I Have an Addiction...and it's not what you think

Life at the Speed of Play - Chapter 1: Book of Life

Life at the Speed of Play, Chapter One: The Book of LifeHow creating a Book of Life makes your life worth living, and scaffolds you as a strategic leader Continuing our summer read-along of https://www.amazon.com/s?k=life%2Bat%2Bthe%2Bspeed%2Bof%2Bplay&adgrpid=184262060617&channelId=4&clpRedir=Y&hvadid=779578873675&hvdev=c&hvexpln=0&hvlocphy=9017427&hvnetw=g&hvocijid=15260571418118184131--&hvqmt=e&hvrand=15260571418118184131&hvtargid=kwd-2478764662973&hydadcr=22565_13531269_8697&mcid=81c6351bed083c7ba8616557cb4b8507&plpRedirect=mhFallback&tag=googhydr-20&ref=pd_sl_4i7cfmd53g_eLife at the Speed of Play [https://www.amazon.com/s?k=life%2Bat%2Bthe%2Bspeed%2Bof%2Bplay&adgrpid=184262060617&channelId=4&clpRedir=Y&hvadid=779578873675&hvdev=c&hvexpln=0&hvlocphy=9017427&hvnetw=g&hvocijid=15260571418118184131--&hvqmt=e&hvrand=15260571418118184131&hvtargid=kwd-2478764662973&hydadcr=22565_13531269_8697&mcid=81c6351bed083c7ba8616557cb4b8507&plpRedirect=mhFallback&tag=googhydr-20&ref=pd_sl_4i7cfmd53g_e] by Zynga founder Mark Pincus [https://www.amazon.com/s?k=life%2Bat%2Bthe%2Bspeed%2Bof%2Bplay&adgrpid=184262060617&channelId=4&clpRedir=Y&hvadid=779578873675&hvdev=c&hvexpln=0&hvlocphy=9017427&hvnetw=g&hvocijid=15260571418118184131--&hvqmt=e&hvrand=15260571418118184131&hvtargid=kwd-2478764662973&hydadcr=22565_13531269_8697&mcid=81c6351bed083c7ba8616557cb4b8507&plpRedirect=mhFallback&tag=googhydr-20&ref=pd_sl_4i7cfmd53g_e], this week I’m digging into Chapter One: The Book of Life. Pincus’s core idea, “know your goal or suffer death by 1,000 compromises,” comes from his own annual ritual of writing in the same physical book every year during the Jewish high holidays. I’m curating the insights I found most useful for anyone building a strategic practice, not just product folks. What you’ll learn: * Why Pincus’s “Book of Life” ritual, taking stock, reviewing the past year against goals, and setting intentions for the next, works as a personal North Star practice. I’m adopting a version of it even though I currently just journal and burn my notebooks every few months * His framework for choosing two types of yearly goals: something fully in your control, like a daily habit, paired with something bigger and less certain. Proving you can control the small thing builds belief you can pull off the big one * The “abyss” concept, the disorienting, unproductive-feeling space before and after a big venture or job. He argues it’s where real instincts, pattern recognition, and taste actually get built. I connected this back to my own five years of feeling lost before landing back in product * The “imagination chessboard” exercise, starting strategy conversations by asking “what if everything goes right?” instead of leading with constraints. He notes that AI can now help you build that exercise out in minutes Confessions of a Creative Leader is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Confessions of a Creative Leader at creativeleaderconfessions.substack.com/subscribe [https://creativeleaderconfessions.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Let's Read Life at the Speed of Play

