Helping leaders do more with less | OKRs & Leadership | ex Amazon & Google

* There’s always pain. Anyone who says otherwise is lying.
But we keep it to a minimum—and make the progress worth it.

You've read the books.
You're working harder than ever.
But the changes aren't sticking, and you're slipping behind.

Ever felt like that?

The three usual suspects:

𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭: Teams pull in different directions
𝐎𝐰𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐆𝐚𝐩𝐬: Decisions stall in deadlock
𝐒𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐄𝐱𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Bold slides, but nothing ships

If you don't change, you’ll miss opportunities, exhaust talent, and watch faster players overtake you.

And it will keep getting worse.

I help you break that cycle — fast.

I’ve led large teams at Amazon and Googl, helped 20+ startup executives navigate these challenges successfully and worked with corporates up to Fortune 500 scale. I love helping leaders like you bridge the gap between technical excellence and business leadership.

These challenges show up differently for every leader, but here are some recent results:

🔥 Series C CEO – Unblocked strategy, shipped a scalable fix in weeks, then raised a Series D.
🔥 Series A CEO – Broke the decision bottleneck, strengthened delegation, and cut attrition.
🔥 Series C VP Eng – Beat impostor syndrome, shaped strategy, and stepped up to CTO.
🔥 GM, Traditional BU – Shifted a 70-person product org from tech-focused order-takers to customer-centric empowered teams.

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧?

Here's how I can help:

✅ Focused coaching, one-to-one or with your leadership team, to get you unstuck fast
✅ Facilitated strategy, OKR, planning and review workshops to create momentum
✅ Develop proven leadership habits to help you maintain progress
✅ Targeted training to upskill teams

As an individual, this will help you:

👉 Move from functional leadership to company-wide impact
👉 Build alignment across growing teams
👉 Navigate relationships with co-founders and stakeholders
👉 Transition from BigTech or Corporate to Scaleup leadership

For your organisation, this will help you:

🎯 Build your management operating system
🎯 Develop clear vision, strategy, and goals (OKRs)
🎯 Create cross-team alignment and buy-in
🎯 Build execution and review cadences that drive consistent results

Message me to explore if we're a good fit.

Richard Russell

I just archived 94,933 emails.

I've reached Inbox Zero for the first time in more than a decade - since I started the business. Not sure if I'll keep it that way (that's not the point), but it sure feels good to clear the decks.

But what if there was an important email in there somewhere?

I'm completely sure there was - but I was never going to see it anyway (and I can still search for emails just as effectively).

If it's important, it will come up again. And this time I'll see it.

Note: If you sent me something, and I haven't responded, and you'd like a response, send me another email now :-)

Performance Coach for ADHD Leaders | Business Coach for Product and Scaleup Leaders | I help you move faster — with less pain*

I set a personal best!

Yesterday I submitted the second of my two assignments for my Professional Certificate in Executive Coaching at Henley Business School.

And I did one 10 whole hours before the deadline, and the other 2 whole days before!

My previous record is about 1 hour before a deadline.

I actually went out on the evening of the deadline.

I wasn’t doing last minute edits at midnight.

I wasn’t even thinking about tinkering with it.

I was happy with, even proud of my work.

But the best part is that by doing it, I’ve developed as a coach. And my recent clients have noticed this change.

Worth celebrating!

But now it’s time to come out of assignment monk mode and return to my real work. What are your tips for making that successful?

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I learnt something about planning from James Clear 

There are two planning mistakes I make.

Cowboy planning: “I’ve got a plan in my head, let’s go!”

Over-planning: “My plan is complete - 27 pages! Now I’m exhausted”

James solves these with the ABZ Framework

Write down three things:

The current state (A)
Your next step (B)
Your eventual goal (Z)

A makes it real
B creates action
Z keeps you aligned

That’s all you need.

Once you’ve done B, or got stuck, or even done B and C and D, do another ABZ plan.

Annual goal-setting and planning has never worked for me.

12 months is just too long. Even a quarterly OKR cycle is too long for me.

By the time it's February, I've forgotten the objectives, my key results seem stale, and my mind has moved on.

