Hi Reader As the year gets underway, the gap between intention and execution starts to show. Tools are in place, plans are written and the pressure shifts from deciding what to do to making things work in practice. I hope that you're all busy, thriving and ready to turn ideas into reality in 2026. The insights below reflect how that shift plays out across work, technology and decision-making. Enjoy! The pressure points founders will hit next A16Z’s Big Ideas 2026 series is useful because it...
9 days ago • 5 min read
Hi Reader Welcome to the first Growth Mindset of 2026. The start of the year often brings a sharper focus on how work, technology and organisations are operating. The insights below look at hiring, dealmaking, writing, security and everyday systems through that lens, using specific examples rather than broad claims. Each stands on its own, but together they reflect the kinds of practical questions leaders, founders and teams are dealing with right now. Enjoy! Who trains the next generation...
16 days ago • 5 min read
Hi Reader This is one of those rare weeks where the work calendar loosens its grip. The inbox is quieter, the pressure lifts and there’s room to read simply because something is interesting rather than urgent. I’ve pulled together this edition with that pause in mind – thoughtful pieces that reward a slower read, offer perspective rather than prescriptions and feel well suited to the space between one year ending and another beginning. Enjoy! Why UK boards may be mispricing non-executive...
23 days ago • 5 min read
Hi Reader There’s a growing temptation to believe that scale is now mostly a tooling problem – more automation, more agents, more optimisation. But scratch beneath the surface and many of the constraints remain the same: clarity, trust, incentives, timing. What changes is the speed at which good and bad decisions now compound. This week’s reading offers a few useful reminders about where judgement still sits, even as the systems around it evolve. Enjoy! Here’s why you shouldn’t delegate...
about 1 month ago • 5 min read
Hi Reader Every so often, a run of ideas lands that makes you rethink things you thought you understood. This week delivered a handful of those: about how brands grow, why acquisitions falter, what keeps users loyal and how quickly AI might reshape whole sectors. Let’s dive in. Enjoy! The surprising truth about how tiny brands grow The Ehrenberg-Bass Institute just published a five-year study on “tiny brands” (those under 1 per cent share), and it punctures one of marketing’s most cherished...
about 1 month ago • 4 min read
Hi Reader Read time: 4 mins My calendar says the year is winding down; my workload strongly disagrees. If you’re also juggling strategy decks, budget conversations and the occasional festive distraction, here’s a set of ideas worthy of your time: clever research, big trend drops, pitch craft and a reminder that AI’s reality still hasn’t caught up with its mythology. Enjoy! The most interesting list you’ll read this year Every December, creative technologist Tom Whitwell drops his annual list...
about 1 month ago • 5 min read
Hi Reader Read time: 4 mins As we slide into the month of parties, catch-ups and questionable office prosecco, I know plenty of you are still head-down making sure the business finishes the year in the shape you want. Same here. So before December turns into a blur, here are a few stories that will either make you smile, sharpen your thinking or give you something useful to take into 2026. Enjoy! Why baby steps are the way forward for AI prompts Researchers just pulled off something that...
about 2 months ago • 5 min read
Hi Reader Read time: 4.5 mins Compiling this newsletter is one of the most enjoyable things I do each week, not least because it lets me wander through wildly different sectors to figure out what’s changing – and why. Private equity is rethinking its entire playbook, AI adoption is sprinting ahead of the processes meant to contain it and even customer service now comes with hidden incentives no smart leader would design on purpose. The fun part is seeing they’re all symptoms of the same...
about 2 months ago • 6 min read
Hi Reader Read time: 4.5 mins Welcome to this week’s edition of Growth Mindset. What keeps surfacing for me lately isn’t a single theme, but a pattern: people quietly rebelling against the default settings of their industry. Whether it’s how we create, communicate, lead or prepare for an exit, more of the interesting work now comes from those willing to rethink the obvious. This week’s stories sit firmly in that space. Enjoy! Your business has value. Here’s how to unlock it. I’m running a...
2 months ago • 6 min read