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What I’m Listening To…

Leadership, Autonomy, and Accountability: Lessons from Tom Garfinkel

I caught a recent Sports Business Journal Morning Buzzcast report mentioning that Tom Garfinkel, Vice Chairman and CEO of the Miami Dolphins and Hard Rock Stadium, plans to step down at the end of his contract following the 2026 season.

The report highlighted his remarkable tenure working alongside owner Stephen Ross to completely transform the Hard Rock Stadium complex in Miami. This has been impressive as they have worked to not just host NFL games, but to build out a global sports and entertainment hub…bringing in the Super Bowl, the College Football Playoff, international soccer, moving the Miami Open tennis tournament to the site, and constructing a world-class Formula 1 track around the facility.

I was immediately intrigued by his strategic vision and tracked down his appearance on the Jed Hughes Podcast to learn more about Garfinkel. One of the quotes from Garfinkel stuck with me:

“I will be collaborative, I will be accountable, and I will be communicative. I am more than willing, and I look forward to being held accountable for results, but there is a degree of autonomy that is then required. And there is an expectation that resources will be provided if I am going to be held accountable for those results.”

This insight hits on two fundamental truths for leaders:

• Accountability Requires Autonomy

  • You cannot hold leaders accountable for high-stakes outcomes while micro-managing their decisions. High performers welcome guardrails to operate within, but require the operational freedom to execute.

• Expectations Require Resources

  • True leadership isn’t just high expectations; it’s equipping your team with the tools and support required to reach the mark.

This balance offers a powerful lesson beyond Garfinkel’s industry…particularly for public policy and state leadership in education.

We hear endless rhetoric about accountability in public schools, yet state leaders often fall short when it comes to granting true local control and delivering the necessary resources. The leaders I know at every level are more than willing to be held accountable for results (we crave the accountability), provided state systems back up those expectations with genuine autonomy and adequate support.

What I’m Excited About…

It’s September…almost!

It’s playoff time for MLB, college football kicked off this weekend, and the NFL is right around the corner….

Labor Day Weekend is coming…While this often signals the end of summer (although the temperatures do not signal any relief), it also marks the end of our “honeymoon period” for the school year… at least for those of us in Arizona who are four weeks in.

This is really the time to build on our strong start, clarify expectations, and lean into our roles as leaders. The next five weeks, leading up to Fall Break, are crucial for intentional action and setting the tone for the rest of the year.

For leaders, this marks a great time to really think about the culture you want to cultivate on your campus or in your organization. This is a time to make a firm commitment to high expectations and high levels of support. It’s about finding the delicate balance between pushing your team to excel and providing the support they need to thrive. Think about what a five-week intentional sprint would look like for you and your team:

• Set a clear achievement goal for the weeks leading up to Fall Break.

• Plan a celebration to recognize your team’s hard work

• Build camaraderie through an intentional staff activity or outing.

Use these next few weeks to propel your campus/organization forward toward a great year.

What I’m Pondering…

“I insist on a lot of time being spent, almost every day, to just sit and think. That is very uncommon in American business.” -Warren Buffett

I love this quote; in today’s world we tend to place a high value on speed and output…especially when it comes to high-level decision-making. While speed is critical, speed without clarity and direction only produces fast missteps…

Strategy, perspective, and sound judgment require intentional time for thought.

I have previously written about controlling your calendar and using color-coding to defend your time (https://dstreeter.substack.com/p/the-weekend-brief-april-26-2026). But protecting space for reflection goes beyond schedule management. It really starts with how you construct your morning routine. For me, I’ve come to realize that I fundamentally require quiet time early in the morning for coffee, reading, and solitude. I have learned that regardless of when my schedule may kick off for the day, even on those early mornings requiring a pre-dawn drive up to Phoenix, I now set my alarm earlier specifically to guard that window.

Treating “thinking time” as a luxury will only allow you to squeeze it out. When you treat it as a non-negotiable requirement for your leadership, you find a way to create it.

What I’m Reading…

The Power of the Dog: Pragmatic Fiction

After a summer packed with non-fiction, including some great leadership reads, I have shifted gears back into a classic…Don Winslow’s The Power of the Dog.

I have come to realize something about my reading preferences…my fiction style is fundamentally pragmatic…or maybe I am just a simple person…Whatever it is, I am drawn to well-crafted mysteries and thrillers that follow a logical pattern, build well-thought-out characters, and keep the narrative moving. I don’t always need deep literary introspection or endless allegories…Sometimes I just want a fast, intelligent story driven by good writing.

Winslow delivers that. The book offers an easy-to-follow, highly structured look at the drug trade from the 1980s through the turn of the century. With quick pacing and well-developed characters, the storyline brings together the DEA, the Mexican cartel, the New York mob, and a high-end California call girl.

Given my need for logical narrative structure, I am guessing these will all come together soon enough…

What I’m Watching…

From Guilty Pleasure to Geopolitical Thriller: Paramount’s Lioness…

Emily and I have been mixing in a few shows lately, from Ted Lasso to The Shards, along with the homestretch of the MLB season (September promises to be intriguing, at least in the National League)…

That said, the show I’m enjoying most right now is Paramount’s Lioness.

I once filed this under my “guilty pleasure action” category, but this season has proven exceptional. Taylor Sheridan has dialed up the geopolitical tension, and I have enjoyed how he’s given Michael Kelly, Nicole Kidman, and Morgan Freeman far more prominent roles in the situation room for season 3.

What I’m enjoying most is the shift toward intelligence chess that mirrors shows like Homeland. The season uses a split-timeline structure, which lets it focus more on bureaucratic warfare and keeps engagement high. This feels like a nice step up from the usual streaming action series that rely on a very simple structure. A very solid watch.

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What I’m Reading…

Unreasonable Hospitality…

What Jim Collins’ Good to Great was to leadership circles in the early 2000s, Will Guidara’s Unreasonable Hospitality has become for the 2020s.

This is a revisit for me. Not only is this a book that has routinely popped up in discussions around influential contemporary leadership books, but it is a book we are currently getting ready to engage our leaders with. Guidara, the former owner of the legendary New York restaurant Eleven Madison Park, set out to redefine what it means to serve others. This book goes beyond food and offers an operational blueprint for any organization that strives to make emotional connections with those you serve. Hence, the movement from “good service” to “unreasonable hospitality”...

Moving from good service to unreasonable hospitality means going beyond the product to build genuine emotional connections with the people you serve.

This is an easy book to stay engaged with as Guidara’s core argument is simple: in a world where basic competence is assumed…service is transactional…but hospitality is relational. The shared principles are applicable across all industries. Some of the key takeaways worth reflection include:

• The Power of the Small Gesture

  • Focus on the consistent, thoughtful details that demonstrate your attention to the individual needs and preferences of your customers and employees.

• Hiring for Heart

  • Prioritize hiring individuals who are naturally empathetic and genuinely enjoy serving others. You can train for skills, but not for care.

• Training the Unreasonable

  • Empower your team to move beyond rigid rules and instead focus on principles that allow them the freedom and creativity to create meaningful experiences.

• Scaling Unreasonable Hospitality

  • Realize that as you grow, the goal is not to standardize rules but to codify the culture and values, ensuring the spirit of service (unreasonable hospitality) remains intact at every level.

Whether you manage a restaurant, a corporate team, or a school district, Guidara’s framework offers a timely reminder: people may forget the specifics of a policy, but they will never forget how your organization made them feel.

What I’m Pondering…

The Art of Strategic Editing: Prepare, Pause, and Logical Response

“You cannot see your reflection in boiling water. Similarly, you cannot see the truth in a state of anger. When the water calms, clarity comes.”

One of the curation accounts I follow on my social media feeds is Limitless Life. This account routinely posts simple quotes and anecdotes that keep me thinking…

This quote brought me back to a critical leadership skill: strategic editing.

Strategic editing is the ability to know what to say, what to leave out, and when silence is your most powerful tool. At its core is a simple discipline: Prepare or Pause.