And besides, if I do get into a rhythm, the quarterly cycle doesn't match the rest of my life. Kids school holidays happen in the middle of my quarter, and disrupt my progress and momentum.

I used to beat myself up for this.

I still advise my clients, whether startups or corporates, to adopt a quarterly OKR cycle - and it works great for them. I know other people do quarterly or annual planning for themselves, and it works great for them (I'm married to one!). It works so well for so many others - why not me?

I now know why and I've made peace with it. I'm fast-brained. I'm wired to sprint, not run marathons.

So this year, I'm switching to 6-7 week sprints, synchronised with my kids school terms and holidays.

When they have holidays, I'll review, set new goals, and plan the next term (and spend more time with them). When they are at school, I'll follow their daily rhythms, with a short enough time horizon that I've got some natural urgency. And any time I have an idea, I'll write it down and put it into the ideas pile, knowing that I'll be able to look at it fairly soon.

I've developed a simple method to do this using a stack of A6 index cards. You can use post-its or paper or whatever suits.

Join the free kick-off workshop, Monday 12th 3-4pm EU (2-3pm UK, 9-10am Eastern).

Link in the comments.

I think one of the hardest things for fast-brain leaders is this:

Progress doesn’t feel linear.

One week you feel on top of things.
The next week it feels like you’ve “lost it” again.

In reality, the baseline is often rising — even when the day-to-day feels messy.

How do you personally tell the difference between a bad week and an actual regression?

You can’t get started on a project, so you make a plan.
But then the plan becomes another project you get stuck on.

That was my pattern for years.

My plans turned into long documents with endless bullet points.
The planning became the work — and I never actually started the real work.

So I simplified.

Instead of an unconstrained document, I use A6 index cards (about 3×5 inches).
The physical constraint stops me from overthinking.

One card, one thought.

First card: what I’m trying to achieve and what success looks like
Second card: the milestones — usually 3–4 big steps, not a blueprint
If I write too much, I throw the card away and start again
Final card: next actions — just the first action and the next action

That’s enough to start.

Here’s the key insight:
We think we need clarity before we act.
But action creates clarity.

You only need enough planning to begin.
Starting shows you the next step.

If this helps, I’m running a short, free workshop on this.
Check the link below.

There are no magic solutions for ADHD.
No perfect system. No final fix.

If you’re a high-performing, fast-brained person, you’ve probably already learned that the hard way.

The real work isn’t fixing yourself.
It’s learning how to be who you already are – sustainably, over time.

That’s a long-term project.
And long-term projects don’t work in isolation.

Community is the missing piece that helps you create sustained momentum.

If this resonates, DM me “FastBrain.”

Happy Australia Day! 🇦🇺 

Being a triple national, I get to celebrate three times more often.

Do you enjoy editing videos, designing thumbnails, and running a YouTube channel, and want help with your ADHD?

What if we could do both at once?

I’m looking for one person to collaborate on:
	•	Editing long-form podcast/video episodes
	•	Creating shorts for LinkedIn & YouTube
	•	Writing titles and descriptions
	•	Designing simple, effective thumbnails
	•	Managing and posting to a YouTube channel
	•	Helping shape content ideas and angles (Ed Lawrence–style thinking)

This is not a standard freelance role.

How this works:
I want to pay in kind, with ADHD coaching rather than cash.

This is likely a fit if:
	•	You have ADHD
	•	You already edit videos and create thumbnails
	•	You enjoy managing a YouTube channel end-to-end
	•	You like turning raw conversations into clear, structured content
	•	You want to improve your own focus, systems, direction, or momentum

This is a collaboration with low bureaucracy and a sustainable pace, not an agency-style content mill.

If this sounds like you:
	•	Comment “ADHD”, or
	•	DM me with a short note about your experience and what you want to improve

If you know someone who does editing + thumbnails + YouTube management and has ADHD, please tag them.

If you’re ADHD, this list is gold - but you can add #4 Mood.

When you’re dopamine deprived, your moods can be quite variable, and managing them and managing your work around them can have a dramatic impact on productivity.

