Hello everyone,
We've reached the end of April, which means 2023 is 1/3 of the way through. Are you happy with what you have achieved so far? What are your expectations and goals for the next 2/3 of the year?
It's always good to take a break and process what you've done, the learnings, the victories, the milestones and why not, the failures. We all fall short in life, but it's how you react to them that sets you up for great victories!
This week we have extended content on leadership, some great business articles, and interesting highlights from LinkedIn.
I hope you enjoy it and please don't forget to share.
I credit sports with being a great foundation for who I am today. When I was a kid, I played a lot of sports and athletes were my real-life version of Superman or Batman. Being Brazilian, Ayrton Senna had a huge influence on me.
Later in life, I continued to be involved in sports and those high-performance athletes like Kobe Bryant, Jan Frodeno, and Michael Phelps became a great source of inspiration and taught me a lot about goal setting, hard work, discipline, and the never-ending quest to be your best version.
Later this week, a video of Gianni’s went viral in my inner circle and beyond, giving a lesson in sportsmanship and emotional intelligence. Three things stand out to me about Gianni's press conference immediately after his elimination in the NBA playoffs: it was minutes after his elimination and he managed to keep his cool and his mind sharp, and I want to make a reference to his body language throughout the encounter - he dominated! Starting with his hands resting on his forehead - a sign of disapproval - to a leaning forward body gesture that said "I'm in control of this room" and finally his communication - smooth but authoritative, gentle but powerful.
It's a must-see masterclass in how to perform under pressure and a solid statement that sport is about much more than winning.
On another note within the sporting world, the news of Collin Chartier - a professional Ironman athlete - with a couple of big wins under his belt and an uplifting start to last season has tested positive for doping and has been banned from the sport.
I'm currently training for my sixth Ironman race and as an amateur pursuing my personal goal, I can relate to the amount of physical and emotional stress a professional athlete goes through, but cheating is never acceptable. The fact that you have other athletes going through the same process and dedication and when they line up with you to give their best in that race and you are juiced from steroids is not far off and it should be punished. It was a sad day for the sport I love and it's got great momentum now.
Best from Linkedin
[ People + Multitasking ] - "People who are regularly bombarded with several streams of electronic information do not pay attention, control their memory or switch from one job to another as well as those who prefer to complete one task at a time..." - Read it here.
[ Venture Capital + Investments ] - “Given a ten percent chance of a 100 times payoff, you should take that bet every time.” - That’s venture in a nutshell, although you’re looking at more like a 1-2% chance of 100x rather than 10%. - Read it here.
[ Venture Capital ] - Nearly 1 in 4 dollars invested into Carta cap tables is happening in a bridge in 2023. Read it here.
[ Venture Capital + Europe ] - Must read if you want to get a better understanding of the current #European #VC landscape ! - Read it here.
"A Founder's job is injecting risk into the business. It's flooding it with new ideas, stuff that seems hard to do, ideas that no one else would dare try, placing the kinds of bets that only someone who started the damn thing would be willing to wager."
- Jason Fried
BEST TO LISTEN
Don't Aim to Be The Best! Be The Only! | Kevin Kelly with Tim Ferris
Dr. Huberman [ one of our favorites ] - Explores the science of mental visualization and its application for learning motor and cognitive skills.
BONUS
[ SERVANT LEADERSHIP CLASS WITH PETE CARROLL, SEATTLE SEAHAWKS HEAD COACH]
I've worked with hundreds of founders from many different parts of the world, and I've seen first-hand how they handle themselves, how they respond to pressure, and most importantly, how they lead their teams. And people come from different backgrounds and naturally have different leadership styles - think of an introvert and an extrovert, they are naturally different.
So as part of my studies in leadership and organizational psychology, I've been asking myself what is the best leadership style for an early-stage startup founder and I'm probably going to say today - free to change my mind in the future - that a servant leadership style is the most appropriate style for the early days and the challenges that they all face - mostly due to lack of resources.
So what is servant leadership?
Servant leadership is a style of leadership that prioritizes serving others and meeting the needs of employees, customers, and the community. Rather than focusing on achieving personal power or status, servant leaders focus on supporting and empowering those around them to reach their full potential.
Let me share with you all a true masterclass in servant leadership with Pete Carroll, head coach of the Seattle Seahawks and one of only three coaches with a college and NFL ring. In this podcast he is hosted by one of my favorites, Adam Grant, and AG is a big part of why I decided to pursue a career in leadership development - his book, Think Again, was my #1 book of the year in 2021! If you haven't read it yet, please go and get a copy.
Another great example of a Servant Leadership thinker is Simon Sinek. In his classic book "Leaders Eat Last" discusses the importance of leaders putting the needs of their team members first and creating a culture of trust and collaboration.
In this post, Sinek shares “Effective communication starts with listening” - Watch it here.
Top Content of The Week
[ Adam Grant + Leadership ] - The Most Meaningful Way to Succeed Is to Help Others Succeed - Read it here.
[ Artificial Intelligence ] - The History of AI in 7 Experiments - Read it here.
[ AI + Machine Learning + Creative Work ] - How Generative AI Could Disrupt Creative Work by Harvard Business Review - Read it here.
[ Brand + Marketing + Performance Marketing + Growth ] - How Brand Building and Performance Marketing Can Work Together by Harvard Business Review - Read it here.
[ Time Management + Personal Development ] - In a Distracted World, Solitude Is a Competitive Advantage by Harvard Business Review - Read it here.
[ My favorite company in the world - Patagonia ] - Patagonia shows how turning a profit doesn’t have to cost the Earth by McKinsey - Read it here.
Bonus for Entrepreneurs
My interaction with founders is a very rich source of learning and knowledge. To be honest, I learn more from them than the other way around. This week, Lestat, the founder of Healf, sent me an email with bits and pieces of something he was working on, and part of his literature caught my eye: a collection of in-depth material from one of my favorites, the First Round Review.
It's full of high-quality content, organized by topic and it features great names in the innovation industry.
Read it here First Review Collections.
Startup of the Week
Neatsy.AI - Today we started talking about sport, and if you're a runner, let me pose you a problem: how often do you buy a pair of running shoes that you don't like once you put them on? I am guessing a few times in your life. Ok, you are not alone. I have a few pairs in my house that have only touched the floor to take out the rubbish!
So this company, Neatsy, uses AI to match people with the right running shoe and guarantee that you will be happy.
The company claims that 50% of shoes bought online are returned to the seller, generating more than 333,000 tonnes of CO2 in Europe alone!
Made with my brain in Madrid, Spain.