The hottest Leadership Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top World Politics Topics

Making Oxford Nanopore Profitable?

ASeq Newsletter • 21 implied HN points • 15 Dec 25
💼 Business Leadership
  1. A new CEO is expected to make the company profitable by 2027.
  2. Recent financials show losses haven’t meaningfully decreased and 2025 appears worse, so progress toward profitability is limited.
  3. Headcount has been rising, which suggests costs aren’t being cut and makes the profitability goal harder to achieve.

Unintended Consequences

Fish Food for Thought • 20 implied HN points • 17 Dec 25
🕹 Technology Leadership
  1. Unintended consequences are inevitable; well-meaning fixes can create worse problems or surprising new opportunities, so assume surprises will happen.
  2. Chasing metrics without context makes products drift from their purpose, because optimizing numbers can reward harmful or shallow behaviors; always measure real human outcomes and watch for distortions.
  3. Treat every launch as the start of learning: test for misuse, listen to real users, and build a culture that adapts quickly instead of blaming mistakes.

Lessons in Excellence from the Tuskegee Airmen

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 816 implied HN points • 21 Feb 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Leadership
  1. The Tuskegee Airmen were groundbreaking African American military pilots who excelled in their roles despite facing discrimination. They proved their capabilities and earned numerous honors.
  2. Brigadier General Charles McGee, one of the Tuskegee Airmen, exemplified resilience, excellence, and selflessness throughout his military career, becoming an inspirational figure.
  3. The Tuskegee Airmen's story reflects the importance of unity, hard work, and shared values in overcoming challenges. Their achievements emphasize the significance of traditional values and meritocracy.

Your complete guide to board rooms

Kyle Poyar’s Growth Unhinged • 276 implied HN points • 05 Feb 25
💼 Business Leadership
  1. Know who's in the room during board meetings. The CEO, CFO, and tech leaders each have specific roles and responsibilities that are crucial for a productive discussion.
  2. Keep your board meetings under 3.5 hours. Long meetings can tire everyone out, so aim for a focused agenda that encourages valuable input from all members.
  3. Send out materials for the meeting 48 to 72 hours in advance. This allows everyone to prepare without being overwhelmed, and it helps keep the meeting on track.
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TBM 205: "Process" vs. Systems & Habits

The Beautiful Mess • 1613 implied HN points • 12 Mar 23
💼 Business Leadership
  1. Team A focuses on rushed, performative annual processes, while Team B prioritizes continuous improvement and thoughtful feedback.
  2. Team A's lack of customer-centricity and reactive approach leads to institutionalized mediocrity, while Team B's positive habits and systems drive effectiveness.
  3. Breaking the loop of reactive processes and establishing human-centric systems and valuable habits is crucial for better ways of working in organizations.

The Most Important Job of a Leader

Timeless & Timely • 216 implied HN points • 15 Feb 23
💼 Business Leadership
  1. Effective communication requires effort and intentionality.
  2. Clearly communicate the vision to guide the organization.
  3. Key elements for great communication include engagement, consistency, simplicity, active listening, storytelling, and aligning words with actions.

When Creatives Quit

The Intersection • 217 implied HN points • 27 Aug 23
💼 Business Leadership
  1. Quitting can be a complex decision, especially for creatives tied to visas or seeking new challenges.
  2. As managers, it's important to listen and not react immediately when creatives want to quit.
  3. Offering value beyond monetary incentives, nurturing like flowers, and accepting when it's time to let creatives go are key to managing a creative team.

Expensive Shelfware

Perspective Agents • 6 implied HN points • 25 Jan 26
💼 Business Leadership
  1. AI itself is incredibly powerful, but many companies see little value because they haven't invested enough in people, workflows, and everyday use.
  2. Big enterprise buys and long roadmaps often leave AI as expensive shelfware, while starting small and embedding AI into real team workflows drives adoption and impact.
  3. Real returns come from investing in a 'Human OS'—systems, habits, coaching, clear outcomes, exec sponsorship, and relentless testing—or else AI sits idle and becomes a competitive drag.

The Case for Being a Hyper-Responsive Leader

America 2.0 (by Gary Sheng) • 216 implied HN points • 07 Jun 23
💼 Business Leadership
  1. Responsiveness is crucial for successful leadership in various fields like product development, community building, and politics.
  2. Being hyper-responsive fosters trust, builds brand loyalty, and enhances products or services.
  3. Maintaining a high level of responsiveness can differentiate you, attract allies, and lead to collaborations and growth.