#1 New York Times bestselling author of 7 books.

90% of your productivity comes down to just 3 things:

1. Energy.
You can’t manage time if you don’t manage energy.
Sleep, movement, and breaks. That’s your real fuel.
Run out of energy, and no system or app can save you.

2. Focus.
Distraction is the enemy.
Every notification is a tax on your brain.
The best performers protect their attention like it’s gold… because it is.

3. Priorities.
Most of what we do doesn’t matter.
The key is knowing the few things that do and doing those first.
Everything else is noise.

Master these 3 and the rest takes care of itself.

Free Fast Brain Planning workshop.

Kick off any project or your first personal sprint with a simple process.

Lynda O'Mahony, Waleed Hamouda and 4 other attendees

Prediction: AI will kill social media. 

Humans crave relationships with other humans.

People are already moving to communities where they can interact with other humans - in-person and on-line - rather than consume content.

The best place I've seen for this so far is Skool.

Are you there?
Which communities do you find best?
What do you get from them?
What makes them good?

Mine are in the comments.

There are no magic solutions for ADHD.

No single program.
No miracle drug.
No quick fix.
No permanent solution.

And that’s not a failure. It’s the reality.

For high-performing ADHDers, those of us with fast brains - diagnosed or not - progress doesn’t come from finding the answer. It comes from an ongoing process, supported over time, with people like you on the same journey.

ADHD is often talked about as a mix of strengths and weaknesses, as if they’re separate traits. They aren’t. The same characteristics that create our edge are the ones that create friction. You don’t get one without the other.

The problem is that we assume everyone should behave like the same kind of car, judged by the same tests, driven on the same roads. If you don’t perform like everyone else, you assume something is wrong with you.

But fast brained people aren’t one standard model. We’re specialised vehicles.

Some are Ferraris: extraordinary in fast, high-pressure, creative environments - terrible in slow, repetitive, stop-start traffic. Others are built to carry load, handle rough terrain, or run all day without fuss.

Nothing is wrong with any of us. We’re just designed for different conditions.

This is why tools, coaching, or medication on their own never solve the problem. They can all help, but they don’t change the road you’re on.

Community does.

A community lets specialised people recognise each other, compare notes, share what works in practice, and help each other spend more time on the roads they’re built for - and less time stuck where they don’t belong.

No magic fixes.
No pretending to be normal.
Just specialised people, in the right environment - together.
Making progress to be the best version of ourselves we can be.

Want to join?

Send a DM with “fast brain” so I know you’ve read this.

You’re stuck on a project, so you make a plan.
Then the plan becomes the thing you’re stuck on.

That was my default for years.

I fixed it by adding constraints.
One A6 index card. One outcome. A few steps.

You don’t need clarity to start.
Action creates clarity.

Jonathan Jäger, Lynda O'Mahony and 4 other attendees

We’re two weeks into the New Year.

How are your New Year’s resolutions doing?

Sometimes the hardest part is ourselves. Most resistance is internal. Just trying harder doesn’t always work, because then we resist harder.

We know what to do.
Weknow how to do it.
We want to do it.

But we’re not doing it.

Sounds familiar?

Something I notice with fast-brain leaders:

There’s a stage where things are going well…
but they start to feel oddly fragile.

You’re delivering. You’re trusted.
But the margin for error feels smaller, and mistakes feel more expensive.

That doesn’t mean you’re failing.
It often means your responsibility has outgrown your old coping systems.

Curious — have you ever hit that “doing well, but it feels delicate” phase?

For a lot of leaders I talk to, time isn’t the main problem.

Energy is.

They could do the work…
they just don’t have the same buffer they used to.

And that’s scary when people depend on you.

I’m wondering:
when your energy dips, what tends to suffer first — focus, patience, or confidence?

There’s a difference between being productive
and being trusted.

Trusted leaders don’t necessarily do more.
They recover faster, decide more calmly, and don’t spiral after off days.

That kind of confidence is quiet — and it usually isn’t built alone.

Question for other fast-brain leaders:
what helps you feel steady when the pressure increases?