This is the idea of developing the impulse control necessary to avoid putting out half-formed thoughts or emotionally charged reactions. When high-stakes situations arise, pausing to reflect isn’t passive…it is strategic.

We often talk about the “24-hour rule” for responding to communications and inquiries…However, in those tense, high-stakes situations, the real discipline lies in knowing when to use all 24 hours. When the water is boiling, step back, let it settle, and respond from a place of logic rather than emotion.

What I’m Excited About…

The Core 4…

Last week I talked about being two weeks out from the kickoff of this fall’s gravel series… Well, this morning we are officially at T-minus 6 days.

While I am genuinely looking forward to getting back together with friends and taking on the race weekends ahead, I am even more excited that both of our boys are flying in a few days early for some quality family time.

As we like to call it, we’re bringing the “Core 4” back together.

Emily and I routinely enjoy spending one-on-one time with each of our boys, and we always love the big, energy-filled gatherings when our broader circle of extended family and great friends get together. But there is something special when it’s just the four of us for a couple of quiet days before the main event kicks off.

The weekend ahead will be a blast…riding bikes, catching up, and reconnecting with friends…I am genuinely looking forward to that…But I am really excited about the extra night or two with the Core 4…

What I’m Listening To…

The Energy of Live Tracks: Zach Bryan and Early Morning Runs

It is August in Arizona! To get through those early morning rides and runs these days, I have been leaning heavily into live concert recordings and playlists. I am finding a much-needed energy shift from an audience singing along at 5:00 AM.

Lately, I’ve been on a Zach Bryan kick…rotating between his All My Homies Hate Ticketmaster (Live from Red Rocks) album and a mix of live cuts from various shows.

I do enjoy the unpolished momentum found in live tracks…the crowd noise, the sing-alongs, and the tempo changes. This is a good way to shake up the workout soundtrack…trade the studio polish for a live set.

What I’m Watching…

The Jury Is Still Out: Hulu’s The Shards

Count us among the many tuning into Hulu’s The Shards.

Through the first four episodes, I remain fairly noncommittal. I have always been somewhat lukewarm on Bret Easton Ellis; I was never part of the American Psycho cult following, but I do appreciate a well-crafted, intelligent thriller.

An intriguing story is definitely unfolding…and we are starting to string together clues and guess the outcome. I also think the production itself has been interesting…some sharp, elaborate scenes coupled with moments that feel slightly off-target…I am still deciding whether the execution matches the ambition.

I am sticking with it, and I’ll share a final verdict once we cross the finish line. I’d love to hear your take so far…

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What I’m Reading…

The Confident Mind: Preparation, Identity, and the 1st Tee

Over the summer, two books on performance psychology kept coming back into my rotation: The Confident Mind by Dr. Nate Zinsser and The Fearless Mind by Dr. Craig Manning. Both resurfaced as a direct result of ongoing conversations with my son as he prepares for his senior season of college golf.

We revisited those conversations this past week when he was selected to play in a high-profile tournament this upcoming week at Chambers Bay through his affiliation with Srixon, and now, apparently, Malbon (I’m still trying to figure that one out). As the logistics came together, it became clear this event is a bit bigger than originally anticipated…complete with media coverage, formal pairings dinners, and elevated expectations.

This is the adage around: when the stage gets larger, the mental game has to shrink back down to what you can control. That realization had us revisiting some foundational principles of performance psychology:

• Reframing First-Tee Jitters

  • We all get them…from the actual first tee, to the high-stakes board meeting, or opening a new school year. The human body is remarkable: those jitters aren’t anxiety; they are physiological preparation. Your body recognizes that you are about to do something significant, and it is actively flooding your system with the exact chemistry and oxygen needed to perform at an elite level. Don’t fight the butterflies…get them flying in formation.

• The Identity Anchor

  • When pressure mounts, your mind looks for reference points. An identity anchor is a core statement of who you are as a performer, grounded in your preparation, character, and work ethic. This identity remains completely independent of any single shot, hole, or outcome.

• Revisiting Your “Top Ten”

  • Dr. Zinsser emphasizes building a personal repository of past successes. Before stepping onto any stage, mentally replay your top ten personal highlights…the clutch shots, the tough saves, the moments you executed under pressure. This is you feeding your mind evidence of capability rather than seeds of doubt.

• Get Your Mind Right (The 3:1 Ratio)

  • High performers manage their mental real estate aggressively. For every mistake or critique, consciously feed your brain three constructive, confident thoughts to maintain a dominant, positive belief system.

• Managing Mistakes (The Post-Shot Routine)

  • Don’t react emotionally to error…victorious warriors execute a protocol. A robust post-shot routine includes accepting the outcome, neutral analysis, and immediate mental reset before taking another step down the fairway.

The Confident Mind is a great read for anyone leading a team, coaching an athlete, or striving for personal excellence. True confidence isn’t a passive feeling you hope shows up on game day…it is a deliberate muscle you build long before you ever step into the arena.

What I’m Pondering…

The Two Rules of Executive Criticism…

I was working with an aspiring superintendent this past week, and our conversation turned toward one of the most inevitable realities of executive leadership…criticism.

She is currently navigating a deeply emotional district process, school closures and facility repurposing, where public sentiment runs high, and opinions are loud. Naturally, our conversation turned to how we can filter and process the incoming noise without losing momentum or focus.

When navigating high-stakes leadership decisions, there are two fundamental rules I apply when evaluating criticism:

• Rule #1: Never accept criticism from someone you wouldn’t ask for advice.

  • This isn’t an excuse to ignore feedback or avoid accountability. In fact, the single biggest differentiator between average and high-performing leaders is often their depth of self-reflection. However, you must be ruthlessly selective about what you allow into your headspace. High performers build a carefully curated inner circle of mentors, trusted colleagues, and thought partners. If feedback isn’t coming from someone whose judgment, character, and track record you respect, don’t let it drive your internal narrative.

• Rule #2: Evaluate the room you’re standing in.

  • When a tough decision is announced…pay close attention to where the pushback originates. Ask yourself: Is anyone from my trusted inner circle bringing this critique? If your core group of respected mentors and high-performing peers agrees with the path forward, the external noise is likely just background static.

  • Conversely, if you ever find yourself acting as the critic in a situation, look around at who is standing beside you in that room. If you don’t respect the company you’re keeping, it should cause you to pause and re-examine your position.

Leadership requires a thick skin, but more importantly, it requires a precise filter. Protect your mental energy, lean on your trusted counsel, and measure the weight of the feedback by the credibility of the person delivering it.

What I’m Excited About…

A little gravel riding, a little grinding, and a little perspective…

I’ve been trying to mix in some solid gravel riding these past few weeks…we are officially two weeks out from the kickoff of this fall’s gravel series.

While I am not necessarily looking forward to the inevitable suffering over the next few months, I am genuinely looking forward to getting back together with friends and taking on the race weekends.

These athletic pursuits serve as a much-needed complement to the demands of the school year ahead:

• Protecting Perspective

  • Spending weekdays managing complex systems means that those weekends filled with physical discipline, pacing, and focus clear the noise.

• Building Community

  • Race weekends are much more than the miles…these are really just about getting together with friends. Sharing the grind with good friends creates a strong counterweight to the weekly grind.

• Sustaining Balance

  • Leadership requires sustained energy. For me, having a challenging, non-work outlet prevents burnout and keeps my mental edge sharp.

It’s these complementary activities that keep things in perspective and help maintain balance when the calendar gets heavy. Here’s to a great fall season on and off the bike.

What I’m Listening To…

60 Songs That Explain the ’90s…

This one won’t be for everyone, but it has been a nice companion on my long weekend rides over the past few weeks. If you enjoyed ’90s music and pop culture, Rob Harvilla’s 60 Songs That Explain the ’90s podcast is pretty entertaining.

Each episode centers around a single song from the decade, but it quickly dives into a much deeper, nostalgic exploration of the band, the era, and the cultural context surrounding that time.

