Strategy, systems and sustainable growth. Hi Reader, This morning my desk looked like August hadn't arrived yet. July was still everywhere. Last week was all about content planning. I spent the week mapping out the second half of the year, LinkedIn, The Loyal Edge, The AI Edge, client follow-up, and a handful of other ideas I've been working through. By the time Friday rolled around, my desk reflected exactly where I was. There were notebooks open, loose pages everywhere, Post-its tucked into...
7 days ago • 4 min read
Issue 9 | July 28, 2026 Hi Reader, We've spent the past month talking about AI as a thinking partner. Before we move into a new theme next month, I wanted to end with one of the biggest shifts I've experienced in the way I use it. Not for writing. Not for research. Not even for making decisions. I use it when my thinking gets noisy. THE OPENING SIGNAL Last week I sat down to review my LinkedIn content strategy and map out the rest of my content for 2026. It should have been a fairly...
11 days ago • 3 min read
Strategy, systems and sustainable growth. Hi Reader, As I started wrapping up this month's newsletter theme, I found myself looking back over everything we've talked about in July. What I wasn't expecting was that the inspiration for this week's email would come from a simple question I saw while getting ready for the day. An email asked, "What makes summer feel like summer?" My mind immediately went back to my years of teaching, when this time of year had a completely different rhythm than...
13 days ago • 3 min read
Issue 8 | July 22, 2026 Hi Reader, Last week we talked about treating AI like a sparring partner instead of a vending machine, asking it to push back rather than just agree with you. This week I want to take that same idea somewhere more personal: your decisions. If AI can help challenge your thinking on a prompt, it can also help you think through a decision that matters to your business. THE OPENING SIGNAL One of the most draining parts of running a business is having to make important...
19 days ago • 3 min read
Strategy, systems and sustainable growth. Hi Reader, I have two IKEA Kallax shelving units in my office dedicated entirely to my consulting business. When I first bought them, they were meant to hold the books, binders, and resources I actually use in my day-to-day work. Over time, though, they slowly became more of a storage area. They filled up with old binders, papers, office supplies, highlighters, and materials I no longer needed but hadn't gotten around to sorting through. As those...
20 days ago • 4 min read
Issue 7 | July 15, 2026 Hi Reader, Last week I asked what has you stuck. A decision you're circling. A messy idea you can't quite untangle. A problem you've brought to AI without getting the clarity you hoped for. A few of your replies caught my attention. The ones that found AI most helpful weren't asking for an answer. They were asking for options. That got me thinking. THE OPENING SIGNAL One of the biggest misconceptions about AI is that better prompts create better results. I don't think...
25 days ago • 3 min read
Strategy, systems and sustainable growth. Hi Reader, Kevin and I recently started rewatching a show we'd seen years ago. A few episodes in, I realized there were entire episodes I didn't remember at all. At first I figured it had just been too long. Then I realized something else. I probably wasn't really watching the first time. I’ve developed a habit of filling every empty moment. Waiting in line means checking LinkedIn or email. Driving means a podcast. Waiting for something to cook means...
28 days ago • 3 min read
Issue 6 | July 7, 2026 Hi Reader, Last week I asked what business decision or messy idea has been taking up more mental space than you'd like. A few of you replied, and one theme kept showing up: it's not that you don't know how to make the decision. It's that you get stuck before you even get there, at 10 PM, alone, with no one to think out loud with. That's this week's issue. THE OPENING SIGNAL Getting stuck is part of running a business. Nobody talks about it much, but it happens...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Strategy, systems and sustainable growth. Hi Reader, The Chamber goes dark every July. No meetings, no events, just a quiet month before things pick back up in the fall. My Netforce group still meets, but even that shifted for the summer. We're doing book club every other week instead of our usual format. And my own business tends to follow the same pattern. July and August are typically slower. Clients are traveling, kids are out of school, everyone's attention shifts toward family and a...
about 1 month ago • 4 min read