Michal Bohanes

Stop Depending on Referrals. Helping 120+ B2B Consultants Add an Extra $30k/m & Solve Client Acquisition Forever

𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦 #𝟏 for Owners of B2B Service Businesses: 
Depending on Referrals, Inbound & Network --> Revenue Volatility.
𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Learn how to approach & convert strangers. Here's how we'll do it 👇

🏭 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐖𝐄 𝐃𝐎 and 👨 𝐖𝐇𝐎 𝐖𝐄 𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐕𝐄 👩
We work with Agencies, Consultants & other B2B Service Providers
We help you
✅ define 3-5 offers &  5-10 pain points
✅ reach out to strangers via Cold Email & DMs
✅ test different pain-offer combinations, see what books sales calls
✅ build consistent deal flow that eliminates volatility & adds $10-50k/month revenue

Most of all, we help you reach a predictable CAC-LTV ratio
(Client Acquisition Cost - Customer LifeTime Value)
Once we're done with you, you will know your formula:
Put $1 in, get $3-5 out.
Consistently.
Predictably.

190+ clients served.
Every one of them who followed our playbook
…got at least a 300% ROI within six months (many got way more than that)

🥂 𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐔𝐋𝐓𝐒
𝐍𝐢𝐤 𝐋𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐨𝐬 - Data & AI consultant depending on referrals. Closed $85k in new business from 3 deals originated via LinkedIn conversations.
𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐊𝐚𝐮𝐟𝐦𝐚𝐧 - Productized his done-for-you service into a course & coaching format, went from 0-$20k/mo in a few months' time
𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐚 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐚 - from employee to marketing agency owner - closed her first $4k client within 6 weeks
"That clarity I got in our first session was worth the entire investment"
𝐓𝐨𝐧𝐲 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐬𝐨𝐧 - Fractional CFO - signed his first $5k/month retainer client within 2 months
𝐏𝐚𝐯𝐥𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐡𝐚𝐣𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐜 - PE consultant, added 4 large retainer clients
𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐂𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐬 - Fractional CMO. 126 personalized outreaches, 3 calls booked, 1 closed (at $5.5k/mo)
𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐖𝐨𝐣𝐜𝐢𝐤 - HR consultant, from inconsistent 5-$10k months to $25k/mo
"The results I got were nothing short of incredible."
𝐋𝐢𝐳 𝐃𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐧 - closed her first $5k coaching client (who paid on the call) within 5 days of working with us 
“I can’t believe what just happened, happened!”

Many more on: www.AlphaLeadAcademy.com (scroll down)

🧪 𝐇𝐎𝐖 𝐃𝐎 𝐖𝐄 𝐃𝐎 𝐈𝐓?
Cold email & DMs, Lead Nurturing, Closing.
It's not difficult. 1000s people just like you have done it. You can do it, too.

Best part - we have a money back guarantee.
If you don’t make money, we don’t make money.
The risk is 100% on our end, so we’re on the hook to get you the results 😬.

Curious?
Go to www.AlphaLeadAcademy.com (sorry, you’ll have to copy-paste this one)

I see you over there!
Much love
Michal

Founder and CEO

WHAT WE DO
We help you (small B2B company, solopreneur) build an effective client acquisition system taking into account that some people want to sign up NOW and others need more time.

HOW DO WE DO IT
We help you implement The Funnel 🔻and The Pot 🍲 in your business - 
🔻 Create a compelling acquisition journey for your inbound prospects, taking into account all possible questions and objections they may have.
🍲 Gradually build a content powerhouse that allows you to nurture the "maybe later" people who simply need more time.
Our system allows you to do both: Win new clients instantly as well as create assets for the long run. 

SPECIAL SAUCE
We're not a one-size-fits-all kind of company. 
✅ You need to win new clients pronto? No problem, we'll create a plan to do that. (watch how Dana got herself a client in her first two weeks and Liz in 4 days and Matt made $30k within 11 days of working with us: www.alphaleadacademy.com)
✅ Business is fine, you just want to add rocket fuel? Bingo, we'll create the greatest Pot 🍲 the world has ever seen.
So far, EVERY single client of ours who consistently applied our methodology had at least 300% ROI. And even if it takes you a while - we work together until you start winning big.