A great entry point is the episode on “Glycerine” by Bush.

The opening monologue alone makes it worth a listen:

• The Craigslist Classic

  • This kicks off with a hilarious reading of a viral Craigslist ad for a 1999 Toyota Corolla that had the internet rolling a few years back. This alone is worth checking out…

• Pure ’90s Nostalgia

  • Then this episode seamlessly transitions into the universal ’90s experience…tethering a portable CD player to a car stereo with a tape adapter, discovering songs on alternative radio, and making trips to the local music store hoping the album actually had more than one good song on it.

• The 10/10 Album

  • For the record, I completely agree with the host’s hot take: Gin Blossoms’ New Miserable Experience was a masterpiece with 10 genuinely great songs.

The long-form opening monologues at the start of each episode are sharp, funny, and beautifully written. If you want a light, engaging listening option to log some miles to, give this one a spin.

What I’m Watching…

Netflix’s Quarterback…

As part of our early fall viewing routine, we once again tuned into Netflix’s Quarterback. This provides our needed football fix while waiting for the NFL season to begin. The series continues to offer a glimpse into high-stakes executive leadership from behind the scenes.

This season follows four distinct signal-callers at entirely different stages of their journeys: Baker Mayfield, Jayden Daniels, Cam Ward, and Joe Flacco.

I thought the producers did a nice job showcasing the paper-thin margins that separate winning and losing in the NFL. But what really stands out in this season is the distinct approaches each player takes toward preparation, resilience, and command:

• Baker Mayfield

  • This is the standout…There were a lot of injuries to this quartet last season…The series does a good job with the honest and candid look at Mayfield’s arc. There is also a “chip on his shoulder” mentality that isn’t a manufactured talking point. It really serves as an authentic driving force behind his drive.

• Joe Flacco

  • This was the standout for me, although it is very subtle. From a pure leadership standpoint, Flacco is fascinating. His story isn’t just about understanding his role at this stage of his career, but there is a reverence his teammates, past and present, hold for him. This quiet respect tells us more about his sustained executive authority than the storyline itself.

• Daniels and Ward

  • I did enjoy how the show covered the opening chapters of Jayden Daniels’ and Cam Ward’s careers. These really contrast with the veterans. I thought the producers captured how raw talent begins translating into professional habit and discipline. These two will be fun to watch…

While each participant comes across as genuinely likable,the more important feature for me was found in the ideas behind elite leadership…the quality of your relationships, adaptability under pressure, and how you balance high-visibility performance with off-field priorities.

This is a great way to get you to this season’s kick-off….

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What I’m Excited About…

Tomorrow Marks Day One: Visibility, Culture, and Tone

Tomorrow marks the official First Day of School for us…this means welcoming over 13,000 students back through our doors. This is always an exciting time, marked by an overabundance of positive energy. I would encourage any leader heading into a new launch to aggressively harness this momentum to set the standard for the entire year ahead.

For our leadership team, this upcoming week is centered entirely on visibility. As an executive, your presence is your single most powerful tool for connection, safety, and motivation:

• Be Out Front - Stand at the front entrance every morning and afternoon during student drop-off and pick-up.

• Leave Post-it Notes - Get into classrooms and leave short, handwritten notes for teachers on their desks. Simple Post-its offer a quick, highly meaningful way to show immediate appreciation.

• Utilize Passing Periods - Walk the hallways and cafeterias during lunches to check in with students. A quick hello makes a world of difference.

This is also the moment to establish your communication cadences. Consider how daily announcements, staff updates, and community communications establish a clear, positive foundation for the entire organization.

An Opening-Week Checklist for School Leaders:

• Campus Walk - Take a walk around your grounds. What minor details need to be updated, fixed, or removed?

• Community Partners - Connect early with local adopters and community business partners.

• Update Welcome Messages - Align your opening messaging across the website, social channels, and media outlets.

• Express Early Gratitude - Send short, handwritten thank-you notes to the operations, custodial, and administrative staff who did the heavy lifting to get facilities ready.

• One-Page Highlights - Distribute a concise “one-pager” outlining key district talking points and goals for constituents.

• Convene Key Groups - Hold your initial alignment meetings with site councils, PTAs, operations teams, and labor representatives.

• Capture the Learning - Immediately log what worked (and what didn’t) to refine your Opening of School playbook for next year.

What I’m Reading…

The Public School Promise…

As we get ready to head into the first week of school and prepare to welcome 13,000 students through our doors, I’ve been thinking about what we mean when we talk about the Public School Promise.

Right on time, I came across a great piece from Dr. Kim Moore that really hit home. Keep in mind…I’m a romantic and a traditionalist at heart. My fondest childhood memories are rooted in my neighborhood, playing outside from sunup to sundown in the summer, riding the bus to the local neighborhood school with all the kids on my block, Friday night football games, and attending summer sports camps at the high school. For me, the Public School Promise has always been about that organic connection that exists between a school and its community.

Dr. Moore captures something essential…as educational leaders, our job isn’t just to manage operations; it is to collaborate with families to create this genuine sense of belonging.

In an era dominated by market-driven “school choice,” too many spaces have turned community members into consumers and education into a transaction. That shift fundamentally alters how people interact with their schools, their neighborhoods, and one another. Education should never be viewed as a transactional product; it is a relational covenant.

Traditional public schools remain the single institution in American life explicitly designed to welcome every child, regardless of background or need. This should never be about catering to a specialized market niche. True success is far more than enrollment numbers, budget efficiencies, brand appeal, and market share. Success is about culture, equity, local partnerships, and protecting the core programs, from the arts to athletics, that give our kids a place to belong and connect.

As we kick off this new school year, we have an opportunity to do much more than open our buildings. We have the opportunity, if not the responsibility, to build the community and create that sense of belonging for each of our students and our families.

What I’m Pondering…

Urgency and Alignment…

“If you’re ambitious, I’d highly recommend working in an organization or a team where people have your similar sense of urgency, or you will slowly go insane.” -Casey Jacobsen

Agreed.

When there is a fundamental mismatch in urgency, an organization’s performance ceiling will always be dictated by its least committed leaders. Surrounding yourself with team members who share your drive isn’t just about efficiency; it’s about protecting the operational ceiling of the entire organization.

What I’m Listening To

The WSJ Leadership Institute Presents: Leaders

This is turning into one of my routine listens. Episodes drop about every two weeks. These ~30-minute short-form interviews featuring high-level CEOs fit perfectly into my commute home after Dan Patrick and Colin Cowherd wrap up for the day.

A recent episode featured Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian. His perspective on organization and culture provides a few key leadership takeaways worth noting:

• Customer service starts internally

  • Bastian talks about exceptional customer experience not necessarily starting with the customer first, but being built by prioritizing your employees. When your team feels supported and valued…the culture naturally translates to the front lines.

• Value drives choice over price

  • Delta’s research shows that ticket price isn’t necessarily the deciding factor for travelers. I would completely agree, especially on flights over two hours or those requiring a connection. Reliability, comfort, and service quality outweigh saving a few bucks…a reminder that people will invest in a superior experience.

• Culture as a competitive moat

  • In an industry where planes and routes are virtually identical, Bastian emphasizes that culture is the one asset competitors can’t easily duplicate. This concept really transfers into a lot of different industries…

I will say that his insights have me rethinking Delta, but more importantly, his insights offer a nice reminder for any organization…if you care for your people and protect your core culture, the rest of the operation takes care of itself…This is a solid add to your drive-time rotation.

What I’m Watching…

The Odyssey…

This is a good one. Definitely worth the watch, and this definitely requires viewing on the biggest possible screen, ideally IMAX. This is designed to be an experience…IMAX allows you to appreciate the outdoor landscapes, ocean voyages, and the effects for the Cyclops and the giants.

