Costco, Adyen, and Netflix: S‑Tier Corporate Cultures
What are some s-tier corporate cultures? Costco, Adyen, and Netflix make the list for me
Tech Founders and Execs Are Returning to Hands‑on Engineering
Founders + C-level folks who come from a software engineering background are all getting back to it. Never seen eng leaders get hands-on with a previous technology at so many different places.
Hire a Chief of Staff, Reclaim 20 Hours Weekly
Want more time? Fire yourself from 80% of tasks. Hire a Chief of Staff. • Delegate email • Delegate scheduling • Delegate content distribution Save 20 hours a week. That’s 1,040 hours a year of your life back.
Attribution: From Credit Scoreboard to Coordination Engine
Attribution was supposed to tell us which channels deserve credit. It mostly told us which teams should fight about it. Frans Riemersma and I just published The State of Marketing Attribution 2026 (sponsored by CaliberMind), and the finding that hit hardest...
When Executive Presence Behaviors Undermine Leadership Effectiveness
What exactly is "executive presence"? Maybe you know it when you see it. But can those behaviors you learned to lead and operate at the upper levels actually backfire? I found this @HarvardBiz article useful ... https://t.co/G1rGO62gR0 https://t.co/2jPN0IhIF7
Middle Managers: Stay Visible, Turn Forgetfulness Into Influence
How Middle Managers Can Avoid Becoming the Forgotten Middle (or Turn It Around) - CX Journey™ https://t.co/mIzhWR4SGC #middlemanager #management #culture https://t.co/MC3Kz6dBgf
CEOs: Attend Only When Speaking, Otherwise It's Counterproductive
For CEOs, if you're speaking at an event, it's sometimes >0 value to attend (get customers, recruit talent, raise profile, practice pitch, etc.). If you're not speaking at an event it's generally <0 value to attend.
Continuous Learning Drives Exceptional Customer and Employee Experience
Why Great Organizations Never Stop Learning - CX Journey™ https://t.co/fm9xFqXYQA #leadership #learning #culture #employeeexperience #customerexperience https://t.co/Z9vMJIDelm
Scaling Fast Can Cost More Than Funding
New @ThePeelPod with @sophiaamoruso We talk bootstrapping her vintage Ebay store Nasty Gal to $28m revenue, raising $50m, turning down a $400m acquisition offer, and declaring bankruptcy a few years later. We talk about what it was like failing so publicly, what...
Real‑World Example Shows Mood Drives Leadership Style
Once again, the real-world provides the perfect real-time example. In this case for today's class on the unappreciated connection between social mood and leadership styles.
Give Employees a Real Strategy Before Demanding Innovation
"Be more strategic" -> before you give that advice, have you (or your org): Shared a clear 3 year plan for where the company is going? Shared the overall strategy to achieve that? Translated that strategy to the department of your employee? Elaborated beyond...
Effective Leadership Requires Purposeful Repetition to Change Behavior
I used to wonder why I kept hearing leadership repeat themselves as though they’d never said it before. Amnesia? Just… really passionate? Shouldn't we be moving on now? No. It's just what it takes to get groups of humans aligned. Repeat...
Vague “Maybe Next Time” Hides Promotion Blockers
Sometimes you aren't promoted because you make something easy where you are. And sometimes you just aren't ready - but your manager doesn't know how to say what you need to your face. I've been in both spots. "Maybe next time" can be...
CEOs Should Design, Not Drive: Be the Architect
A lesson I wish I learned earlier: CEO Architect > CEO Engine The engine is the thing that makes the business move. If it stops, everything stops. Architects don't move the business. They design the system that moves it without them.
Tech Upgrades Fail without Effective Human Execution
After optimizing business processes and tech in your digital supply chain, the human element is crucial. Without people executing effectively, operational and technological improvements mean nothing. #SupplyChain #DigitalTransformation #Leadership https://t.co/axUSHIj3uJ
Leaders Scale by Hiring Experts, Not Doing Everything
You are not supposed to be the best at everything in your business. You are supposed to have the vision, set direction, build the environment And hire people who can execute better than you. That’s how you scale.
Slow Decision Structures Stall Strategy Execution
Think your problem is strategy? Maybe. But it’s just as likely that decision-making structures are slowing you down instead. Because if decisions take too long, nothing else works the way it should. https://t.co/2yOttcZwQ0 #DecisionMaking #OrganizationalDevelopment https://t.co/FP3iUPeNKe
From $250M Losses to $100B IPO: Chesky's Turnaround
Airbnb lost 80% of its business in 8 WEEKS during COVID. They were bleeding $250M/month and on the verge of collapse. One year later? They IPO'd at $100B. Brian's leadership turnaround is the greatest crisis management story in modern business. Here's how he pulled...