KNOW MORE? 
Learn more at www.alphaleadacademy.com

I'm not saying that you're broke because you lack discipline. 

I just don't know anyone who's very disciplined but broke. 

So on this beautiful day of 2026, here's my challenge: Fix your discipline, put in consistent effort for 100 days, and then assess if you're on the right track towards not being broke anymore.

Here's what I'm doing in 2026 to maximize my discipline: 
1) Daily workout: 50 pull-ups, 100 squats, 100 push ups. Goal: All of these in 15 minutes (currently: 25min). Pre-sleep 10 minute stretching every day. 

2) Zero non-business content consumption. Aka no entertainment whatsoever. That includes wholesome entertainment like reading history books, enjoying art & listening to Beethoven. 
If it doesn't serve the business, it's out. 

3) Eat only 1x/day in a 3-hour morning window. Saves time, reduces risk of becoming fat & leads to better sleep.

This, in combination with our growth plan for 2026, should get us to our revenue goal. 

I'll enjoy the chocolate square on Dec 31, 2026.

We help B2B service businesses who Depend On Referrals build their first sales system | CEO & Founder at Alpha Lead Academy | 200+ clients served, 2000+ sales calls booked

Here's the one big problem with Gurus' AIs:

They're Yes-Men.    They don't challenge you in the right way. 

Back in August, I bought Hormozi's book package. 
Part of it was Hormozi AI - a GPT trained on all of Alex's knowledge. 
Honestly, it was my main motivator to shell out $6k. 

And the AI is pretty good.
Sometimes you can almost hear Alex's tone of voice through it. 

HOWEVER: It still can lead you astray because it doesn't challenge you enough. 

Example: 
The other day, I asked it to help me come up with a paid ads funnel. 
It suggested something that was pretty good. 
I did some back and forth, refined it, and let it rest for a day. 
Then I got back to it and though - wait, this is too complicated. 

Shouldn't I just use the funnel that already works for us via cold outreach and just pour more traffic gasoline on the already existing fire? 

And HormoziAI said "sure! keep it simple" - and proceeded to give me the plan to just get more traffic on our existing funnel.

Well - that's the kind of challenge I would have expected from you, dear HormoziAI. 
I shouldn't have needed this epiphany on my own. 
When I asked you to come up with a funnel, you should have asked me "Do you have some kind of funnel that already works? If yes, describe it to me".

Maybe these issues will get ironed out as AIs get better.

But for now, this is why real advice 
from a human 
who's done it before 
and can challenge you at the right time
...is still superior to even the most industry-leading AI out there.

This is what happens when you prioritize Work Life Balance

...and work 30-40 hours a week (sound on :-)) 👇

instead of fighting like mad to get your business to 7 figures. 

The problem with "oh I don't need to make millions": 
You won't build up reserves for when the hard times hit. 

--> A recession
--> Technology disruption
--> Your offer stops working & you need 3-6 months to find a new one

But hey, at least you get the dopamine hit of people congratulating you on your new LinkedIn announcement at how you're thrilled to be working with a world-class team at Bingbong Inc. 


PS. I'm not 💩ing on employment, per se.
Employment, if used strategically, is a great way to reach your goals. 
You learn a skill on someone else's dime. 
What's sad, though, is if you HAVE to go back into employment because you took it too easy as an entrepreneur and thought you could slack off, working 30-40 hour weeks. 


Video credit @jamesonhaslam on X

I don't want no travelin'

No Monday mornings at the airport

No events to go to
No "coffee catchups"
No networking drinks
I couldn't give a monkey about standing on a stage and bathing in applause. 

And that's no sour grapes. 
I really mean it. 

Why? 

Because there's nothing more I love in this world than being around my family. 

Tucking kids into bed every night is priority number 1.
Even if I have to work 12-hour days.
In the last 2.5 years, I haven't spent one single night away from my family. 