I generally appreciate story over spectacle; my personal benchmark movies will always be narrative-driven classics like A Few Good Men and The Shawshank Redemption. That said, I’ve always loved Homer’s epic, and Christopher Nolan’s cinematic adaptation of The Odyssey is designed to be experienced on the largest screen possible (ideally IMAX). Nolan elevates his version, and his visual execution requires, and deserves, the theater environment. Nolan includes the traditional epic adventure, the connection between Odysseus and Penelope, and he provides the theme of loyalty resonating from Eumaeus’ character. In addition to the visual effects, Nolan also does a nice job of providing a study of war…There is trauma, guilt, and loss.

My criticism would be that the interaction between the original mythological story and these themes can be uneven at times, but the story, the acting, and most importantly the visuals are worth the hype. I highly recommend it, but it has to be in the theater, and it has to be via IMAX to appreciate the purpose of this one…

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What I’m Excited About…

The boring details of the new school year…

Here we go! The new school year is officially upon us. This past week we welcomed our new teachers, this upcoming week we welcome back all of our returning staff, and just a few short days after that, we welcome our students back…

While the beginning of a new school year always brings with it a sense of renewed energy, it is also the time when we have to think deeply about our next steps for continued growth. Over the past few weeks, our leadership team has been mapping out exactly what this means.

In any leadership journey, the early progression follows a familiar arc:

1. Define the Vision

   1. The leader articulates a clear picture of where the organization needs to go.

2. Create the Conditions

   1. The leader builds the structures, culture, and support necessary for that vision to come to fruition.

3. Produce Initial Results

   1. If the first two steps are executed well, early momentum and success inevitably follow.

However, this is where so many leaders and organizations plateau.

After those early wins, it is tempting to rest on your laurels, celebrate the initial transformation, or simply run the exact same playbook. But real, elite sustainability requires something else entirely.

This is reflected really well in the basketball documentary Court of Gold, where head coach Steve Kerr pulls emerging star Anthony Edwards aside to discuss his next progression toward true greatness. Kerr’s message was simple…reaching the absolute top tier of performance isn’t about flashy new moves; it’s tied to doing the little things, the relentless things, the “boring” details with perfection.

This is the conversation we are having…this is where we stand. The next evolution of our work is about mastering the marginal gains. This means identifying the subtle shifts that move us from good to elite. It means asking which effective, yet comfortable, teams need a nudge toward their next breakthrough. It means refining the daily habits, the small interactions, and the little moves that will compound into systemic excellence.

This is the most exciting, if not rare, phase of leadership. It’s exciting because it is hard, but more importantly, it’s exciting because it is earned.

What I’m Pondering…

Competitive Excellence: Game Recognizes Game…

I read a recent post from Dr. Julie Gurner that really stuck with me:

“The reason people at the top rarely criticize someone else winning, is that they understand deeply what it takes to get there. The slog, hard work, commitment, and challenges are rough waters out there. People that don’t understand the cost, criticize others.”

I love this concept because it speaks directly to the phrase…game recognizes game.

One of the things that stood out to me during this summer’s World Cup was the subtle dynamic that played out between the best teams in the world. This level of competitive excellence wasn’t necessarily on display in every match, but it definitely surfaced when the giants came together. In the heat of intense competition, you’d see the best players acknowledging each other for a great play, a subtle fist bump after a hard tackle, a nod of appreciation, or a quick pat on the back. Competitors at the highest level were actively honoring each other’s execution.

When you strive to operate at the elite edge of any discipline, whether this is in sports, education, or leadership, you gain an intimate, unfiltered respect for the true cost of excellence. You know the exact weight of those early mornings, the unseen setbacks, the heavy mental load, and the relentless discipline required just to step onto that stage.

True leaders and top competitors don’t feel diminished by someone else’s mastery; they celebrate it. They appreciate being pushed to their absolute limits because they know that competing against the best is precisely what pulls the best out of you.

What I’m Listening To…

SBJ Morning Buzzcast…

This one is specifically for the sports business fans on our subscription list.

I was recently turned on to the Sports Business Journal’s Daily Podcast: The Morning Buzzcast. If you are interested in the behind-the-scenes look at the financial, executive, and operational side of sports, this is a great add…

These are quick, 10-minute briefings, now part of my morning commute, that break down macro trends and business strategy driving the sports world.

A few compelling takeaways from recent episodes that caught my attention:

• The Explosive Growth of the WNBA

  • The WNBA has been an interesting growth cycle, if not staggering. This past WNBA All-Star weekend saw corporate sponsorships reach 34 partners, a massive leap from just 6 in 2022. The commercial momentum is undeniable.

• Public-Private Civic Partnerships

  • Charlotte recently approved a major stadium agreement for the Carolina Panthers. The interesting part is the shift beyond typical venue updates. This project is designed as a multi-use engine for a broader downtown revitalization project focused on year-round events and civic density.

• Reinventing the Fan Experience

  • There was an insightful discussion on how NHL executives are studying the global fan energy of the World Cup. They are actively analyzing how to translate that enthusiasm into hockey arenas to modernize the fan experience.

Admittedly, this one isn’t for everyone on this subscription list, but if you enjoy looking under the hood at the strategy, sponsorship mechanics, and leadership behind the games, this one is worth ten minutes of your morning commute.

What I’m Reading…

Small Things Like These…

This has turned into the sports edition of The Weekend Brief. Here is something a little different…

During my recent travels, I picked up a recommended short fiction title by Irish author Claire Keegan: Small Things Like These. At just under 120 pages, it holds the record for the shortest book ever shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Despite its brevity, this one packs a punch through its precise, intentional prose.

While short, this one requires a close read. Every sentence carries weight. As you move through the story, you start picking up on the quiet details and heavy underlying themes: complicity versus moral courage, the true cost of doing the right thing, and the power of small gestures.

This one carries a heavy atmospheric setting, taking place in 1980s Ireland around Christmastime. The setting connects so well with the writing that I want to go back to this one on a cold, rainy winter morning to catch the full effect.

If you are looking for a quick read that packs a punch, this one is well worth your time.

What I’m Watching…

Late Summer Sports Lull…

I feel like we have entered that official summer sports dead zone. The World Cup is in the rearview mirror, and professional leagues are in transition…our screens have been mostly dark these past couple of weeks.

That said, here’s what’s coming…

• Baseball Playoff Races

  • The MLB summer grind is behind us, and as August rolls around, the races are about to heat up for the stretch run. Who are the Diamondbacks? The White Sox, really? What is going on in the AL West?

• Football Season

  • College football and NFL training camps are kicking off…I think I saw about 50 days out, less for college football…

• The Premier League Returns

  • I am adding this one this year…The English Premier League kicks off in late August. I have my team picked!!!

It’s a brief breather, but the fall calendar is about to get busy. Enjoy the quiet weekends while they last!

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What I’m Pondering…

The audience transition and the ‘hard’ scenes…

“Do not underestimate the difficulty in the shift from being the director of your child’s life to becoming a member of the audience.” — Bob Keeshan (aka Captain Kangaroo)

I have shared this quote a couple of times in the past. As Emily and I are currently in New York visiting Colin, this quote has been top of mind.

As parents, we spend the first two decades of our children’s lives as the director, managing the script and the staging. There comes a time when you transition from this direct role to that of an audience member in your child’s life…you step out of the director’s chair and take your seat in the audience.

There is a lot of reward in watching your kids develop into the adults they were meant to become, navigating their own scenes and finding their own voices. But to be honest, this transition does not come without a brutal amount of anxiety.

The hardest part of being an audience member isn’t when the play is going perfectly. It’s when your child is navigating a difficult, uncertain scene. When they are facing a professional crossroads or stress… the gut instinct may be to yell, “cut,” and rewrite the script, but true parenting at this stage… means staying in your seat.

We are finding that this phase still requires unwavering support, a steady presence, and the grace to back decisions you may not 100% agree with. While anxiety-inducing, we have to remind ourselves that allowing our children to navigate the friction on their own terms is how they build their resilience.

What I’m Listening To…

The Power of Proximity: Who is Speaking for the Child?

This past week at the AASA Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C., I had the opportunity to listen to a powerful keynote focused on a singular, non-negotiable question: Why do we advocate?

