How my entrepreneur journey has made me a better leader!

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]

How I ran my favorite market differentiation exercise in half the time (AI did the heavy lifting)

This week I switched things up a little. Instead of my usual audio-only format, I recorded a Loom video so I could actually show you what I’ve been doing. In this episode, you’ll learn: * What the Differentiators activity is and why it’s one of the most valuable — and time-consuming — exercises in a Foundation Sprint * The “AI in the seams” move: how to use natural white space in your agenda (silent exercises, breaks) to run AI tasks in parallel without disrupting the group * The two-prompt approach I used to convert workshop outputs into fully built differentiation matrices — done during a lunch break * A fictionalized higher education example (what’s been on my mind lately with all the higher ed leaders I’ve been talking to) that shows how this works even if you’re not in product And if you’re not a facilitator — this one’s still for you. If you lead a team and you’re trying to reimagine, reposition, or differentiate a product, program, or service, the underlying approach translates directly. Want to go deeper? If you’re new to the Foundation Sprint, I wrote about it when Click by Jake Knapp [https://substack.com/profile/12115955-jake-knapp] and John Zeratsky [https://substack.com/profile/16984148-john-zeratsky] first came out — including how I ran one before the book even launched. Worth a read before diving into the episode. You can also learn more about the book itself here - The Click Book! [https://www.character.vc/click] Get the prompts + resources I’m sharing the prompts I used, along with an example of the workshop board output, in a Google Drive folder. Request access and I’ll grant it within 24 hours. 🔗 Differentiators Examples & Prompts [https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1ZsFcsVHh6GAk2V6ehDUZXshlJ7SU3KNu?usp=sharing] And one more thing If the reason you haven’t experimented with any of this yet is that you genuinely cannot find the time, I built something for exactly that. Deep Work Days is a short micro-course about how to restructure your energy and calendar so focus time actually exists in your week. Not hustle culture stuff. Just a smarter way to protect your most strategic hours. → Get Deep Work Days [https://mk.themeetingkitchen.com/offers/iWEDaA63/checkout] 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]

What a year April was. Here’s what happened.

Note: This post is a quick recap of the episode. The podcast is richer — more stories, more texture, more of the real stuff. It’s about 10 minutes at 1.5x speed and worth the listen. After a month away and a year and a half as Confessions of a Facilitation Artist, this show has a new name, Confessions of a Creative Leader. Why “Confessions” stays: It traces back to my Catholic roots — my dad is a deacon, confessions before Sunday mass, vulnerability as practice. It fits what I do here. Why “Facilitation Artist” is gone: It was always an experiment. A conversation with my friend and fellow facilitator Chloe Temple [https://substack.com/profile/152347872-chloe-temple] reframed things for me — she described me as a model of self-leadership, and I thought: yes, that’s actually what this is. Lifelong learning, taking responsibility for my own growth so I can show up in service to others. Facilitation is part of that. So is product leadership, entrepreneurship, and figuring out motherhood. Creative Leader is just more honest about the full territory. What April Actually Was Intense. Good-intense, not overwhelmed-bad. A few things made it one of the fuller months I can remember: Work: I went back full-time to build a zero-to-one AI-native product. April was mostly a multi-week design sprint — interviewing higher ed leaders, evolving prototypes, testing them, and this past week, finally starting to build. I was also deep in Claude Code doing POC (that means proof of concept) work to test feasibility, and using Claude Projects and Cowork heavily for context documents and requirements. (Claude is my second husband it seems.) Weekends: Sixteen garden beds don’t prep themselves. Hard physical work, completely restorative after a week at a screen. Health: I’m 47 and perimenopausal (I’m a woman and I’m not hiding from that) — noticing that shift and taking it seriously. Consistent exercise, more intentional eating, and the small delights: fresh eggs from our neighbor’s chickens, kimchi, the occasional fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice. My Sister For new listeners & readers: in October, my sister was diagnosed with terminal stage four cancer across multiple sites. It was really scary. Mid-April, we had the appointment — the one to find out if her treatment was working. The oncologist, who is normally very measured, walked in with unmistakable joy. The news: treatment is working well, some tumors have actually shrunk, and based on the data, this typically holds for up to two years. We thought we might be down to months. She’s doing well. We’re celebrating. The emotions are complicated — relief and sadness at the same time — but the news is good. If My Response to You Was Short — Here’s Why A lot of you reached out during the break. Thank you. If I didn’t respond well, or at all: it wasn’t personal, it was capacity. Maxed out at work, exhausted at night, in the garden on weekends. I’m behind on a lot of conversations and I’m working on it. What’s Coming I’m not turning this into an AI or product podcast — there are better ones for that (Lenny's Newsletter [https://open.substack.com/pub/lenny] - Lenny Rachitsky [https://substack.com/profile/1849774-lenny-rachitsky], Prompt-Led Product | For PMs Building in the AI Era [https://open.substack.com/pub/promptledproduct] with Elena | AI Product Leader [https://substack.com/profile/31598723-elena-ai-product-leader] , Product Management IRL [https://open.substack.com/pub/amycmitchell] with Amy Mitchell [https://substack.com/profile/23488597-amy-mitchell] ). But I have real experiments to share over the next few episodes: * AI + facilitation — specific tools and prompts for foundation sprints and design sprints, beyond basic brainstorming * AI in product discovery — how I’ve been using it in zero-to-one work * Tactical leadership uses — including Cowork for general tasks and, yes, researching summer camps for my kids * My first vibe-coded app — a facilitation timer I built for myself, and what that experience was actually like Episodes may be biweekly for a while. I’d rather show up with something real than force a cadence. Reach out on LinkedIn, Substack, or text. I read everything — I’m just slow to respond. Love you all. Good to be back. — Monica 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]