ISSUE #005 | THE LEADERSHIP CONTRARIAN

This week I'm trying to communicate something from a different perspective...go with me for a moment while I back into my point.

The lights would dim. The heavy curtains would pull back. A touch of theater magic that doesn’t exist in the multiplexes of today.

ISSUE #004 | THE LEADERSHIP CONTRARIAN

As I’ve been writing these newsletters, a few of you have replied with a thoughtful question:

“Why The Leadership Contrarian?”

It’s a fair question.

Especially in a world already crowded with leadership voices, frameworks, podcasts, and hot takes.

So today, I want to answer it clearly - and honestly.

ISSUE #003 | THE LEADERSHIP CONTRARIAN

In the first issue of The Leadership Contrarian, I said this newsletter would be a journey, a conversation about leadership from a more holistic perspective.

Not just leadership as performance.
Not just leadership as personality.
And definitely not leadership as hustle dressed up as heroics.

But leadership as something deeper. More human. More sustainable.

ISSUE #002 | THE LEADERSHIP CONTRARIAN

As I sit down to write this second newsletter, I’m struck by a simple truth:

We are all living in a world that feels louder, faster, stranger, and more unpredictable than anything we grew up with.

If issue #001 was about grounding us in a holistic, integrated life…

Today’s issue is about why that matters now more than ever.

ISSUE #001 | THE LEADERSHIP CONTRARIAN

As I sit here writing this, I want to begin with something simple and honest:

This is the first time in a long time that I’ve sat down to write directly to you, personally, thoughtfully, with intention.

And if I’m being candid… it feels overdue.

When I was twenty-seven years old, Kathryn and I had been married about a year and a half. One afternoon, I was walking across the parking lot from our car to our apartment, and I was feeling great. I had a skip in my step. Life was good. I thought to myself, "What can I be doing differently? What area do I need to grow in?" Almost immediately, I came to the happy conclusion: "Nothing. I'm good. There is nothing I need to improve!"

Sometimes the death of a business is somewhat personal and triggers a sense of nostalgia. In the world of small business, companies come and go all the time with little more than a raised eyebrow – but every once in a while the closing of a local business surprises you.

A friend of mine sent me a 2 minute video to watch that was well-made and really interesting - but it made me think about the power of persuasion when combined with quality video. I started to wonder if I was getting taken advantage of by companies that I buy stuff from - even when I’m really happy with what I have most of the time.

Take a look at the short video below and then see if you agree with any of my thoughts. Not all of you will care, but some of you might want to talk about it. Just a little food for thought.

Work is not supposed to be something we endure so we can get a paycheck to pay for fulfillment in life. Work is supposed to be part of that fulfillment. Finding a job that allows you to achieve happiness more than 50% of the time takes a while to find. Many people don’t ever find it because they remain lost in understanding the gifts and abilities they have to contribute.

Every year since 1963 the president of the United States has proclaimed one week a year as National Small Business Week. As a country we do this to acknowledge the amazing things that small businesses and the people who work for them do to help our country and our economy. It’s pretty amazing to see and hear about the power of this group of people of which our company, Half a Bubble Out Marketing, is a proud member of.