The answer is simple, yet equally urgent...We have a profound responsibility to advocate for what children actually need. When high-stakes policy decisions are being debated, someone in that room must know exactly how those decisions impact a real student in a real classroom.

Too often, politicians and lawmakers pass mandates that deeply alter the educational landscape without seeking input from the very people who work with children every single day. Even more frustrating, we frequently see external organizations claim that they support education…promoting high standards, rigorous curricula, accountability, and community involvement…yet they exclude actual educators from the conversation, or from the organization itself.

You cannot design effective solutions for a classroom you haven’t stepped foot in for decades.

Children deserve a voice, and they deserve to have leaders who are willing to serve as the uncompromised champions they need. Advocacy isn’t a political hobby; it is a core leadership function for educational leaders. If the experts refuse to speak up, we leave a vacuum that will be filled by people who view our students as data points rather than human beings.

As we head into this next school year, we cannot afford to be passive observers of policy. We have to be the voice.

What I’m Excited About…

Leadership Stories…

This past week provided the opportunity to check in with two of the aspiring superintendents who are a part of this year’s AASA Aspiring Superintendents’ Conference.

I am looking forward to serving as a mentor for this upcoming year, which will provide opportunities for connection, professional networking, and strategic guidance, while also allowing us to learn from each other.

One of the topics from last week’s first session focused on the importance of leadership stories…I shared a post in July 2024 discussing the importance of leadership stories as a crucial aspect of effective leadership. These stories help to build trust, inspire teams, and foster a sense of purpose among followers.

There are three key leadership stories every leader must be able to share:

1. Your Own Leadership Story

   1. Who you are, what shaped your values, and your why.

2. The Story of Your Organization’s Past, Present, and Future

   1. Where the organization has been, the realities of where it stands today, and the vision of where it is going.

3. How Those You Are Leading Fit into That Future

   1. Giving your team immediate ownership and purpose within the macro narrative.

Leaders can inspire, engage, and motivate their teams by effectively sharing these leadership stories. These stories provide clarity and direction while fostering a cohesive, empowered team dedicated to achieving common goals.

https://substack.com/@danstreeter447710/p-146690314

What I’m Reading…

The Lost Art of Being a Regular…

I came across an interesting article this past week by Mark Alan Burger titled “The Lost Art of Being a Regular.” The premise centers around the idea that in this modern world of frictionless delivery apps and reservation algorithms, we have lost the fundamental human need of consistent, local community.

The article follows the “Burger brothers,” who made a pact to show up at a neighborhood Brooklyn bistro every single Monday night. Over the course of a hundred visits, they transformed from anonymous customers into neighborhood fixtures. They learned the staff’s hometowns, celebrated milestones, and even watched the Knicks clinch the 2026 NBA Championship on a makeshift projector with the restaurant’s owners.

Reading it made me realize that being a “regular” isn’t actually about the food or the drinks; it is about the intentionality of creating time for connection.

In our profession, calendar creep is real. If you don’t aggressively protect your time, the calendar will consume it. My assistant always does an incredible job of hardcoding a guardrail into my calendar: one night each week is blocked out…I know that I am guaranteed to be home by 5:30. This is our non-negotiable “date night.”

This article is challenging me to take this a step further. Protecting the time is step one. Step two is investing in a space. This upcoming year, Emily and I are making it a goal to find our own local spot back home and truly become “regulars.”

What I’m Watching…

World Cup…From New York…

Honestly, I am still completely all-in on this year’s World Cup. Spending the past few days in New York City has done nothing to squelch this…

We have found ourselves packed into crowded local establishments, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with die-hard soccer fans from all over the world. The energy in these rooms has elevated the atmosphere and dialed the excitement up to a ten.

With the semi-finals officially set, we are locked in for a great week of soccer…

I won’t spend too much time dwelling on the noon kick-off times waiting for us when we fly back to the Southwest, which are going to make viewing impossible during the workday. Nonetheless, this tournament has been a massive, uncompromised win for the sport of soccer… or dare I call it football?

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What I’m Pondering…

The July Shift: Proactive Guardrails for the New Year

I hope you had a great Fourth of July!!!

I also hope you have found some time over the past few weeks to unwind, reflect, and rejuvenate…This week always feels like a marked shift in our profession. While our teams have been working hard on projects throughout June, there is something about flipping the calendar to July that completely shifts our attention to what lies ahead rather than what we have just accomplished. As John F. Kennedy said, “The best time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining.”

This window presents an opportunity to play offense, get ahead, and limit the reactionary challenges that will try to dominate the opening of school. As we look at the weeks ahead, I have asked our leaders to think through an essential operational checklist:

• Establish the Calendar & Personal Guardrails

  • Determine firm dates for all internal leadership and cabinet meetings for the entire year. Schedule/Calendar out family vacations, major personal milestones, and your annual physical right now. Most importantly, develop a sustainable exercise plan for the year…and start it now.

• Design the Culture & Welcome

  • Finalize a detailed, inspiring New Staff Orientation that clearly articulates your leadership story, the story of your school, and how they fit into that narrative. Prepare and mail welcome-back letters to all staff, identify mentors/coaches for new hires, and use a new-staff survey to record their goals and interests.

• Isolate Team Clarity & Alignment

  • Finalize absolute organizational clarity regarding the year’s broad themes and strategic goals. Determine master meeting agendas and discussion topics for Orientation Week, SITE Council, and PTA/PTO, and establish duty schedules and opening-day responsibilities.

• Lock Down Safety & Operations

  • Review emergency preparedness plans and update critical contact information. Pre-schedule your monthly safety drills for the entire year, intentionally vary the times of day each month, and finalize coordination with local emergency services.

• Solidify Logistical Pipelines

  • Run final check-ins on school registration, transportation routing, and food service plans. Review local campus budgets and secure early summer touchpoints with your business, church, and community partners to lock in school adoptions and support.

By clearing these operational decks, we buy ourselves and our teams the bandwidth required to focus entirely on people, culture, and instruction when the doors open…

What I’m Excited About…

Federal Advocacy and Leadership Mentoring…

This upcoming week, I have the opportunity to travel to Washington, D.C., for the American Association of School Administrators (AASA) Legislative Conference. While a significant portion of our time will be dedicated to federal advocacy efforts, another major highlight of the trip will be the opportunity to check in with this year’s cohort of AASA Aspiring Superintendents’ Mentees.

I always look forward to working with these rising leaders. The leadership seat can be a lonely one, and I find that I always learn just as much from their fresh perspectives as I am expected to provide to them in return. Whenever I sit down with these cohorts, our starting point always begins with defining what true leadership effectiveness looks like for an educational leader.

Five key pillars of leadership effectiveness include:

• Continuous Learning

  • Be the lead learner in your organization by consistently finding value in conversations, conferences, meetings, and interactions. As a leader, you should be on a continuous improvement cycle, mirroring the growth you expect within your organization.

• Building a Network

  • Combat the isolation of leadership by identifying critical friends, advisors, and thought partners both inside and outside your organization. Professional organizations are an excellent starting point for cultivating these invaluable relationships.

• Establishing Your Leadership Team

  • Prioritize building a highly effective leadership team around you, as your success will profoundly depend on their collective strength. Patrick Lencioni’s The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team offers excellent insights into the importance of this foundational step.

• Building a Coalition of Support

  • Actively identify and cultivate professional and community partnerships outside your immediate organization. Building strong relationships with business leaders, faith-based communities, parents, and local chambers can provide essential thought partners and allies on your leadership journey.

• “Let it Percolate”

  • Resist the urge to rush decisions and allow yourself time to thoughtfully consider problems. Many issues can resolve themselves, and a deliberate decision-making process ultimately leads to better outcomes, enhancing your effectiveness, credibility, and trust.