Let’s get started with our new book series. I’m kicking off the Life at the Speed of Play [https://www.amazon.com/s?k=life%2Bat%2Bthe%2Bspeed%2Bof%2Bplay&adgrpid=184262060617&channelId=4&clpRedir=Y&hvadid=779578873675&hvdev=c&hvexpln=0&hvlocphy=9017427&hvnetw=g&hvocijid=15260571418118184131--&hvqmt=e&hvrand=15260571418118184131&hvtargid=kwd-2478764662973&hydadcr=22565_13531269_8697&mcid=81c6351bed083c7ba8616557cb4b8507&plpRedirect=mhFallback&tag=googhydr-20&ref=pd_sl_4i7cfmd53g_e] https://www.amazon.com/s?k=life%2Bat%2Bthe%2Bspeed%2Bof%2Bplay&adgrpid=184262060617&channelId=4&clpRedir=Y&hvadid=779578873675&hvdev=c&hvexpln=0&hvlocphy=9017427&hvnetw=g&hvocijid=15260571418118184131--&hvqmt=e&hvrand=15260571418118184131&hvtargid=kwd-2478764662973&hydadcr=22565_13531269_8697&mcid=81c6351bed083c7ba8616557cb4b8507&plpRedirect=mhFallback&tag=googhydr-20&ref=pd_sl_4i7cfmd53g_eread-along, starting with Reid Hoffman’s foreword and Mark Pincus’s introduction. This is a short intro episode to help you decide if you want to journey through the book with me. I’ll be doing roughly one chapter a week through the end of September. What you’ll learn: * Why I’m anchoring this next stretch of episodes in Mark Pincus’s book, and my loose reading cadence (about one chapter a week, wrapped by end of Q3) * Reid Hoffman’s foreword idea of “what game are you playing” and “what’s your theory of the game,” and why that framing hit home for me as both a product leader and a recovering serial idea-generator * Why generating ideas isn’t the hard part for me… killing them is, and why I think that’s the real skill this book is going to help me build * My take on Pincus’s line that “corporate” really means “lack of thought or intent,” and why I push back on that a little, because being intentional and thoughtful in a corporate role is exactly what I get paid to do Get full access to Confessions of a Creative Leader at creativeleaderconfessions.substack.com/subscribe [https://creativeleaderconfessions.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

How my entrepreneur journey has made me a better leader!