Seeking truth from facts: China's stonewalling on Qin Gang's dismissal as FM has damaged its image as a responsible world power

Wang Xiangwei's Thought of the Day on China • 216 implied HN points • 31 Jul 23
🌍 World Politics Leadership
  1. China's lack of transparency on Qin Gang's dismissal has harmed its reputation as a global power.
  2. The speculation and secrecy surrounding Qin's removal indicate potential weaknesses in China's political system.
  3. The decision to replace Qin with Wang is seen as a move to ensure stability in China's foreign policies.

THB 2025 Predictions

The Honest Broker Newsletter • 304 implied HN points • 31 Dec 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Leadership
  1. The post raises ten questions about what might happen in 2025, covering various topics like politics and sports. It's a fun way to think about the future and invite readers to share their predictions.
  2. One question asks which leaders from the G7 countries will still be in power next year. This suggests interest in global politics and leadership stability.
  3. The author encourages readers to comment with their thoughts and predictions. The best predictions can win a lifetime subscription, making it interactive and engaging.

the bravest thing you can do this 4th of july

Both Are True • 114 implied HN points • 04 Jul 25
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Leadership
  1. Real leadership is about helping others achieve their dreams, even if it means letting them go. Supporting your team in their bold ventures can lead to amazing opportunities.
  2. Taking risks can lead to personal freedom and growth. Sometimes, making a brave choice means stepping away from comfort and embracing uncertainty.
  3. Being part of a supportive community can help you improve and find inspiration. Surrounding yourself with creative people encourages productivity and personal expression.

575-page DOJ report on Uvalde is a roadmap to make every school safer

School Shooting Data Analysis and Reports • 119 implied HN points • 19 Jan 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Leadership
  1. The 575-page DOJ report on Uvalde provides a roadmap for improving school safety by highlighting systemic failures and offering recommendations that need to be accessible to busy school administrators.
  2. The report emphasizes failures in public safety during a school shooting, including issues like communication breakdowns, lack of training, and poor incident management.
  3. Top recommendations from the DOJ report include active shooter training for police, establishing onsite incident commanders, and ensuring emergency radios are interoperable, pointing to systemic failures that need urgent attention.

Thank You for 100k: A Journey Through 2024 and Beyond

SeattleDataGuy’s Newsletter • 294 implied HN points • 31 Dec 24
💼 Business Leadership
  1. In 2024, I gained over 100,000 subscribers on both YouTube and Substack. I really appreciate the support and plan to create even better content next year.
  2. This year showed trends like cloud data migrations and smaller, fractional data teams, which are changing how companies handle data. It's important to keep an eye on these shifts in the data world.
  3. Looking ahead to 2025, I want to finish my book on data leadership and offer more webinars and mini-courses. I'm excited to engage even more with my readers and build a community.

Russia's Tragic Troika

Diane Francis • 719 implied HN points • 01 Sep 22
🌍 World Politics Leadership
  1. Mikhail Gorbachev tried to improve Russia by ending the Cold War and allowing more freedom, but his changes led to chaos and the fall of the Soviet Union. Many in the West praise him, while people in Russia hold a different view.
  2. Boris Yeltsin, who followed Gorbachev, struggled with corruption and poor leadership, which made life tough for Russians. He gave power to Vladimir Putin, who eventually took control and changed the country into a more authoritarian regime.
  3. The three leaders—Gorbachev, Yeltsin, and Putin—represent different challenges for Russia. Instead of working for the people, their actions often hurt the nation and fueled ongoing problems both at home and abroad.

Sonder’s Sudden Collapse: What Went Wrong?

Gad’s Newsletter • 29 implied HN points • 24 Nov 25
💼 Business Leadership
  1. Sonder expanded too quickly without a solid plan. They treated their hospitality business like a tech startup, which led to high costs and financial problems.
  2. Sonder struggled to make money because their fixed costs were too high. Even when occupancy rates were good, they still lost money due to ongoing expenses that kept piling up.
  3. Partnerships can fail if companies are not aligned. Sonder's deal with Marriott seemed good, but their different customer expectations and technology issues hurt both businesses.

Managing Careers.