    

What I’m Reading…

The Public Sector Playbook…

This summer has proven to be fairly solid from a biographies-and-autobiographies standpoint. I have had the opportunity to track the leadership journeys of some high-quality leaders, from past Pepsi CEO Indra Nooyi to Alan Mulally’s turnaround blueprint in American Icon. My latest read was Bill Bratton’s The Profession.

To be candid, the book is not without its flaws; in fact, I abandoned it near the end. However, the first half of the book is exceptionally solid. Bratton’s insights into public-sector leadership and the complex mechanics of policing in America are fascinating…there are some operational takeaways.

A few high-impact leadership nuggets from Bratton’s operational leadership include:

• You Can’t Play Chips You Haven’t Earned

  • Before you ask your frontline team for major adjustments, accountability, or cultural shifts, you have to support them first. I like to use the poker chip analogy…you can’t play chips you haven’t earned first. You build your stack of poker chips by fixing broken equipment, streamlining administrative burdens, and protecting time. True leadership means delivering high-level support before demanding high-level performance.

• Visibility Signals the Move

  • Driving systemic change cannot be hidden behind emails or memos. You have to be physically present at the strategic point of impact. High visibility from the leadership team signals to the entire organization that the status quo is officially changing. Building non-negotiables is about personally investing in the grind.

• Co-Opt the Gatekeepers

  • Every organization has institutional icons… these are the respected, veteran staff members who have implicitly earned trust. Smart leaders pull them into the design process early and don’t push against them. By earning authentic respect from the influential veterans, they can become the engine that pulls the rest of the team with you.

• Data is Your Operational Heat Map

  • Data shouldn’t be used as a lagging autopsy to assign blame; it must be a real-time radar screen for deploying resources. When data is visualized clearly, it serves as a heat map, allowing the team to instantly spot operational drifts and rapidly deploy support to hotspots before a minor deficit becomes a major failure.

• Stand Front and Center in a Storm

  • When a crisis hits, effective leaders don’t retreat or hide behind a spokesperson. Leaders step directly into the microphone… and own the narrative. Complete transparency around facts and leading with a clear recovery plan allows the leader to insulate the team and protect institutional trust.

What I’m Listening To…

The Road Trip Playlist: Summer Podcast Hits

It has officially been road trip season, which means Emily and I have been logging some miles and listening to a ton of podcasts. Since this week’s brief is already packed with content, here is a quick look at some dashboard highlights…

• Acquired – The Taylor Swift Edition: Acquired continues to be one of my favorite podcasts. This dive into the Taylor Swift machine was fascinating. I’m still not quite ready to call myself a “Swiftie,” but the sheer business strategy and pop-culture mechanics wrapped into her brand are an incredible study. This one is worth the listen…

• IMO (with Michelle Obama & Craig Robinson) – The Will Ferrell Episode: This podcast is one of Emily’s favorites, so I get to listen to it on trips. That said, I highly recommend this specific interview. We all know Will Ferrell for his comedy, but he rarely steps into serious mode. This episode provides a rare, grounded look at his personal story and journey. Truly a fascinating listen.

• IMO – The Steven Spielberg Episode: Right up there on the same level as the Will Ferrell interview. It offers an interesting look at his creative process. After listening to this, I may have to go back and watch a few movies I intentionally skipped in the past, just because I have a whole new appreciation for his brilliance.

• The Learning Leader Show (with Ryan Hawk) – Dr. Ron Friedman: A spectacular episode for anyone leading teams. Dr. Friedman’s insights into organizational psychology are incredibly informative…I went out and picked up his book, Superteams, to take a much deeper dive into the data.

What I’m Watching…

The World Cup!!!

Count me all in on this one!!!

I am definitely the guy who has gone from “soccer is boring” to “where do I get more of this???”. In fact, I think my direct quote was, “You have to put us into the category of people who suddenly care about soccer…”

That said, this has been incredible…Our travel plans are beginning to shift around game times…

• The USMNT has been incredibly fun to watch… a tough red card may make the run a little short. #FreeBalo

• Mexico and England are must-see TV tonight!!!!

• Is France the 1992 Dream Team?

• Morocco??? So much fun…

So, I have to ask the readers who have more experience with this one: How do I keep watching these guys when they go back to their club teams? The energy has drawn me in…How do I find a club to follow? Consider me a free agent…

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What I’m Excited About…

The Mountain Pivot: Greetings from Durango

We’ve been incredibly busy lately. A ton of great momentum has been building across our organization, from Senior Staff Retreats to our Administrator Institutes. Work has truly been a highlight these past few weeks. In fact, I am in one of those leadership spaces right now where stepping away for a vacation actually feels like bad timing.

That said, we are officially on vacation…greetings from Durango, Colorado.

Durango is our absolute go-to place. We love the mountains and the pure variety of outdoor training and activities readily available year-round up here. While the winter months bring incredible skiing and snowshoe adventures, it is the summer months that really bring a variety of activities.

Our itinerary this week is packed with early-morning trail runs, afternoon high-country mountain bike rides, disc golf, and river runs, followed by quiet evenings spent swimming and paddleboarding around the lake. As I look ahead to the week, this is traditionally the exact moment when we find out whether I have adequately trained for our vacation.

Regardless of how the legs hold up on the trails, we are making memories. Being up here also means plenty of dedicated white space to load up on What I am Reading, What I am Pondering, and What I am Listening to.

What I’m Pondering…

“I’d rather die with memories than fantasies.”

I love this quote… I think that it is most often attributed to Mapei ( I have no idea who this is) from her song “Change of Heart,” but several folks have shared it through various social media platforms…

We see so much on social media from ‘influencers’ and ‘optimizers’ and ‘wellness’ and ‘happiness’ gurus who don’t really have any obligations outside of themselves….

Of course, we need to strive for health and excellence… This newsletter is titled Choosing Excellence… But sometimes you just have to order a pizza (or 2 or 3) and move on….

Our vacation time is filled with activity… mountain biking, trail runs, and rafting. However, it is also filled with afternoon reading, pizza, and BBQs… all guilt-free. Ultimately, it’s about enjoying yourself, letting loose, and creating real, unforgettable memories.

What I’m Reading…

Diagnostic Fidelity: Deploying the Right Remedy

Lately, the most critical “reading” on my desk hasn’t been a book…it has been our student achievement reports.

While the public narrative constantly obsesses over state assessment scores, career educators know those are lagging checkpoints designed to measure broad growth, not drive daily instruction. For us, the real work lies in our primary-grade literacy metrics, based on Acadience data, which remains the gold standard for foundational reading.

However, looking at raw proficiency numbers without context can lead to disastrously wrong interventions. To truly evaluate the health of our Tier 1 core instruction, we have to strip away the noise of student mobility, chronic absenteeism, and specialized services.

To do this, we apply a 3-Way Query to filter our school data:

1. Continuously Enrolled Only: Eliminates the noise of student mobility churn (Day 1 to EOY).

2. High Attendance Only: Isolates the chronic absenteeism rate by looking only at students with 90%+ attendance.

3. General Education Only: Adjusts for the varying concentrations of specialized service delivery across sites.

Once you run this macro-filter, the data tells an entirely different, highly actionable story:

• If the filtered proficiency shoots up: Your curriculum and Tier 1 instruction are actually optimized. You don’t have a teaching problem; you have an attendance, mobility, or service delivery issue.

• If the filtered proficiency stays low: You have a genuine Tier 1 instructional fidelity or curricular disconnect that must be addressed immediately.

A True Story of Two Schools: Consider two school sites that both show a raw end-of-year reading proficiency score of 60%. On paper, they look identical. But when you apply the 3-Way Query, School A’s score bumps to 70%, while School B’s score skyrockets to 98%.

Both sites urgently need an intervention, but they require two completely different remedies. School A needs intensive Tier 1 coaching and instructional support. School B doesn’t need a new reading strategy…they need an aggressive community campaign to get kids to school.

Too often, leaders deploy expensive, exhausting academic interventions to fix operational problems. Context is everything. When we isolate the core, we can stop guessing and start solving.

What I’m Listening To…

If strategy is so important, why don’t we make time for it?

