Leaders Read#82

👋 Hello everyone,

Laozi said, "New beginnings are often disguised as painful endings."

Here are four resources you might have missed:

• Book notes: The Great CEO Within by Matt Mochary

• All 184 Book notes for your enjoyment

• Catch-up: #1 - #81 Leaders Read Newsletters

• Three of my favorite takeaways on Innovation and Adaptability.

---

📚 Book Summary:

This week's book is "Art Thinking" by Amy Whitaker.

This book will give you the tools to carve out some creativity across your business and life. It will show you how to step up in the lighthouse for the big picture and move down in the weeds to get the work done. If you are looking to add some creativity to your life, this book will show you that you never starting from a blank canvas; you are already on your way.

One of my favorite takeaways from the book is this:

It's easy to confuse beginnings and endings and to forget the false starts and mistakes along the way. When you see someone else's finished work, it is easy to want to compare it to your own work in progress. You compare the song you are trying to write with the Beatles's finished album, not with the moment they, too, were scrawling lyrics on the back of a napkin. Recognizing the gap—between process and outcome, between the weeds of working on something and the aerial view of seeing its completion—helps you remember that the beginnings of most things are more likely to be clunky, scrappy, or seemingly unimportant.

✅ Actionable advice:

Also from the book: One way to ask yourself if you are judging or discerning is to picture yourself as a painter. If you are at an easel, you can either stand close enough to put a brush on the canvas or back up far enough away to see what the whole picture looks like. There is usually no way to do both at the same time. Most artists' studios have an ancient armchair somewhere. You can sit there and take in the work, or you can be making it. Both are important. Sitting in the armchair helps you discern what is working. But if you sit in the chair too much, you won't get anything done.

---

🧠 5 things I'm thinking about (April 11, 2025)

1.Pre-release Supportability

2.Expanding my Enablement knowledge

3.The discipline of just focusing on one brick

4.How can I ensure retention

5.How great lunch is with a friend

Reading "Perennial Seller" by Ryan Holiday

---

Have a great week!