Labs
Writing, experiments, half-finished things.
Four streams open right now — the strategy notebook, the marketing post-mortem, the open AI notebook, and work in progress, left visible. Occasional cadence. Built to hold range, including whatever else gets worked out in writing.
Streams
Marketing Stories
Short pieces on what marketing actually does, from the inside.
9 posts
Random AI Questions
An open notebook. Questions worth asking when nobody has the answer yet.
1 post
Sandbox
Work in progress, left visible. Experiments and shorter pieces that don't fit the other streams.
10 posts
The Strategy Addict
Strategy in plain language — what to think about and what to ignore.
12 posts
Latest
Cracking the College Sports NIL Fiduciary Code of Conduct
College sports has plenty of NIL rules and no shared code. The missing piece is a fiduciary standard.
By Shane Snively
The quiet part
A short note on what marketing is allowed to admit out loud, and what it usually keeps to itself.
Cracking Your Calling Code
A framework for rewriting your Job Code into your Calling Code. Work through the Stages with the people who really know you.
By Shane Snively
Strategy is the thing you do on purpose
Strategy isn't a deck. It's the set of choices you'd defend if asked, and the ones you'd quietly walk back if pressed.
TikTok Growth Strategy Case Study: Daily Posting vs Topical Content
Four weeks, two TikTok accounts, two strategies: daily posting versus topical content, with real numbers.
By Wayland Branson
What Working on Podcasts Taught Me About Content Marketing
A marketing student's theory of content marketing, rewritten by a season of actually working on podcasts.
By Wayland Branson
Write Anyway
Writing is hard — for everyone. A reminder that you're not broken, and yes, you can write, even when life gets in the way.
By Caroline Ailanthus
A Man’s Search For Meaning: Be Positive
Reading Frankl at 21: purpose, mindset, and what “be positive” actually has to carry.
By Mason Kasimov
In Praise of Play
Holidays, chores, and the case for letting work be play — written on a July 4th full of both.
By Caroline Ailanthus
Don't Skip the Good Part
AI is being sold as a way to save labor. Some labor is the good part — don't skip it.
By Caroline Ailanthus
Zero-Cost Marketing
What editing Eric's article on content-marketing ROI revealed about marketing that costs nothing but time.
By Caroline Ailanthus
Practicing Accuracy
There are lots of ways to be inaccurate without lying. A plug for accuracy in your content.
By Caroline Ailanthus
Why Squirrels Don't Stage Coordinated Attacks on Humans (Yet)
Why don't squirrels stage coordinated attacks on humans? We asked AI. The answer is surprisingly thoughtful.
By Eric Kasimov
The Man Who Came Back—Guess Who?
The 1985 firing and the 1997 return of Steve Jobs, told as a story about what comebacks actually require.
By Shane Snively
Just Create Something
Business is hard. Here's the antidote: create something, even if it's terrible. Especially then.
By Eric Kasimov
Reset Your Mind Like a Maltipoo
Our dog Clyde can't talk himself down once he's locked in. Neither can we. Sit, reset, go.
By Eric Kasimov
Graduation Season Reimagined
The internet made every commencement speech a click away. So maybe the ceremony can finally be about the students.
By Eric Kasimov
Weathering the Storm of Decision Making with 'The Art of Clear Thinking'
Eisenhower delayed D-Day on one forecaster's word. Most of our decisions aren't that dramatic — a lesson from Hasard Lee's book.
By Eric Kasimov
Scared of AI? Read This
People claim AI is inaccurate and therefore dangerous. But when was the last time you received advice from a human?
By Eric Kasimov
The Strategy Addict | A Day in the Life
The roles a strategist plays in a single day, counted honestly.
By Shane Snively
The Strategy Addict | Take a Look In The Rear-View Mirror
Looking in the rear-view mirror without driving into a ditch — what the past is for when you're planning.
By Shane Snively
That Entrepreneurial Mindset, You Know You Have It
Security personnel escorted me to my desk to collect my things. That's what a 'stable' job can look like — and why I bet on myself instead.
By Eric Kasimov
The Artificial Why
When your real why is genuine but far away, you can build one closer to home. On motivation, grad school, and a professor named Charles.
By Caroline Ailanthus
I Had to Break the Box
People want to put you and your work in a box — it makes you easier to understand. Turns out I was the one doing the boxing.
By Eric Kasimov
The Strategy Addict | Sharing Add-In
A follow-up to “Sharing = More,” answering the readers who asked where to start.
By Shane Snively
Plant That Tree
The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now — in the yard and in business.
By Eric Kasimov
The Strategy Addict | Sharing = More
Sharing as a value system: how giving away what you know builds the reputation that builds the business.
By Shane Snively
The Strategy Addict | Don't Fake It
Against “fake it till you make it” — why declaring yourself something you're not is a tactic worth flipping.
By Shane Snively
Mindy Ladd's Never Give Up Story!
A double lung transplant, a hospital that said no, and a sister who didn't listen.
By Shane Snively
Business Discernment: Backing out of a deal
Sweaty hands at the closing table: how to know when walking away from a deal is the right call.
By Shane Snively
Protecting Company Foundations
Why covered bridges lasted centuries, and what that says about protecting the foundations of a company.
By Shane Snively
What I Learned by Watching Bob Villa?
Business lessons from a childhood of watching Bob Villa renovate old houses — foundations, craftsmanship, and finishing what you start.
By Shane Snively