This was a short podcast…really based on an earlier Harvard Business Review article that discusses the importance of creating some “white space” in our workdays. I think of this as think time.

Too often, we view success through the lens of our busyness. That is…How many hours do we work? How many meetings do we have scheduled? etc…

To break this cycle and shift from a reactive triage mode to a proactive strategic approach, we have to build two distinct layers of protection into our organizations:

1. Protect Personal Strategy Time:

   1. Build “Think Time” directly into your master schedule. I work closely with my assistant to secure protected blocks each week labeled Office Time. This creates an uncompromised window to strategize, process data, and think through the systemic implications of previous meetings.

2. Protect Executive Team Strategy Time:

   1. Too frequently, senior leadership meetings turn into exhausting slogs through minor logistics, approvals, and administrative details. When this happens, team conversations focus entirely on superficial, short-term fixes rather than long-term “what-ifs.” This friction is common with developing teams, as members learn to align their priorities.

The Fix: Separate logistics from strategy by implementing a one-on-one Monday framework.

We had to do this…For my own sanity…Every Monday morning, I meet with each member of my leadership team individually for a swift, 30-minute operational check-in. This allows us to work through the minor pieces. More importantly, this builds in time to learn each other’s thought patterns and to clear the administrative decks. Then, when our senior staff meeting begins at 11:30 AM, all logistical friction has been resolved, and we can focus on large-scale topics, long-term impact, and systemic improvements.

What I’m Watching…

The World Cup…

I had some fun with this last week, not undeservedly so… but, the knockout rounds are here… no more ties!!!

These next few weeks should be a lot of fun. The World Cup has proven to be a great event that has brought the world together. The scenes from various watch parties have been fantastic. Spending last week in one of the host cities, we got to witness firsthand the atmosphere and excitement around the different cultures coming together… I can’t say enough about how much fun it has been to see the unifying aspects of sport… not without a few controversies.

That said, how about the African countries? France, Argentina, or the field? What is the ceiling for the Americans? The Round of 32 could be great!!!

Now, we get to buckle in for some high-stakes matches…

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What I’m Excited About…

The Summer Freeze: Greetings from Tacoma…

“Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.” - John Lubbock

We have officially entered what we refer to in Marana as our annual Summer Freeze. This is a deliberate two-week window in which we slow the wheels down to create a clean break from the 2025–2026 school year, allowing us to return completely rejuvenated for the 2026–2027 launch.

This doesn’t mean we completely shut our doors. We use this window to become fully disciplined about not scheduling mandatory meetings and to reduce organizational directives. It is a window explicitly designed for our leadership teams to take their well-deserved vacation time.

For us, this means spending the week reconnecting. Emily and I are up in Tacoma, Washington, spending some quality time with Cade in his element.

Ultimately, hardcoding time to relax, refresh, and rejuvenate is essential. This is time we need to build into our calendars. Especially when you have the opportunity to do it alongside your adult children. Our version of “relaxing” this week will likely look like a packed schedule of baseball games, golf, trail runs, and time on the water. In fact, I am a little worried that I haven’t adequately trained for this vacation.

That said, I am looking forward to slower mornings, a lot of reading, a few intentional work communications, and deep reflection before we aggressively launch into the next academic year.

A true “Summer Freeze” isn’t a sign of organizational slowdown; it is the deliberate preparation required to accelerate with absolute clarity when the next gate opens. Protect your white space, disconnect, and enjoy the recovery block.

What I’m Pondering…

The Intersection of Action and Scholarship…

I had a unique opportunity last week to present to a group of doctoral students at Northern Arizona University. My task was simple yet reflective…share my personal journey through the doctoral and dissertation process.

The preparation for this proved to be a fun exercise as I was able to reflect on my journey….In education, there are very specific, compliance-driven certifications required to move into higher levels of responsibility. At times, these can feel like checkboxes, but I genuinely enjoyed the process…

True professional excellence requires a deliberate blend of two distinct disciplines: practical application and academic scholarship. You cannot just be a doer who ignores critical, evidence-based theory; similarly, you cannot be a theorist who has no idea how to execute on the ground. I was fortunate to have incredible mentors at NAU who forced me to build a scholarly foundation without ever losing sight of real-world application.

A few digestible takeaways from my journey…

• Certificates are Prep, but Mileage is Proof

  • Formal credentials prove you have the baseline discipline and intellect to cross a finish line, but your day-to-day professional experiences are where that knowledge is actually forged into wisdom.

• Embrace the Cohort Effect

  • Isolation is the enemy of high performance. Surround yourself with a peer group that will stress-test your ideas, hold you accountable to a high standard, and push you out of your comfort zone.

• Marry Theory to Execution

  • Gut feelings are great, but not enough…How do you lean on data, critical research, and frameworks to ensure your actions are built on a solid foundation?

• Fall in Love with the Process, Not the Outcome

  • A dissertation…much like a long-term strategic plan…can feel entirely overwhelming if you only look at the end product. True progress is made by breaking massive, complex goals down into daily, bite-sized micro-wins.

• Seek Out Bidirectional Mentors

  • Find advisors and leaders who refuse to let you cut corners. The best mentors are those who respect your practical skills but aggressively challenge you to elevate your thinking and intellectual rigor.

Ultimately, your advanced training isn’t just a milestone to look back on; it is an active engine designed to help you analyze, strategize, and create the future of your organization with intentionality.

What I’m Reading…

American Icon: Re-evaluating the Turnaround Blueprint…

I shared this one a couple of weeks ago. That said, I would consider this one of the most influential leadership reads on my shelf this year. Bryce Hoffman’s American Icon: Alan Mulally and the Fight to Save Ford Motor Company is not just well-written and highly enjoyable, but, as I mentioned then, it has had me excited to wake up early for my morning coffee over the past couple of weeks. More importantly, it has proven to be an exceptional portrait of Alan Mulally, widely regarded as one of the greatest turnaround CEOs of all time.

Hoffman does a great job of guiding us through Ford’s history, laying out the ingrained cultural flaws, toxic silos, and executive infighting that nearly led the company to ruin. It then moves through the courting of Mulally…bringing him over from Boeing. This onboarding process and his early days with Ford were highly entertaining, if not fascinating.

I found a strong, easy parallel between the automotive industry and other sectors, think public education, that frequently find themselves stuck in traditional, rigid structures. This offers critical insights into executing large-scale organizational turnarounds, building accountability frameworks, and driving authentic cultural shifts.

I do think there is another interesting conversation to be had about Level 4 Leadership versus Level 5 Leadership. I can say that Ford has maintained the momentum that was built under Mulally. That said, Mulally’s journey provides a blueprint into turnaround leadership and the skills needed to combine a fierce, unyielding professional will with the necessary, team-first humility required to dismantle decades of institutional ego.

I mentioned a few weeks ago that this was a highly recommended read. Having finished it, I stand by that completely.

What I’m Listening To…

The Ultimate Summer Road Trip Companion: Acquired

This past weekend, I made my way through the latest episode of the Acquired podcast, which breaks down the fascinating corporate biography and narrative history of Vanguard.

I have mentioned before that this is one of my favorite shows. The premise is simple…the hosts do an incredibly deep dive into how some of the world’s greatest companies were built and why their strategies worked. The hosts share an easygoing chemistry, conduct in-depth research for their episodes, and deliver complex histories in a way that is highly engaging and easy to listen to.

The Vanguard story is interesting, covering the evolution of modern investing, the unique origin story of founder Jack Bogle, and how the firm transformed into the juggernaut it is today. It is an interesting listen and worth your time.

If you haven’t tuned into Acquired yet, I highly recommend queueing it up for your long summer road trips. Because their episodes are deep dives, they usually run for a few hours, making them perfect for a long drive.

Some of my favorites…

• Coca-Cola, Starbucks, Trader Joe’s, Oprah, and The New York Times Company.

For the sports fans, you absolutely have to check these out:

• The NFL: This is a deep dive into America’s most powerful sports league, and it is easily one of my all-time favorite podcast episodes.

