World’s Best Newsletter*
Fired up about modern management?
Us too. We don’t need to burn it all down. But we do need to build something better.
*no but actually
Build Something Better.
This is our free, biweekly newsletter about management, leadership, and ridding the world of Sunday Scaries. For good.
Get down off the table, my guy
February 18, 2026
Is this just another hype cycle you can ignore until it dies off? Maybe. But our sense is that this one’s gonna be different.
You are not a machine that receives tasks
September 17, 2025
Folks who study meaning at work have three buckets. We love a good three-bucket framework. Let’s go.
Busy is not a personality
June 25, 2025
What would you do if you had a week to just clear out backlog?
Bring your slop to work day
May 28, 2025
It’s definitely giving some low-key asbestos vibes.
Browse the archive
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Get down off the table, my guy
February 18, 2026
Is this just another hype cycle you can ignore until it dies off? Maybe. But our sense is that this one’s gonna be different.
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You are not entirely powerless
February 4, 2026
How do you check power that’s not-presently-checked?
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At best an imposter, at worst a fraud
January 21, 2026
We need to acknowledge that the fake-it-and-hope-no-one-notices approach to management is having a real moment right now.
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Somebody has to do it
January 7, 2026
We hear this from individual contributors, and we hear it from team leads and line managers, and we hear it from Directors and VPs, too.
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The thing that feels better than I told you so
December 10, 2025
Even as we’re setting up something ambitious, we can often spot the things lurking in the shadows that are going to get in the way.
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All hat, no cattle
November 26, 2025
If your org is on your seventh layoff or Lord-have-mercy, your 82nd re-org, we suggest that it’s time to take a hard look at your underlying planning issues.
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With love in our hearts for your eventual revolution
November 12, 2025
If we want work to be better, we need possibility, not futility.
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Don’t let the Doerr hit you on the way out
October 29, 2025
The real test for an org is not whether you ever bet wrong. The question is, when the results start to come in, what do you do now?
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The price of admission
October 15, 2025
It’s hard to push decision-making to the edges if we’re not sure how the edges are making decisions.
World’s Best Newsletter
The Nightingales in your inbox. Every other Wednesday.