That forces certain choices in the business.
I can't do masterminds.
I can't speak on stages.
(unless the fam travels with me - which is a big hassle)

I have to purely focus on online acquisition and delivery.

That's limiting, of course. 
The business would grow faster if I made concessions.
Pics and videos in snazzy locations aren't an option. 

On the plus side: I don't spend time in traffic. 

It's also a forcing function.
Constraints lead to creativity.
I have to become very good at everything remote.

But that's the great thing about building online. 
You can design the business in the way you want. 

What are your non-negotiables?

Not all offers work with cold outreach.

Some are dead on arrival.

And if you're trying to sell the wrong thing via cold email... you'll waste months figuring out why nothing works.

Here's what actually converts… 

Don't try to solve the whole problem upfront. Solve a sub-problem. An antechamber. One specific aspect.

Then once you have the relationship... upsell them. Land and expand.

Example: We're currently offering 5,000 free leads.

People say yes. Then they realize... the leads alone won't do anything. They need to know how to contact them. How to sell to them.

So we ask: "Do you just want the leads? Or do you also want us to help you book calls with them?"

35% of them say yes to the full engagement.

It's ethical bait and switch. 
The freebie naturally leads to the service.

What else works? ROI-based offers.

If you can demonstrate ROI, cold outreach works.

"We'll decrease your supply chain costs by 10%."

"We'll reduce your SaaS churn by 15%." 

"We'll increase your Facebook ad revenue by 50%."

Clear. Measurable. Binary yes or no. That converts.

👉 What doesn't work? 
"Hey, I'm a Strategy / Innovation Consultant / Executive Coach. Need some of that?" 👈

Good luck selling Executive Coaching directly via cold email.

It's subjective. No clear ROI. Hard to prove value. People hire executive coaches through referrals. Not cold outreach.

Strategy consulting? Even worse.

Strategy is too close to the company's "inner sanctum." It's their core. Their mission. What they're really planning to do.

You don't discuss that with someone who cold emailed you. You discuss it with people your friends recommend.

It's like approaching someone and saying: "Hey, should we check if you have any warts around your genitals?"

Too personal. Too intimate.

Strategy = referral-based business.

Product consulting? Product people usually don't have budget. And product decisions are also close to the inner sanctum. Hard to sell via cold outreach.

Now... you CAN sell strategy or innovation or product consulting and coaching through the back door.

One of our clients sold OKR implementation. Technical. Specific. Clear deliverable.

Once he was in... once he built the relationship... he became an executive coach and strategy consultant.

But he didn't LEAD with that. He led with the foot in the door offer.

The rule:

If your offer is subjective, hard to measure ROI, close to the company's core identity, or requires deep trust... don't try to sell it via cold outreach.

Sell something easier first. Then upsell.

Or change your offer entirely.

Because no amount of good copy will fix a fundamentally un-sellable offer.

I simplified miles of self help literature into this: 

How to get rich, fit, and popular in 6 steps. 

Step 1: Grow up
You can achieve anything, but not everything. 
Anything you set your mind to is possible if you give it time and effort. 
If Elon is building rockets that will go to Mars...
...you can make $10m and get a sixpack. 

Growing up = cutting off the multi-potentiality of childhood. 
A child is gorgeous: He can become anything he wants. Endless potential.
A 30-year-old child is ugly: He still hasn't decided what he wants to be when he grows up. An aging Peter Pan. 

Step 2: Get on The Path
The Path = a Commitment to Excellence & willingness to improve oneself in its pursuit. 
A goal you choose will require excellence in 1 area of life. 
You have to 
--> have rock-solid, unshakeable commitment to that area of life.
--> acknowledge that the growth process will be painful, and welcome the pain
--> be unwilling to stop until you have reached the goal

Step 3: Pick a worthy goal
What's a worthy goal? 
Officially, I'm supposed to say: Whatever you choose. 
In reality: People have far too modest goals. 
"$20k revenue per month"
"buy a house"
I don't know... What about:
"I want to reach the Top Spot in Tennis Rankings"
"I want to become a billionaire"
...? 

The only reason you dream small is because you don't factor in how much you yourself will change and grow as you're pursuing the BIG goal. 

