disengagement and turnover statistics are truly telling us, and why vulnerability isn’t weakness – it’s the place where real transformation begins.

We’re working to de-stigmatize that vulnerability and show how the very struggles people carry often become the foundation of their greatest strengths. Then, we help organizations create environments where those strengths are supported, seen, and allowed to thrive.

It’s not easy but it’s meaningful, and it’s worth every ounce of the effort.

How did you overcome the challenges?

By learning to recognize chaos, lean into it, and eventually, thrive within it.

Chaos often feels overwhelming, but it’s also where some of the most valuable truths emerge about broken systems, misaligned goals, and where people are struggling without support. I’ve learned to treat chaos as a signal. It means something important is surfacing and instead of trying to control it, I started listening to it.

That listening required deep introspection. I had to understand how trauma (both personal and generational) shapes the way people show up, shut down, or react in high-pressure environments. I began to study the triggers, the patterns, the cycles that repeat in individuals, teams, even entire organizations. And once you can see those cycles clearly, you can begin to break them.

This process helped me grow first as a human, and then as a business leader. Every challenge became a monster I could name, understand, and transform, not just for myself, but for others. It’s the heart of what we now do at Managed Chaos Innovations.

I didn’t overcome the challenges by knowing everything. I overcame them by embracing the discomfort, staying rooted in the mission, and believing that clarity always exists on the other side of chaos if we’re willing to move through it.

What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way?

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is that people’s time is incredibly valuable and far too often, it’s unintentionally wasted. While fun outings or programs may come from a good place, they can sometimes add pressure instead of providing relief. When employees are already overwhelmed, one more initiative (no matter how well-intentioned) can feel like another obligation.

The best gift you can give your people isn’t pizza parties. It’s clarity. Clarity of purpose. Clarity of priorities. The necessary support to do their work well, and the flexibility to align their workload with what gives them energy and meaning.

When you create systems that respect people’s time, honor their capacity, and directly support their real-world responsibilities, you’re not just boosting productivity, you’re building trust. That’s the kind of culture where people thrive. While we don’t dictate company culture, we help remove what gets in its way so that a healthy culture can truly shine.

We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about?

I’m thrilled to see so many efforts promoting gamification in the workplace! It’s a growing movement that recognizes what I’ve always believed; that fun has a place in professional spaces and that engagement, creativity, and meaningful work don’t have to be at odds. I truly celebrate anyone out there working to make the workplace more human, more joyful, and more effective.

What makes Managed Chaos Innovations a little different is how deeply we focus on making gamification purposeful, not performative. Everything we do is designed to support the workload of the people in the room, not add to it. This isn’t “one more thing” to check off. Our sessions are intentionally crafted to eliminate fluff and reduce fatigue.

We replace passive workshops with hands-on strategy and personify barriers so teams can rally around solutions with shared language. And we don’t hand out extra action items at the end. We use the session itself to get the work done.

That’s what I’m most proud of: creating experiences that are fun, but also functional. That bring levity but leave teams lighter because real progress happened. That give people hope and the tools to act on it.

What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?

I want the world to know that Managed Chaos Innovations exists to remind people that they’re not broken – the systems often are. And systems can be reimagined.

My story is one of seeing potential in the middle of messiness. Of growing up in a large, chaotic household and learning that even the hardest experiences can become a source of wisdom and strength. And of turning a childhood coping mechanism of personifying problems into “monsters” into a powerful tool for organizational transformation.

This brand was built not just to improve processes, but to restore purpose. To bring empathy into business. To make change engaging, visual, and human again.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
There are so many wonderful things to do in Colorado, with the mountains being a major draw. In Colorado Springs, a trip up Pikes Peak for those iconic summit views is a must. I would also include a relaxing day exploring Manitou Springs to enjoy the artsy, quirky vibe. Then hand feeding giraffes at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo and catching an air show or military event to honor the local heroes. The Incline challenge is always on the table.

Other than that, if we traveled outside the Springs, a trip to Casa Bonita (assuming my friend gave me enough notice for a reservation) and catching a show at Red Rocks would be great additions!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are too many inspirational figures to name them all, but a few deserve special mention for the foundational and ongoing impact they’ve had on me and Managed Chaos Innovations.

The first is my mom, April Meneley, who is a modern-day Lillian Moller Gilbreth. I am the 10th of 11 children and Mom created structure by teaching project management through daily life. She broke down big tasks into practical, hands-on steps and created systems that allowed us to work together, learn responsibility, and contribute in meaningful ways. She sparked my love for process, teamwork, and creative problem-solving long before I realized it would become my life’s work.

Next is my incredible team – Tanya Bakker, Brandon Larrabee, Tasha Shayne, Missa Wicklund, and Eleanor Valentine – who believed in the MCI vision even when it was just a spark. They’ve helped bring structure, voice, and momentum to something that was once just an idea scribbled in a notebook. I’m endlessly grateful for their creativity, insight, and heart.

And finally, I want to recognize the powerhouse experts who saw the potential in my approach and chose to build something new alongside it. Together, we formed Next Pivot – a collaboration between Soumam Debgupta, Fadi El Mouallem, Rohit Bhagat, and myself. We’ve brought our strengths in cultural transformation, digital innovation, financial analytics, and strategic operations into one aligned effort to help organizations move forward with clarity and measurable impact.

To everyone who has poured into this journey with me — thank you. You’ve helped build something truly transformative.

Website: https://www.managedchaosinnovations.com

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristin-bryce-6b5a7a26/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61559730524406

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ManagedChaosInnovations

Image Credits
Be Encouraged with Frank and Lisa – approval to share picture