My wife, Pauline completed the NY Marathon on Sunday with the surgeon who cured her ovarian cancer this past January. Whatever happens in Tuesday’s election, what happened on Sunday is more important.

Business Punks contain a unique combination of vision and Chutzpah. In this article, I talk about Jane, one of the greatest Business Punks I ever worked with.

The economics of being a post-corporate entrepreneur are extremely promising. But the playbook is non-existent. I fill that void here:

How to leave a senior corporate job, launch a startup, and not kill your marriage is probably the most frequently shared challenge among the members of Punks & Pinstripes. No one likes to talk about it. Until now.

Success is scrappy. And pedigree, when it’s not coupled with blue collar grit, is almost always a parasite. In this article I talk about the compounding power of scraptitude.

The Business World has lost its AI virginity. At some point, like in any new relationship, the excitement of the newfound passion will wear off. Both parties will invariably ask “What have I overlooked about you because the sex was so amazing?” In this article we talk about the breakup that will cause the AI bubble to pop.

A Business Punk is essential for a large business to navigate a crisis because as a company gets bigger it becomes harder to delete policies and people that no longer work. “The Wolf” was the greatest business punk I ever worked with. Here’s everything he taught me.

My wife has been fighting cancer since January. It’s been really hard to care about anything else. In this edition of the newsletter I share everything that’s happening for me.

There’s a fine line between healthy corporate culture and toxic corporate propaganda.

Elite MBAs have been dysfunctional for a long time. Their dysfunction is spilling over now with Harvard’s attack against Francesca Gino.

This week, as bitcoin hit an all time high of $66,000, people started selling it on Craigslist.

No writer impacted my entrepreneur life more than James Baldwin. Baldwin is the voice that encourages us to live in the power of our own truth - even if it’s scary or unpopular.

When a struggling company announces that it’s making a huge investment in AI, you should immediately think of North Korea - a struggling country that makes huge investments in nuclear weapons. In both cases, the technological investment is an expensive and elaborate decoy that masks stagnation and decay. It’s a sign that they’ve run out of ideas to fuel prosperity and growth.

Innovation labs are like a 68 year old man who buys a customized Ferrari: It’s supposed to signal virility and prowess, but usually it’s a signal that his kids haven’t spoken to him in 6 years. What is true for Italian sports cars is true for corporate innovation labs: The shiniest toys mask the darkest dysfunction. There’s a better way to innovate. I talk about it here.

Brewdog is a testament to Punk as a business strategy. It is the only company in UK history to increase sales by 90% for 6 consecutive years. It was so irreverent, provocative, and outlandish that it built a movement rather than just a hoppy beer. We explore more in this article.

Life is short. So…
Build Epic Shit
Speak Truth to Power
Be The Truest Version of Yourself
Seek Solidarity

December is the season of holiday parties and performance reviews. We offer some perspective about whether to stay or go.

In June, 2007, I had my first F U Pay Me innovation meeting. It showed me that every intrapreneur needs to be defend their ROI to an innovation-agnostic investor.

Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Mike Bloomberg all quit or got fired from banks before becoming entrepreneurs. The culture of banks spits out brilliant innovators and negates their investments into technology. AI is no different. Here’s how to fix banking culture.