All Things — Every link, sorted by what it’s about.
Work & Leadership
Leadership, teams and better ways of working.
When "Nice" Becomes a Company's Biggest Liability
HBR on how comfort-first cultures quietly trade candor for harmony, and why that trade rarely pays off.
Why Is Everyone in Tech So Sad?
Noema traces the industry's quiet emotional recession: layoffs, AI anxiety, and a mission-driven self-image in freefall.
How to ensure your company acts on your new strategy
HBR on the unglamorous work of actually making a company act on the strategy it just agreed on.
Finding Your New Strategic Center
Companies that commit to one clear organizing principle gain speed and coherence while rivals drown in strategic drift.
Design Leadership in a Hyperscaler
Our Delivered series asks what it means to lead a design team in the AI era, through hyperscale—while keeping your sanity?
The best project managers are servant leaders
Listen to our conversation with Yann Thézénas, Senior Digital Projects Expert at FIBA, to learn why being a great project manager in 2026 has nothing to do with your tools or your framework, and everything to do with how you make people feel.
Post-Mortem for the Creative Agency
Madison Utendahl pulls back the curtain on why she closed her firm and why the traditional agency model is officially breaking.
Zeest Delivered
Closing the loop on this week’s themes with a look at how to step into creative leadership without becoming the “corporate manager” you never wanted to be.
We're hiring!
Interested in joining the court? We're looking for a consultative Business Development Manager to help us shape the future of brand and design in the Benelux market.
The rise of the creative generalist
As AI specialists multiply, broad thinkers gain value. The future belongs to creatives who can connect dots, not just optimise them.
What’s the Future of PMs?
A sharp warning: Trendy AI tools and “vibe-coding” don’t replace judgment. Product leadership still lives in clarity, decision-making, and understanding real problems.
What Actually Makes You Senior
It’s not mastery of tools. It’s the ability to turn ambiguity into something others can act on.
The Planning Paradox
Plans age badly. Planning doesn’t. A useful reminder that momentum comes from the act, not the artifact.
Why Creative Work Needs Structure to Thrive
A reminder that great ideas don’t bloom in chaos; they grow in the quiet, consistent rhythm that gives imagination somewhere to land. This is something that really resonates with us ;)
Why Is Quality So Rare?
Linear unpacks why speed and scale have overtaken care and craft and why choosing quality is becoming an increasingly radical act.
The S-Curve Is Coming for You
Concept Bureau breaks down what happens after the early hype fades, and why the messy middle of innovation is where the real shape of things takes form.
Stripe on Scaling Well
A beautifully designed essay from Stripe Press on what it really means to scale. from code to company to mindset.
stripe.pressEssayZEST: A Cheat Sheet for Design Leaders
Your Majesty Design Director Joost Huver shares his framework to help designers level up their thinking and leadership. A must-read for all design leaders.
AI Won’t Save Your Gym. Leadership Will.
In this Delivered podcast, listen to our conversation with Jon Brady, a global leader in the fitness industry, to explore how to position your business for success.
How Fitness Tech Is Redefining Leadership
Register now for the next Delivered episode, where we will be speaking to Jon Brady. A global leader in the fitness industry, to explore what’s ahead in AI-powered fitness.
How to make your writing crisp?
Here is a framework for using templates and LLM prompts to sharpen your business writing. Practical, simple, effective.
Minimum Viable Testing (MVT)
A guide to the MVT process for startups, offering a structured way to validate ideas before scaling, something we’ve also been experimenting with.
Are We Lying to Young People?
An unflinching look at the overly-optimistic advice we give younger generations and the need for a more honest, nuanced narrative.
maalvika.substack.comEssayThe Conflict-Intelligent Leader
As civil strife grows around the world, clashes are on the rise in the workplace too. Incivility on the job is getting worse, and each day it costs companies billions in lost productivity and absenteeism. To navigate the discord, today’s business leaders need to develop conflict intelligence.
hbr.orgLeadershipCreatives: 11 Ways To Impress Employers In The Age Of AI
AI hasn’t yet replaced the need for human oversight, and there are still plenty of reasons why it would benefit a company to keep creative experts on their teams.
Let’s stop calling them ‘soft skills.’ They’re the hardest ones to master.
Why soft skills are important for leadership success and why we need to reframe the importance of them in the workplace.
fastcompany.comLeadershipWhen Over-Collaboration Leads to Indecision
Building consensus is a good thing—until it stalls decision-making.
hbr.orgLeadershipFinding Focus as the World Burns: A Leader’s Guide to Workplace Distraction
Slack pings. Breaking news. Mental clutter. Here’s how to fight back.
What People Get Wrong About Psychological Safety
Psychological safety is often misunderstood, leading to confusion and poor team dynamics. This article debunks six common myths—like equating it with being nice or job security—and offers practical ways to address them.
hbr.orgLeadershipThe rise of Async Work
In this podcast, Joe Thomas, cofounder and head of product at Loom Atlassian discusses how asynchronous work is a beneficial collaboration approach to modern work.
The shame of LinkedIn
A jobs board + social media + personal updates, LinkedIn often feels so cringe. But is it possible to post there without being cringe yourself? Experts give their point of view.
How to Lead When the Future Feels Unpredictable
The protracted uncertainty that comes with living in liminal times can cause leaders and employees alike to feel unsettled or anxious, but the authors of this article remind us that we have more agency during these times than we might realize.
hbr.orgLeadershipWhat do young creatives want from their leaders?
