Read Time: 2 minutes. |
As the year wraps up, here are the 12 playbooks that sparked the biggest breakthroughs, the most "aha" moments, and the most action from leaders like you. |
How do we know? They're the ones you read the most shared the most, and that we got the most emails about. |
If you missed any, now's your chance to catch up and start 2026 on the right foot. |
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Untangle threads one at a time vs taking on the whole knot at once. Separate what you can control, what you can influence, and what you can't. Action beats analysis paralysis. Start with the clearest, most controllable thread.
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Key Concept: Thread-Untangling Framework—Brain dump, categorize, sequence, act. |
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Set your "aspirational hourly rate." If a task isn't worth it, delegate or delete. Value-based time beats time-based value. Don't let your calendar run your life. The work that drains you should cost more than the work that energizes you.
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Key Concept: Opportunity Cost Rate—Calculate what your best hour is worth and act accordingly. |
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Action beats intention. Don't just plan. Actually take a step forward. 1:1s aren't dead, but they need to be owned by your direct, not you. Single-threaded leaders and mission-aligned teams outperform matrixed chaos.
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Key Concept: Discipline of Action—If it takes less than 5 minutes, do it now. |
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Run micro-experiments before betting the company. Prioritize "no regret" moves, actions that help no matter what. Build while you decide. Don't wait for perfect clarity.
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Key Concept: Decision Trigger Template—Set clear go/no-go conditions before you act. |
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Clarity and ownership beat micromanagement every time. Optimize for async first, deep work wins over endless meetings. Engineer connection on purpose; it won't happen by accident.
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Key Concept: Decision Memo—Replace meetings with short, written proposals and async feedback. |
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Simple scales, fancy fails. Genius is picking the right problem. Everything is a system. Optimize for output, not effort. AI is your new team member. Delegate work to it like you would a person.
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Key Concept: Machine Model—Inputs + People + Process + Tech = Output. Measure what matters. |
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| | | | Our Next Free AI-Powered Workshop | We run a free Lightning Lesson every month. It's a great way to get to know us while getting management advice you can use right away. | | We'll see you on January 8th @ 11 AM ET for our first live session in 2026. |
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The gap, the plan, the review. That's all you need. Don't drown in HR paperwork. Clarity beats complexity. If your plan can't fit on a Post-It, it's too complicated.
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Key Concept: 3-Bullet Template—1. What's the gap? 2. What's the plan? 3. How/when will we review? |
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Never finish what you start? You're not alone. Most pivot too early. Bottleneck focus: fix the one thing throttling your output. "Done" means done. Don't move on until you hit your definition.
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Key Concept: Focus Filter—Does this address our bottleneck? If not, pause it. |
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You can't force change. Help them see the performance gap instead. Author solutions together; ownership beats compliance. Start small, measure, and adjust. Rigid systems break.
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Key Concept: Performance Gap Formula—Align on current, explore the gap, connect to consequences. |
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Don't wait for directions. Take control of your first 90 days. Map your information flows and find the real influencers. Deliver early wins that matter to the team, not just you.
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Key Concept: 90-Day Team Leadership Check—5 questions to know if you're on track. |
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AI isn't a nice-to-have. It's a fundamental shift in how work gets done. Get hands-on with AI yesterday. Suffer the iterations to learn. The gap between dabblers and doers is growing fast.
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Key Concept: AI Application Checklist—Start with one process, automate, measure, repeat. |
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Dissent and commit: you can disagree and still lead well. Focus on implementation excellence, not fake enthusiasm. Document everything: feedback, outcomes, and lessons.
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Key Concept: Three-Layer Communication Strategy—Context, execution, support. |
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Thanks for reading, sharing, and putting these playbooks into action. |
We would be here without all of you. Thank you! |
Here's to even more breakthroughs next year. |
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Our goal is to build a community of 1 million thoughtful, curious leaders. |
You can help us by reposting anything that resonates with you. |
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Thank you for reading. Appreciate you! |
Dave |
| | | | Ways To Work With Us | MGMT Accelerator - Eight 90-minute sessions over four weeks plus 3 group coaching session starting February 18th 11:00 AM ET. Perfect for experienced leaders with 3-10 years of experience who want to refine their systems to deliver more impact and level up as a leader. | MGMT Fundamentals - Eight one hour sessions over two weeks starting January 17th 12:00 PM ET.. Perfect for managers with 0-3 years of experience who want to quickly build the skills and systems to lead their team effectively from Day 1. | Customized Leadership Programs - Bring our MGMT Accelerator or MGMT Fundamentals in-house for a tailored, intensive workshop. Ideal for 15+ leaders. | 1:1 Executive Coaching - My sweet spot is solving real problems to help leaders scale with a common sense Management OS. Growing companies with 50-500 employees. | Speaking - We're now booking keynotes for Spring of 2026. Hit reply on this note, and we can set up a time to discuss topics and pricing. | MGMT Playbook - If you're here because someone forwarded this email, please subscribe before you leave. | |
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