In partnership with

THE ONE THING

1. Does Your Team Know How They Make a Profit?

Want to know if your team is truly adding to the bottom line? Ask them how they do it.

I learned this from Alex Hormozi.

It sounds basic, but most employees can’t clearly answer this question: "How does your work generate revenue or reduce costs?"

The usual responses? Blank stares. Buzzwords about "efficiency." Or worse, "I attend a lot of meetings."

Here’s a good way to check:

1. Have every employee write down their answer—privately, in one paragraph.

2. Have their manager review it.

If they can’t clearly explain their impact on profit, they’re working blind.

• Example of a bad answer: "I create marketing materials to support the team."

• Example of a good answer: "By optimizing our paid ad campaigns, I reduce cost-per-lead by 20%, which means we acquire more customers for the same budget. More customers = more revenue."

According to Hormozi, you get two advantages:

1. You quickly identify employees who don’t understand their financial impact.

2. You expose managers who haven’t made it clear.

You can fix this by having managers work 1-on-1 with their teams until everyone can articulate their role in making or saving money.

Because here’s the truth: If they can’t explain it, they’re probably not focused on it. And that’s costing you money.

INSIGHTFUL THOUGHTS

2. The Power of Writing for Clarity

Jeff Bezos has a well-known rule at Amazon: No PowerPoint presentations.

Instead, executives must write a six-page memo before every big meeting. The reasoning? If you can’t clearly write it down, you haven’t thought it through.

Writing forces clarity. It exposes weak arguments, fuzzy thinking, and incomplete ideas.

So the next time you’re about to pitch an idea, make a major decision, or set a strategy—write it out first.

Even a short one-page summary will make your thinking sharper and your communication clearer.

PRESENTED BY

3. Newsletter about AI: The Rundown

This week’s newsletter is sponsored by The Rundown, a newsletter that covers daily updates about AI tools and workflows. More details below.

Learn AI in 5 minutes a day

This is the easiest way for a busy person wanting to learn AI in as little time as possible:

1. Sign up for The Rundown AI newsletter

2. They send you 5-minute email updates on the latest AI news and how to use it

3. You learn how to become 2x more productive by leveraging AI

Sign up to start learning.

WORDS I LIKE

4. On Doing Things Right the First Time

THE 80/20

5. An 80/20 Tip You Can Apply Today

Here’s a low-effort, high-impact tip you can use with your team today:

• What: Use silence as a leadership tool.

• Why: Silence creates space for real thinking, not just reflexive responses. When you stay quiet after asking a question, people feel encouraged to dig deeper, share more, and reveal what truly matters. Great negotiators, interviewers, and leaders all use this technique to uncover insights they wouldn’t get otherwise.

• Example: The next time you ask your team a question—pause. Let the silence sit. If no one speaks, resist the urge to fill the gap. Count to seven in your head. That quiet moment often leads to important answers.