I’m back after an unplanned couple-months break, and I wanted to catch you up on life! I’m talking about what I’ve brought back into my full-time Senior Director of Product Growth role after my stint as a part-time entrepreneur. I’m in throws of building a new AI-native product, and about to soft launch it next week. Also, the new book I’m picking up as my next read-along is Life at the Speed of Play [https://www.amazon.com/Life-Speed-Play-Launch-Products/dp/0063352575/ref=sr_1_1?adgrpid=184262060617&channelId=4&clpRedir=Y&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Evb_U93AoaMtG-9HvyMOmIeM15G58V7h2s5vY4xTZbvLalI69y33s4EM6oZYf9V0yLUAriCKvxYkFAALgxnDCwkQypgN8KmYuSWtsDQXZtKUxuYt_EEff-0P4bkO28F8OotMQZD76lV-We8EhbHTmEvBnwTU0-Arzpn1EEst0WhKqUwNBwOB4gWrCugPTCbZSBCAyeOD0eVmEPiHcn03uIFbpU7RXl1abL4in6e4eNE.wE61fD8bp8v9ZWUF4z4NlkT8ynogqst8dvO30UWh6ZU&dib_tag=se&hvadid=779578873675&hvdev=c&hvexpln=0&hvlocphy=9017427&hvnetw=g&hvocijid=15260571418118184131--&hvqmt=e&hvrand=15260571418118184131&hvtargid=kwd-2478764662973&hydadcr=22565_13531269_8697&keywords=life+at+the+speed+of+play&mcid=81c6351bed083c7ba8616557cb4b8507&plpRedirect=mhFallback&qid=1783814167&sr=8-1] by Zynga founder Mark Pincus [https://www.amazon.com/Life-Speed-Play-Launch-Products/dp/0063352575/ref=sr_1_1?adgrpid=184262060617&channelId=4&clpRedir=Y&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Evb_U93AoaMtG-9HvyMOmIeM15G58V7h2s5vY4xTZbvLalI69y33s4EM6oZYf9V0yLUAriCKvxYkFAALgxnDCwkQypgN8KmYuSWtsDQXZtKUxuYt_EEff-0P4bkO28F8OotMQZD76lV-We8EhbHTmEvBnwTU0-Arzpn1EEst0WhKqUwNBwOB4gWrCugPTCbZSBCAyeOD0eVmEPiHcn03uIFbpU7RXl1abL4in6e4eNE.wE61fD8bp8v9ZWUF4z4NlkT8ynogqst8dvO30UWh6ZU&dib_tag=se&hvadid=779578873675&hvdev=c&hvexpln=0&hvlocphy=9017427&hvnetw=g&hvocijid=15260571418118184131--&hvqmt=e&hvrand=15260571418118184131&hvtargid=kwd-2478764662973&hydadcr=22565_13531269_8697&keywords=life+at+the+speed+of+play&mcid=81c6351bed083c7ba8616557cb4b8507&plpRedirect=mhFallback&qid=1783814167&sr=8-1]. I also get into some personal updates about my family, health, the whole mess of it. What you’ll learn: * How I’m bringing product-led growth strategy (Wes Bush’s “bowling alley” framework) into a B2B SaaS environment that’s used to long sales cycles * The Russell Brunson-style webinar format I used for both an internal team training and an upcoming external product pre-launch webinar * Why I picked Life at the Speed of Play [https://www.amazon.com/Life-Speed-Play-Launch-Products/dp/0063352575/ref=sr_1_1?adgrpid=184262060617&channelId=4&clpRedir=Y&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Evb_U93AoaMtG-9HvyMOmIeM15G58V7h2s5vY4xTZbvLalI69y33s4EM6oZYf9V0yLUAriCKvxYkFAALgxnDCwkQypgN8KmYuSWtsDQXZtKUxuYt_EEff-0P4bkO28F8OotMQZD76lV-We8EhbHTmEvBnwTU0-Arzpn1EEst0WhKqUwNBwOB4gWrCugPTCbZSBCAyeOD0eVmEPiHcn03uIFbpU7RXl1abL4in6e4eNE.wE61fD8bp8v9ZWUF4z4NlkT8ynogqst8dvO30UWh6ZU&dib_tag=se&hvadid=779578873675&hvdev=c&hvexpln=0&hvlocphy=9017427&hvnetw=g&hvocijid=15260571418118184131--&hvqmt=e&hvrand=15260571418118184131&hvtargid=kwd-2478764662973&hydadcr=22565_13531269_8697&keywords=life+at+the+speed+of+play&mcid=81c6351bed083c7ba8616557cb4b8507&plpRedirect=mhFallback&qid=1783814167&sr=8-1] https://www.amazon.com/Life-Speed-Play-Launch-Products/dp/0063352575/ref=sr_1_1?adgrpid=184262060617&channelId=4&clpRedir=Y&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Evb_U93AoaMtG-9HvyMOmIeM15G58V7h2s5vY4xTZbvLalI69y33s4EM6oZYf9V0yLUAriCKvxYkFAALgxnDCwkQypgN8KmYuSWtsDQXZtKUxuYt_EEff-0P4bkO28F8OotMQZD76lV-We8EhbHTmEvBnwTU0-Arzpn1EEst0WhKqUwNBwOB4gWrCugPTCbZSBCAyeOD0eVmEPiHcn03uIFbpU7RXl1abL4in6e4eNE.wE61fD8bp8v9ZWUF4z4NlkT8ynogqst8dvO30UWh6ZU&dib_tag=se&hvadid=779578873675&hvdev=c&hvexpln=0&hvlocphy=9017427&hvnetw=g&hvocijid=15260571418118184131--&hvqmt=e&hvrand=15260571418118184131&hvtargid=kwd-2478764662973&hydadcr=22565_13531269_8697&keywords=life+at+the+speed+of+play&mcid=81c6351bed083c7ba8616557cb4b8507&plpRedirect=mhFallback&qid=1783814167&sr=8-1as my next read-along, and what I’m hoping to pull from it for facilitation and self-development * A candid life update: my family, my health, a summer with two kids underfoot, and how I’m protecting my own energy (daily walks, more fiction, less guilt about the podcast schedule) Get full access to Confessions of a Creative Leader at creativeleaderconfessions.substack.com/subscribe [https://creativeleaderconfessions.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

I avoided opening this box for 3 months!

Hello! Really short podcast today. I cleaned my office today, and opened up a box I have been avoiding for nearly 3 months! Listen to learn more, and I have a little video of the unboxing below. Unboxing Video 1 Unboxing Video 2 The Guides Hat Get full access to Confessions of a Creative Leader at creativeleaderconfessions.substack.com/subscribe [https://creativeleaderconfessions.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

I Have an Addiction...and it's not what you think

This week I’m showing up without a plan, and that’s kind of the whole point. I was supposed to continue the AI in facilitation series, but I wasn’t feeling it. And rather than not show up at all, I decided to just tell you what’s actually on my mind right now. In this episode I talk about: * Why I’ve scaled way back on how much time I spend preparing these episodes — and why that’s intentional, not lazy * The difference between consumption addiction and creation addiction — and why I think the second one is sneaking up on a lot of us right now * How I’m using a Claude Project to support this podcast (quick peek behind the curtain for the AI-curious) * And honestly — a little permission slip to say no to the things that aren’t high-leverage for your season of life right now Short one this week. Real one this week. Hope you find yourself in it somewhere. Get full access to Confessions of a Creative Leader at creativeleaderconfessions.substack.com/subscribe [https://creativeleaderconfessions.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]