The Future Does Not Fit In The Containers Of The Past • 87 implied HN points • 03 Aug 25
💼 Business Leadership
  1. Plan your career for the long term, thinking ahead 50 years. This way, you can focus on growth and avoid making hasty decisions based on short-term situations.
  2. Having a job is not the same as having meaningful work. The future will likely offer more ways to find fulfilling work beyond just traditional jobs.
  3. The people you work with are crucial to your career satisfaction. Choose roles that allow you to learn and grow from those around you, not just for higher pay.

TBM 223: Why Aren't They Saying Anything?

The Beautiful Mess • 1335 implied HN points • 27 May 23
💼 Business Leadership
  1. Many people notice issues but don't speak up, especially in dysfunctional environments.
  2. People may not raise problems due to lack of confidence, fear of job loss, or not knowing how to bring up the issue.
  3. Leaders need to actively encourage feedback and address barriers to speaking up.

When Orgs Become Siloed

Suzan's Fieldnotes • 98 implied HN points • 09 Feb 24
💼 Business Leadership
  1. Leadership is a shared experience, not an individual effort. A siloed leadership team can lead to a siloed organization. To shift organizational behavior, start at the leadership layer.
  2. Signs of a siloed culture include individualism, rise of 'poop umbrellas', influence behind closed doors, and apathy turning into fear. These signs can lead to missed business goals and a slipping company culture.
  3. Siloed cultures often form unintentionally due to tough market conditions, organizational changes, focus on individual parts instead of the system, and lack of intentional culture. Realignment starts by rallying the team around shared objectives, identifying desired team culture, and rewarding desired values.

Will the federal government become a toxic employer?

Can We Still Govern? • 287 implied HN points • 02 Jan 25
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Leadership
  1. Musk and Ramaswamy make big promises about changing government, but many claims are misleading or unrealistic. They seem more interested in getting attention than actually fixing issues.
  2. Their ideas about mass firings and relocations are not well thought out and could hurt the effectiveness of federal agencies. Making government a worse place to work might not lead to better performance.
  3. Federal employees are encouraged to stay in their positions despite tough conditions. Their presence is important for maintaining effective governance and democracy.

Managing The Powerful.

Trying to Understand the World • 6 implied HN points • 28 Jan 26
🌍 World Politics Leadership
  1. A country needs a professional, independent administrative service and experienced advisers to turn leaders' decisions into reality; without that backbone, even capable leaders fail.
  2. Modern politics tends to select for ambitious, careerist, and sycophantic actors rather than people with real managerial or policy skills, which produces poor judgement, delay, and short-term thinking.
  3. The rise of TV, the internet, social media, and personalised political staffs has weakened institutions and pushed governments back toward rule by favourites and amateurs, making states less capable and more erratic.

TBM 314: Using Enabling Constraints for Situational Awareness

The Beautiful Mess • 396 implied HN points • 07 Oct 24
💼 Business Leadership
  1. Rapid growth can lead to chaos and mistakes in organizations. It often happens when teams are expanded quickly without proper planning.
  2. Using enabling constraints can help manage the mess during fast changes. They act like simple rules to keep teams focused and aware of potential issues.
  3. It's important to regularly check on how things are going, especially when many people are involved in projects. This helps catch problems before they become serious.

All Feedback is Projection

The Leadership Lab • 196 implied HN points • 19 Mar 23
🚌 Education Leadership
  1. Feedback is projection: Feedback you give others reflects aspects of yourself. What you judge in others can reveal your own traits.
  2. New paradigm of feedback: Move away from the old feedback model based on objective truth. Embrace the idea that feedback is a story and an opinion.
  3. Learning from feedback: By asking how feedback is true about yourself, you open up growth opportunities and deepen connections with others.

Founder DNA

The Leadership Lab • 196 implied HN points • 09 Mar 23
💼 Business Leadership
  1. Every aspect of your team's culture reflects your strengths, blind spots, and dysfunctional behaviors as a leader.
  2. Founder DNA influences how teams adopt a leader's habits and behavioral patterns, leading to organizational dysfunction.
  3. Team culture stems directly from a leader's psychological and relational patterns, affecting how employees interact and behave within the organization.

Duct Tape

Lessons • 196 implied HN points • 05 Apr 23
💼 Business Leadership
  1. Building a team after finding success is like patching holes in a leaky bucket.
  2. Prioritize hiring anchor leaders based on long-term importance and areas where duct tape won't suffice.
  3. Use duct tape solutions like interim leaders to fill temporary gaps while focusing on key leadership searches.