Creative Review ask those establishing themselves in the ad and design industry what leaders are getting right, where there are gaps, and what their focus should be.
creativereview.co.ukLeadershipWhy “founder mode” is a rebranding for micromanaging, top-down leaders
How some leaders, under the guise of being visionary founders, exert excessive control over decisions and daily operations.
Gen-Z Entrepreneurs Are Redefining The Art Of Pitching Their Startups
Invaluable insights on authenticity and crafting a pitch that aligns with your brand while leveraging your strengths.
essence.comLeadershipBuilding Psychological Attachment — Not Just Ownership — Into Web3
User interest in crypto projects is often transactional and short-lived, how can those building in crypto and Web3 consider the concept of psychological ownership.
Just Show Up
“Showing up. Showing up with your whole self, showing up with your values and beliefs, showing up with what makes you unique, but above all — showing up with consistency” .
Why rituals, not habits, make you more productive
“Rituals animate us, enchanting our lives with something more” – they can really make or break your day and you might not even know you’re doing it.
fastcompany.comProductivityThe Art of Asking Smarter Questions
Five types of questions leaders need to ask when making strategic decisions; investigative, speculative, productive, interpretive, and subjective.
hbr.orgLeadershipGen Z is entering the C-suite and getting rid of meetings, set work hours and more
How Gen Zers are putting their mark on career advice, office culture and creating a work environment that feels open and comfortable.
cnbc.comLeadershipDoes Your Boss Practice Toxic Positivity?
Bringing ‘positive vibes’ to the office isn’t going to solve business problems – and your boss shouldn’t think so either.
hbr.orgLeadershipI deleted Gmail and Slack from my phone
This entrepreneur wanted to do better as a parent and in doing so, also found it helped her work too.
businessinsider.comProductivityThe luckiest generation?
Gen X had the ’92 recession. Millennials had the 2008 crisis. But now, Gen Z might just have it made, according to a report from the Economic Policy Institute.
fastcompany.comEssayMore Than Goat Yoga: HR’s Guide To Employee Wellness Programs
What do they involve, cost and can these programs benefit your team?
peoplemanagingpeople.comWellbeingWhen Meaningful Work Backfires
Research shows that a meaningful purpose can protect against burnout, but over-engagement in work increases the risk, especially in "helping" professions.
time.comWellbeingHow do I apologise at work?
Three very handy tips for managing apologies at work. The first step? Just own up to your mistake.
fastcompany.comLeadershipHow a nonlinear workday might help you get more done
Aligning your day to your energy levels can enable you to be both more flexible and productive.
fastcompany.comProductivityBrainstorm Questions Not Ideas
Despite its popularity and apparent collaborative approach, research has shown group brainstorming to be a waste of time - here’s what to do instead.
Cost-driven strategies will no longer cut it
In anticipation of market headwinds, cost-driven strategies (such as mass layoffs) have prevailed in the last quarter of 2023. This sets the stage for a market filled with talent and entrepreneurs, poised to make their next move. Similar to 2008, 2024 could mark the beginning of a new class of innovators introducing fresh—more culturally relevant—solutions to the market. Post layoffs, corporations will need to seriously consider the balance of cost-reduction and value-creation strategies to avoid slimming down to obsolescence. For instance, the adoption of AI is often associated with increased efficiency—and therefore reduced cost. Winning businesses in 2024 will channel those saved budgets towards creating new values for their customers rather than mere optimization of their balance sheet.
What OpenAI’s tumult can teach us about employee loyalty
After the recent leadership chaos, one investor explores an essential factor she considers when taking risks on companies–employee loyalty, and where does it lie?
The Origins of Office Speak
An oldie but a goodie - what does your office buzzword language say about you?
theatlantic.comEssayWork has changed. New research tells us why and what we might do about it
There’s no going back to the office of 2019, it’s gone. We must find new ways to collaborate and communicate–adaptability is essential in today’s modern workplace.
The five stages of an effective brainstorm
If you are a Figma lover like us then you’ll know about the fun and productivity that can be had with Figjam. If not, then you’re in the right place.
POV: It’s time we dress for success again. Here’s how
Alongside the influx of work-from-home, came the influx of work-from-sweatpants, have we forgotten how to dress well to stimulate our own feelings of empowerment and drive for success?
Why You Need an Untouchable Day Every Week
Learn how one creative improved his productivity 10 fold. And the good news? You can do it too.
Remote And Hybrid Workplaces Are Hiring People Twice As Fast As Full-Time Office Employers
We pride ourselves on a hybrid model, so we’re not shocked - giving people flexibility is definitely the future of successful business.
‘Time is money’: Shopify calculator shows how much unnecessary meetings really cost the company
Meeting creep is real and Shopify is pushing back to help their employees get more done and save time and money.
Brainstorm Questions Not Ideas
Despite its popularity and apparent collaborative approach, research has shown group brainstorming to be a waste of time - here’s what to do instead.
Four ways leaders can better support Muslims observing Ramadan
Supporting Muslim employees during Ramadan is essential to foster an inclusive workplace and promote employees' well-being and productivity.
Gen Z job seekers are rattling older managers by asking about work-life balance in the first interview
And rightly so - what do you think?
businessinsider.comNewsSVB Collapse Simply Explained
The collapse of the startup-focused bank has caused total disruption in the US tech and innovation economy. But how did it all happen?!
linkedin.comNewsHow a nonlinear workday might help you get more done
Aligning your day to your energy levels can enable you to be both more flexible and productive.