Have bigger goals. 

Step 4: Identify the bottleneck
If you're at $10k/mo - why are you not at $20k. 
Assuming you work 10 hours a day, 6 days a week
(which you are, given Step 2&3)
...what is the biggest thing that blocks you from that next step?
e.g. if you have a 50% show up rate on sales calls and a 10% close rate, you're burning yourself / your closer out. 
The bottleneck is whatever is preventing you from 90% Shows and 20% closes.
Fix that and you 3.5x your revenue. 

Step 5: Pick an asymmetric lever
Something that will give you 80% of the bang for 20% of the buck.
Similar to Step 4, but:
Step 4 is tactical, immediate and ongoing (like whack-a-mole, you do it over and over)
Step 5 is strategic, long-term and doesn't change
e.g. 
--> Learning community building & management
--> Becoming really good at YouTube
--> Mastering paid ads call funnels

One thing, that if you cracked the code of it, opens huge scaling potential.
Find it.

Step 6: Just execute. 
And don't allow any shiny objects to deter you. 
Remind yourself of your mission every day. 
Plan out your recovery times. 
Don't over-stretch yourself. 
10 hour days, 6 days a week is enough
Go to bed on time, eat well, no online dopamine
You make the worst decisions when exhausted & over-carbed
Goal is to execute 6 days a week, rest on Day 7, just like the Almighty.

And that's it. 
If you do that, you'll get rich, fit, and popular. 
No more self-help books needed. 

PS. The more time you spend on mindset stuff, the slower you'll reach your goals. 
So by default...
...avoid it.

What are the biggest giveaways of AI-generated text slop? 

1. "It's not about X, it's about Y"
Ah, the glorious contrast statement.
"You don't have a leadership problem, you have a mindset problem" 
"You're not broken. You're just unfocused."

AI has totally destroyed the contrast statement for me. 
I cannot even use it in day to day speech anymore without feeling like a robot. 
Pity.

2. The em-dash parade — especially when — they appear — in clusters — like this

3. The cavalcade of hedging: "may", "might", "tend to", "often", "in many cases", "depending on the context"
Juuust to avoid offending anyone and trigger the absolutists' wrath. 

Any other come to mind?

Our thesis video converts better than anything else we've ever created.

People book a call. They watch the Thesis video. They get on the call and say "I love that. This is exactly what I believe."

Here's what's in it… 

→ Our philosophy on how client acquisition should be done. 
→ What we believe. 
→ How we think about the problem.

And then... we tell them reasons they should CANCEL the call.
Sounds counterintuitive. 

But it makes them trust us more.

We're not hiding anything. We're not pressuring them. We're being completely transparent about who this is for and who it's NOT for.

That builds massive trust.

Many of our clients struggle to create their own thesis video. They know they should have one. But they don't know what to say. How to structure it. How to be compelling without being salesy.

👉 So we recently started offering to create it for them. 

If you pay upfront for our program... we'll create your thesis video as a bonus.

We'll take that entire burden off your plate.

And people are taking us up on it. Because they see how powerful ours is. And they want the same thing for their business.

Now, you might be wondering WHY a thesis video is so effective. Allow me to break it down for you: 

#1 It pre-frames the conversation. 

By the time they get on the call with us, they already understand our approach. They already agree with it. The call isn't about convincing them. It's about logistics.

#2 It filters out bad fits. 

The people who watch it and think "this isn't for me" don't book a call. Or they cancel. That saves everyone time.

#3 It builds authority. 

We're not just pitching. We're educating. We're sharing our worldview. That positions us as experts, not salespeople.

#4 It creates self-selection. 

The people who resonate with it are much easier to close. Because they already believe what we believe.

If you're doing sales calls and you don't have a thesis video... you're leaving money on the table.

Record one. 

Then send it to prospects before they get on a call with you.

It's one of the highest leverage things you can do.

(Or hire us and let us do it for you as a bonus)

The other day, an employed lawyer gave me advice

...on how to live my life. 

