The AOA Leadership Newsletter Hi Reader, When I was working as a VC, I found myself in the midst of a fundraising process that I wasn't particularly enjoying. It felt mechanical and draining - a necessary evil rather than something meaningful. So I thought, “Okay, how do I really enjoy this process?” And I asked myself, “What are the things that I enjoy? I wrote down: I enjoy learning. I enjoy going deep with people. I enjoy strategy. Then, I also realized that everybody I was fundraising...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
The AOA Leadership Newsletter Hi Reader, One day, while sifting through our company emails, I noticed a pattern — there was an endless amount of faffing going on. You know the kind: One person would float an idea, someone else would chime in with an enthusiastic "Oh, good idea!" A third would add their thoughts, and the thread would grow longer. But beneath all this apparent engagement, nobody was actually committing to anything. Ideas hung in the air, and no one was moving things forward....
2 months ago • 2 min read
Note: Today is the last day to register for my Q&A tomorrow at 8:30AM PT, where I'll be answering questions about The Council. → Reserve Your Seat The AOA Leadership Newsletter Hi Reader, In 2018, Tara and I created the Earth Shakers Forum: 36 people across 3 groups with 6 facilitators. It was a long program, spanning 18 months and ending in January 2020, but it wasn’t a particularly heavy time commitment. Members would meet 1:1 every week, and then groups would gather in-person for quarterly...
3 months ago • 2 min read
The AOA Leadership Newsletter Hi Reader, Welcome back to our leadership newsletter! A reminder before we dive in: I'm hosting a complimentary Q&A next week on Tuesday, January 28 at 8:30AM for The Council, our new leadership forum. Reserve your seat here. The Misaligned CEO A few years ago, I was coaching a young CEO who was having a hard time getting alignment in his team. Despite his best efforts, his team kept saying they would do stuff, and then not doing it. So one day, I went into his...
3 months ago • 2 min read
The AOA Leadership Newsletter Hi Reader, Welcome to our leadership newsletter! You're now part of a select group receiving some of our most potent insights on leadership and running teams. Let’s dive into our first lesson. What Baboons Teach Us About Leadership A few years ago, I came across a fascinating study. Researchers in Kenya fitted 25 members of a wild baboon troop with GPS collars, tracking their every movement for 14 days. Every morning, the troop needed to decide — where are we...
3 months ago • 2 min read
