Thinking

Ideas I can't stop poking at.

Essays on leadership, brand, psychology, and AI. Some will be useful. Some will just be fun. A few will age badly. That's the deal.

Tracy Smith pointing at a glowing lightbulb

Latest

What a CMO Actually DoesNobody knows what a CMO does. Including, some days, the CMO.

LeadershipOct 31, 20265 min read

Featured

Slow is not a quality setting. Just ask my werewolf.Speed, effort, and time spent have nothing to do with the quality of the output.
CraftOct 29, 20264 min read
AI adoption is a people problem, not a software problem.The tool is ready. The people were never asked how they felt about it.
AI and teamsOct 29, 20264 min read
Your brand is a character. Write it like one.People follow characters. They follow someone with a point of view, a voice, a flaw, and a reason to show up again tomorrow.
Brand and storyOct 29, 20264 min read

All essays

What a CMO Actually DoesNobody knows what a CMO does. Including, some days, the CMO.
LeadershipOct 31, 20265 min read
Principle 04: I make the new way the easy way.You can try to convince people to use AI. Or you can make AI the path of least resistance and let human nature do the rest.
LeadershipOct 29, 20263 min read
Principle 03: Psychology first, tactics second.Every brand, team, and customer decision is a decision about people.
LeadershipOct 29, 20263 min read
Principle 02: People don't resist change. They resist extra work.I lead AI adoption by removing friction, not by sending memos.
LeadershipOct 29, 20263 min read
Principle 01: Headcount is not a strategy.Small teams win when they stop acting small. Clarity, speed, and taste are the strategy.
LeadershipOct 29, 20263 min read
Slow is not a quality setting. Just ask my werewolf.Speed, effort, and time spent have nothing to do with the quality of the output.
CraftOct 29, 20264 min read
Refusing AI is not a virtue. It's just slower.That is the whole AI creativity debate, and I am done pretending it is complicated.
CraftOct 29, 20264 min read
AI adoption is a people problem, not a software problem.The tool is ready. The people were never asked how they felt about it.
AI and teamsOct 29, 20264 min read
The meeting that should have been a prompt.Six smart people. One whiteboard. Sixty minutes spent producing a first draft that a language model would have produced in thirty seconds.
AI and teamsOct 29, 20264 min read
Your brand is a character. Write it like one.People follow characters. They follow someone with a point of view, a voice, a flaw, and a reason to show up again tomorrow.
Brand and storyOct 29, 20264 min read

Series

Principles

How I lead. Tactics come later.

01Headcount is not a strategy.
02People don't resist change. They resist extra work.
03Psychology first, tactics second.
04I make the new way the easy way.

Read the series