The critical shift in what differentiates great leaders

The critical shift in what differentiates great leaders
5 minutes by Yue Zhao

AI now matches or beats human experts at processing information and finding patterns. This shifts what makes leaders valuable. The real edge now comes from three areas AI cannot replicate: creative thinking, genuine human connection, and ethical judgment. Building these skills means paying attention to emotions, following curiosity, and learning to trust your instincts.

Live search engine data. One Simple API.
sponsored by SerpApi

SerpApi gives your apps and AI agents reliable access to Google, Maps, Shopping, reviews, and more through one simple API. Get clean, structured JSON without managing scrapers, proxies, or CAPTCHA solving. Built for developers who need scalable, production-ready search data.

I stopped needing to spend three hours a day finding things out
7 minutes by Rafe Hatfield

Engineering leaders waste hours every day just gathering information before they can do any real work. Rafe built a personal AI tool that pulls together data from GitHub, Jira, Slack, and meeting notes, so preparation happens automatically. This freed up time for actual coaching, pattern recognition, and strategic thinking. He advises to build your own version targeting your specific weak spots, not copy someone else's setup.

Racing to the bottom
10 minutes by Roger Martin

Real low cost strategies require bold, unique choices that competitors don't make, like Vanguard dropping fund managers entirely or IKEA selling furniture unassembled. Simply cutting waste or outsourcing work isn't a true cost strategy because everyone else does the same, which leads to races to the bottom. To win on cost, remove whole cost categories rather than trimming each line item, and accept that your approach won't appeal to every customer.

On being bossy
9 minutes by Caroline Lau

Caroline argues that being called “bossy” is not a flaw but a skill. Through experiences from school, engineering, and startups, she shows that success depends on context, strategy, and allies. “Bossy” becomes effective when adapted to the room and supported by others. The lesson: don’t suppress the instinct to improve things—learn how to use it well.

Running a technical due diligence
18 minutes by Sergio Visinoni

Technical due diligence has clear stages. Start by sending the target company an initial request list covering their tech stack, team setup, processes, metrics, security, costs, and future plans. Then dig into what comes back, ask follow-up questions, and run deep dive sessions on problem areas. Finally, write up your findings with a clear recommendation, a detailed analysis, and a rough integration plan.

And the most popular article from the last issue was:

• Why isn't everything different yet?