AI Success Depends on Foundations, Not Just Hype
Everyone wants to be AI-first. Almost no one wants to fix the foundations. AI agents. LLMs. MCPs. A2A everywhere. Because that’s what everyone is talking about. CEOs push the “AI-first” narrative. More demos. More prototypes. More speed. Impressive on the surface. But what stands out...
Comfort Stalls Growth; Leaders Must Rethink Success
“It’s working. Why change it?” That mindset kills more progress than failure ever will. I’ve seen it often: Something works → results come in → comfort sets in And slowly, building turns into protecting. The shift is subtle: From “What’s possible?” To “What’s safe?” That’s where growth stalls. Strong...
Essential Reads for Leaders: Logic, Ethics, Exponential Growth
The Modern Leader’s Reading List: Logic, Ethics, and Exponential Growth by @Timothy_Hughes https://t.co/JcowP65IUZ @DLAIgnite #SocialSelling #DigitalSelling #Sales #Marketing #Leadership #Books #Strategy #Culture #Reading #ArtificialIntelligence #AgenticAI https://t.co/Tl2n6TAIDW
Tim Cook Reveals How Apple Evaluates New Ideas
In a new interview, Tim Cook shared a rare insight into the way he deals with new ideas at Apple. https://t.co/DPoL06VQoJ
New BP CEO Vows a Simpler, Stronger, More Valuable Company
Post-Woodside; BP should be ‘simpler, stronger and more valuable’, new CEO tells staff via @FT https://t.co/NSv8P5m0KX
Clear Structure, Not Trauma, Builds Team Trust
Trusting your team becomes easy when: → expectations are clear → SOPs exist → outcomes are defined → work is visible Most “trust issues” are actually structure problems and also your own trauma but that's a convo for another day
Harvey CEO Regrets Secrecy, Wishes for Public Building
Harvey CEO Winston Weinberg's big regret: not building in public. "There was a lot of secrecy in the beginning. If I would do things over again, I would have figured out how to build in public faster." Being secretive wasn't deliberate or...
Assessments Build Shared Language for Better Team Fit
Personality assessments are less concerned with articulating an individual's work style. Instead, they are powerful inasmuch as they create a shared language for advisory teams to discuss individual role fit, from workload to personality. https://t.co/C2rSx28zLD In this article, Senior Financial Planning...
Respect Requires Consistency, Not Bossy Outbursts
You don’t gain respect or compliance from employees by reminding them “you’re the boss” when you’re upset, and then patting their backs after you chewed their head off.
Apple’s Failure Fueled Its Greatest Renaissance
I talked about Apple at 50 in this week’s AVALON podcast episode. Later this year will mark 12 years of covering Apple’s every move via Above Avalon. That’s a quarter of Apple’s life. While we can’t ignore Apple’s early years...
Live Leadership Recordings Beat Thousands of PDFs
Rich Data vs. Fuzzy Fluff: Why a two-hour recording of your leadership team is worth more than a thousand corporate PDFs https://t.co/Hm2A7Yq1jJ via @DLAIgnite #SocialSelling #DigitalSelling #Leadership #ArtificialIntelligence #Tech #TechNews #AgenticAI #AIAgents #AI https://t.co/LXok0vE6MF
Avoid the Drama Triangle: Confront Directly or Company Rotates
Every founder and CEO should read all they can about the drama triangle. If you cannot face another person directly, you will drag a third person in and call it process. That is how companies rot from the inside.
Leaders Must Actively Reinforce Cohesion in Tech‑Driven Units
"Technology does not break cohesion. But it removes the margins that once sustained it automatically. Preserving combat effectiveness...requires leaders to see cohesion clearly...as a living network that must be continually reinforced." @WarInstitute https://t.co/yfviYCzXws
Running Companies in the AI Era: Insights with Jack
Tomorrow on Long Strange Trip: I get to talk to @jack on how to run companies in the AI era, joined by @roelofbotha https://t.co/p8eKRUDYWA
Tim Cook Explains Apple’s Values Amid Trump Partnership
In his most revealing interview yet, Apple CEO Tim Cook opens up about working with Trump's White House, and how that squares with Apple's values. https://t.co/iQp8vKuNZr
When Y Combinator Might Replace Founders with In‑House Apps
At what point does YC decide they don't need the founders, and can just make the 50 apps they want for demo day themselves and own more? :)
Paramount Names Allie McLarty Senior VP of Global Communications
Paramount Appoints Allie McLarty as Senior VP of Global Communications for Studios https://t.co/efdsvdRIAI via @variety
Hire Smarter, High‑integrity Talent to Accelerate Success
Your success boils down to your ability to hire amazing people around you. People with: • High energy • High integrity • High intelligence Focus on building a core team of people that are smarter than you in their area and watch the trajectory of...