He told me I need to be more relaxed and smell the flowers. 
(yes, a lawyer said that 🤷‍♂️)

The problem?

Well, I don't want his outcomes in life. 
He has to
--> kowtow before his bosses
--> dress super formally every day
--> constantly have a stick up his a$$
--> accept the fact that his salary is capped
--> constantly work on keeping up with the Joneses

I don't want these outcomes. 
I want to
--> dress casually
--> say what I think
--> be my own boss
--> have uncapped earning potential
--> never have to impress anyone other than myself, my wife, my kids, and my clients (of whom there are many, so I don't depend on any one person like an employee would)

So why would I listen to anything he has to say?

Beware of the Pillow People 🛌 who snuff out your dreams. 
Stand guard at the gates of your mind.
Monitor carefully who you allow in.
Otherwise you'll become one of them😱

Daniel closed a $120K deal in his first 30 days using our cold email system.

He was already at about $500K/year. But his deals came in lumps.

We got him set up with cold email. 
Started booking calls immediately.

Now he's booking 5+ interested replies per day. 
Converting a large deal every other month 

What did he do differently?

Honestly? Nothing fancy.

He just started using the system.

That's it.

We built the cold email infrastructure. We ramped up his volume. We started approaching 15,000 people per day on his behalf.

He started getting calls. He took the calls. He closed deals.

Sometimes it really is that simple.

People think there's some secret. Some magic formula they're missing.

No.

You just need volume. You need a system. 

And you need to actually use it.

People want to do everything themselves. They want to control every message. They want to personally craft every email.

Daniel didn't do that.

He said "you guys handle it" and focused on what he's good at... closing deals.

Now he's got a conveyor belt.

Leads coming in. Calls being booked. Deals being closed.

He's not scrambling for referrals. He's not waiting for someone to throw him a bone.

He's got a system that works whether he's having a good month or a bad month.

That's how you get from $500K to $1M+.

You stop looking for gold nuggets in the river and you build a damn dam.

Everyone talks about "killing your inner nice guy."

I never had that problem.

If anything, I have to tame my inner monster.

I've been kicked out of communities for my confrontational takes.

Not because I couldn't keep my opinions to myself.

Because I couldn't restrain my confrontational side.

This might come as a shocker 
...but I'm actually super empathetic.

I'm very concerned about how people think. I want to understand their worldview.

Especially when they're wrong.

Like when someone says 
"Discipline doesn't matter."

Really? You really think that? How can you even think that? How do you live with yourself?

I'm fascinated by people's stupidity. I want to get inside their head and understand how they arrived at such a moronic conclusion.

So I'm empathetic. But I'm also an asshole.

If I think you're virtue signaling or bullshitting people, I'll call you out.

You see me on LinkedIn being confrontational in comments.

I can't help myself sometimes.

Someone posts something stupid and I have to say something.

But I've learned to pull back. To bite my tongue. To not go full monster mode.

"Killing your inner nice guy" was never my problem.

Learning when to shut up is the real challenge.

So if you struggle with being too nice, too agreeable, too conflict-averse?

Kill that inner nice guy. You need to.

You need to learn to challenge people. To push back. To not just nod along.

But if you're like me?

Learn to tame the monster.

Because being too confrontational has its own costs.

Getting kicked out of communities. Burning bridges. Picking fights you don't need to pick.

The goal isn't to be nice.

The goal is to be strategic.

Say what needs to be said. Challenge stupid ideas. 

But don't let your ego run the show.

Still working on it.

LinkedIn should create an "AI Slop" reaction. 

Someone comments on your post "absolutely true—it's all about refining your approach and putting in the effort."
...you give him a little AI robot reaction. 

Gradually, as someone collects these reactions
 - because they're either a total robot, or just too lazy to write anything human - 
----> all of their content gets more and more shadowbanned. 
Even the non-sloppy type. 

Nothing will de-sloppify LinkedIn better

Should LinkedIn create an AI Slop Reaction button?

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The Battle

Richard Russell

Michal Bohanes

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taplio

The Battle

Richard Russell

Michal Bohanes

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Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Richard Russell's LinkedIn Performance

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