Navigating the Shift from Feature to Product Teams and Building a Product Mindset

An Innovator's Sketchbook • 98 implied HN points • 04 Feb 24
💼 Business Leadership
  1. Transitioning from feature to product teams involves empowering cross-functional teams focused on outcomes and value.
  2. The localization industry is evolving with AI, leading to job destruction but also creating new business opportunities.
  3. Feedback is important for team growth, and using the 'Situation-Behavior-Impact' framework can lead to effective and powerful feedback.

Zelensky As A War Leader

Phillips’s Newsletter • 94 implied HN points • 26 Jul 25
🌍 World Politics Leadership
  1. It's important not to think any war leader is irreplaceable. Sometimes new leaders can bring fresh energy and ideas that improve the situation.
  2. When leaders get too much praise, they might not accept criticism well. This can make them think they're always right, which isn't good for making tough decisions.
  3. History shows that changing leadership during a war can lead to better outcomes, like when David Lloyd George took over from Henry Asquith in World War I and made things more effective.

Vitamin A for Engineering Teams: Dogfooding your product

The Healthy Engineering Leader • 39 implied HN points • 13 May 24
💼 Business Leadership
  1. Vitamin A is important for clear vision, similar to how understanding customer needs helps engineering teams succeed. It helps teams develop a better grasp of their products.
  2. Dogfooding means team members use and test their own products. This practice helps catch bugs and fosters a deeper connection with the user experience.
  3. To promote dogfooding, leaders should encourage testing, celebrate contributions, and refine the process. This creates a culture of empathy and accountability within the team.

Ideas for the YIMBY Movement to Better Include Women | YIMBYtown 2024

Cornerstone • 79 implied HN points • 01 Mar 24
🎭️ Culture Leadership
  1. Male leaders should take responsibility for inclusion in the YIMBY movement instead of relying on women
  2. Men could share the burden of administrative and backend work more actively to support women in the movement
  3. It is essential to seek out and affirm the qualifications of female leaders and candidates to enhance diversity and strength in YIMBY organizations

Bill vs. Ted

The Radar • 59 implied HN points • 03 Apr 24
💼 Business Leadership
  1. In promotion processes, advocacy, arbitrariness, and detachment can influence outcomes, sometimes leading to the wrong candidate being chosen.
  2. The complexity and overbuilt nature of promotion processes can obscure the best candidate, favoring manipulation over merit.
  3. Balancing objectivity and fairness in promotions is crucial, as promoting the right people leads to positive organizational outcomes.

New Science January 2024 Updates

New Science • 98 implied HN points • 01 Feb 24
🔬 Science Leadership
  1. New Science is focusing on creating an institution of science for an ever-changing world.
  2. They are working on deliverables like a playbook for fellowship programs and collaborating with new team members.
  3. The organization is under new leadership, with Sasha Targ becoming the Executive Director.

Movers, Shakers, & Money Makers (6/3)

Human Capitalist • 39 implied HN points • 03 Jun 24
💼 Business Leadership
  1. There are many recent job changes in the tech industry, with key players moving from one company to another. This can impact the companies' strategies and market competition.
  2. Some of the notable moves include leaders from Microsoft, GitHub, and Tesla who are now joining other major firms. These changes usually signal new directions or innovations for those companies.
  3. Keeping track of job changes can be helpful for investors, recruiters, and anyone interested in following talent trends in the industry. It shows who is leading and influencing major companies.

TBM 226: Stuck In The Valley of "Doing OK"

The Beautiful Mess • 1190 implied HN points • 15 Jun 23
💼 Business Leadership
  1. Being stuck in a state of 'doing ok' is dangerous for a company.
  2. Companies can be in a 'doing ok' basin where they neither thrive nor fail, leading to eventual decline.
  3. To disrupt the 'doing ok' situation in a company, try seeding new behaviors, increasing connectivity, and introducing disturbances.

Hiring Agile Coaches

It Depends / Nimble Autonomy • 19 implied HN points • 30 Jun 24
💼 Business Leadership
  1. Agile coaches play an important role in helping teams improve their processes. A good coach can guide teams to recognize their own mistakes and improve without directly fixing their problems.
  2. When hiring agile coaches, it's essential to look for candidates with a solid background in product development and broad knowledge of agile methods. This experience helps them understand the 'why' behind agile practices.
  3. Building a successful agile coaching practice should start small, hiring one coach at a time. This allows the coach to establish what the role means in the organization before adding more coaches.