Pressure‑Driven Hires Cost Severance; Hire Slowly, Hire Missionaries
Almost every time a founder is pressured by a board member, investor or advisor to make a major hire quickly, typically with absurd demands, it’s resulted in a bad hire — with a giant severance package 🤔 Hire slowly Hire missionaries...
Why Nike’s New CEO Choice Signals Future Trouble
I am often asked how I use my framework in real-time. Here is what I wrote about Nike just after Elliott Hill was named CEO, and why I wasn't excited about his selection. To be clear, it was less about...
Embrace the Messy Middle for Authentic Connection
If you look at the story structure most movies use, you'll notice that roughly 10% of the time is for the beginning, 10% is for the ending, and 80% is the “messy middle”... which is the part leaders prefer to...
Beyond Revenue: Purpose, Health, and Relationships Drive Founder Happiness
I asked 1000+ Hampton founders (all doing at least 3M ARR): has hitting your career goals actually made you happier? Here's what they said: - Founder A (sold multiple companies): "Revenue milestones felt good briefly, then faded. But being able to buy...
Personal Outreach Beats Login Links for Lasting Customers
Most founders send a login and wait for feedback. Hewitt Tomlin showed up in person, called coaches, built real relationships. His very first customer from 12 years ago is still someone he talks to today. https://t.co/PbIlyv1cUM
Adapt Leadership to Culture, Not One-Size-Fits-All
Enterprises operate across several cultures. Each has its own purpose, cadence, and success criteria. Each calls for a different style of leadership. Treat them as interchangeable, and confusion follows. A more effective move is to identify which culture you are...
Execution Gaps Spell Failure without Leadership Development
“Any manager/leader who can’t put stuff into action, is uninspiring, a poor communicator, or lacks the bottle to deal with issues effectively is likely to fail. Unless they get robust #leadershipdevelopment support, that is.” 🔍 https://t.co/ysdPb3UXGz #leadership #management https://t.co/IUXhbat36F
AI‑First Requires Bold Vision, Not Business‑as‑Usual
“We’re not being bold enough. We’re not being visionary enough, and we are falling into the habits that we have had during every technological revolution, to fit it into the box of business as usual,” https://briansolis.com/2026/04/beyond-digital-transformation-the-ai-first-business-revolution/
Bridge the Gap Between Strategy and Execution
You have a strategy. You have goals. You may even have OKRs. …and there’s still a gap between what you plan and what actually happens. A Kirkus reviewer called that gap “a fatal distance between aspiration and accomplishment” — and said the...
Radical Openness Fuels Faster Learning Through Honest Feedback
Radical open-mindedness and radical transparency are invaluable for rapid learning and effective change. Learning is the product of a continuous real-time feedback loop in which we make decisions, see their outcomes, and improve our understanding of reality as a result....
Leader Shifts Focus From Fixing to Inspiring Growth
“I’m so tired, and I know you are too, of talking about fixing this business,” Hill said in an all-hands meeting Tuesday. “I want to move to inspiring and driving growth and having fun.” https://t.co/3lb3YzmTiH
True Leaders Protect Their Team in Tough Times
Leaders are seen in the worst moments. Always protect the team that took you to were you are today. Growth mindset by @bcherny 👏
Believe the Best Is Still Ahead to Thrive
The most important quality an agency owner can have for success has nothing to do with sales, or hiring, or positioning. It’s believing the best is yet to come. You must possess a genuine, deep conviction that your biggest, most important...
Deliberate Cohesion Needed for Combat-Ready Units Amid Digital Distractions
Want Combat Ready Units? Then you have to be deliberate about building unit cohesion in our world of ubiquitous online connections, social media, smart phones, distractions. My latest article @WestPoint_USMA @WarInstitute https://t.co/yfviYCzXws