• The NBA: An interesting history…

• Indian Premier League Cricket: Trust me on this one, this one is highly entertaining…and a little wild.

  

What I’m Watching…

The World Cup…

You have to put us into the category of people who suddenly care about soccer…This is a fun time of year. I am not sure how I feel about soccer in general… the number of ties is ridiculous, FIFA is questionable, and the style of play isn’t helping (I feel like I am watching a 45-minute 5-on-3 penalty kill at times)… but the excitement in the host cities can notbe ignored…Ultimately, this is a great event that brings the world together for a few weeks.

My personal thoughts…wake me up when the knockout round begins. I am much more interested when the style of play shifts toward trying to win rather than preserving a tie. That said, this is a wild few weeks.

Initial thoughts:

• The USMNT is much better than in years past. Yes, they have won games that they were supposed to win, but let’s face it… that hasn’t always mattered, and they have looked good (most of the time) doing it. This feels like a big step forward… round of 16? Round of 8?

• Mexico and South Korea should just join forces; they are too much fun.

• Good for Canada… a little fight in them.

• Group H can’t tie every match… right?

• Really, Spain lost 0-0; Cape Verde won 0-0.

This is actually all I have right now. I find most of the matches unwatchable… so far… but we’ll follow this.

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What I’m Excited About…

The Summer Months: Setting up the future…

We are officially rolling into the summer months. The promotions, graduations, and end-of-year events have wrapped up; the morning temperatures are already in the high 80s; and vacation plans dominate local conversations.

During this season, my favorite question to receive is always: “As a superintendent, do you get your summers off, too?”

The simple answer is a definitive no. In reality, no one in education gets the summer off. Over the next few weeks, our focus shifts quickly from daily operations to long-term planning. June provides us with two critical strategic windows. First, it is an opportunity to look backward, as John Dewey famously noted, “We do not learn from experience... we learn from reflecting on experience.” Second, it is our quiet window to meticulously design the data-driven architecture of the upcoming school year.

To set the baseline for this work, I have asked our principals to ruthlessly focus on the following June leadership levers before taking their own well-deserved breaks:

• Review accomplishments and highlights from the past year and share with Senior Staff.

• Remove clutter and clean out your files and desk; ask your administrative assistant/ secretary to do the same.

• Audit your calendar….What revisions and additions are needed from this past year

• Protect your personal calendar for the upcoming year (plan vacations, personal time, doctor appointments, important events)

• Establish narrow, high-impact focus areas and academic goals for the 2026–2027 school year.

• Review and update student and employee handbooks for absolute clarity.

• Set and communicate summer operating hours to the district office and the public.

• Leave town for your vacation. Completely disconnect while on leave by utilizing your “out of office” reply and turning off your cell phone and computer.

• Verify facilities workflows by reviewing cleaning and repair schedules with operations staff.

• Model continuous learning by putting professional development on your calendar. Plan to actively attend and engage, not just drop in for a quick appearance.

• Sync with parent association groups early to secure major dates on the calendar.

• Refine your communication, updating the website, your key communicators’ email list, and your one-page district highlight document.

As Peter Drucker famously challenged leaders, “The best way to predict the future is to create it.” The big moves we make in the 2026–2027 school year will not happen by accident; they will be the direct result of the deliberate, careful intentions we set right now.

What I’m Pondering…

Stretch Moments and the Illusion of Readiness…

“If somebody offers you an amazing opportunity but you are not sure you can do it, say yes, then learn how to do it later!” - Richard Branson

I still remember this quote from a recent keynote…I think it’s great advice.

This is not a call to recklessness but an encouragement to embrace a bias for action and a belief in yourself. The greatest growth often comes from stepping outside your comfort zone, committing to a challenge, and passionately acquiring the knowledge and skills needed to succeed. It’s a powerful reminder that sometimes, the biggest barrier to opportunity isn’t capability but confidence and a willingness to say “yes.”

I remember a mentor of mine once telling me that he had always stepped into roles that he wasn’t quite ready for; these were stretch moments, they were moments that forced him outside of his comfort zone, they were the moments that truly grew him…

This was also tied to the idea that a degree or a recently gained certificate is not just about preparation for what’s next; it’s tangible proof that you have the resilience, discipline, and intellect to see things through. The same goes for the experiences that we gather along our own paths. It’s common to think about our experiences as preparation, but don’t discount that these experiences are also the proof…

What I’m Reading…

22 Pieces of Unconventional Career Advice…

This is especially relevant as we are the heart of promotions and graduations…Several of Sahil Bloom’s insights continue to resonate…I have shared these with both of my boys…

Here are a few highlights that particularly struck me:

• Be Valuable

  • This is the foundational principle. To achieve success, focus on creating value for everyone you encounter. Success is a direct result of the value you provide. Identify problems and develop solutions…Without being valuable, little else matters. Being valuable will act as “gasoline on your already roaring fire.”

• Be the Person Who Can Figure It Out

  • Especially early, you’ll face tasks where you have no idea where to begin. Be the person who can “just figure it out.”...Do your research, ask the right questions, and get it done. People will genuinely compete to work with you.

• People Want to Do Business with People They Like

  • This is simple. Being likable and pleasant to be around provides a durable competitive advantage.

• Extraordinary Outputs Require Extraordinary Inputs

  • There’s no shortcut to significant achievement. Life demands challenging tradeoffs and sacrifices. As Bloom notes, you often need to be willing to endure periods of “unbalance” in order to eventually achieve a life of “balance.”

• Build a Reputation for Reliability

  • You can go remarkably far simply by being someone people can count on to show up and do the work. Reliability is free but surprisingly rare. Consistently reliable > occasionally extraordinary….

• Do the “Old Fashioned” Things Well

  • Simple courtesies…eye contact, follow-through, arriving early, good posture, a confident handshake, listening more than you speak. These are free and timeless...and these alone put you in the top 10%...Adding to the others will put you in the top 1%

As I have told my kids, your career is a long game…these pieces of advice will help you play it well.

https://www.sahilbloom.com/newsletter/22-pieces-of-career-advice-they-dont-teach-you-in-school

What I’m Listening To…

If strategy is so important, why don’t we make time for it?

This was a short podcast…really based on an earlier Harvard Business Review article that discusses the importance of creating some “white space” in our workdays. I think of this as think time.

Too often, we view success through the lens of our busyness. That is…How many hours do we work? How many meetings do we have scheduled? etc…

To break this cycle and shift from a reactive triage mode to a proactive strategic approach, we have to build two distinct layers of protection into our organizations:

1. Protect Personal Strategy Time:

   1. Build “Think Time” directly into your master schedule. I work closely with my assistant to secure protected blocks each week labeled Office Time. This creates an uncompromised window to strategize, process data, and think through the systemic implications of previous meetings.

2. Protect Executive Team Strategy Time:

   1. Too frequently, senior leadership meetings turn into exhausting slogs through minor logistics, approvals, and administrative details. When this happens, team conversations focus entirely on superficial, short-term fixes rather than long-term “what-ifs.” This friction is common with developing teams, as members learn to align their priorities.

The Fix: Separate logistics from strategy by implementing a one-on-one Monday framework.

We had to do this…For my own sanity…Every Monday morning, I meet with each member of my leadership team individually for a swift, 30-minute operational check-in. This allows us to work through the minor pieces. More importantly, this builds in time to learn each other’s thought patterns and to clear the administrative decks. Then, when our senior staff meeting begins at 11:30 AM, all logistical friction has been resolved, and we can focus on large-scale topics, long-term impact, and systemic improvements.

What I’m Watching…

NBA Finals…

We have to talk about Jalen Brunson. Whether you are a Knicks fan or not…really, whether you are a basketball fan or not…you cannot ignore the leadership that has been on display in New York.

Last night, we watched Brunson completely take over what was an otherwise ugly NBA Finals Game. His 45 points led the New York Knicks to their first NBA championship in over 50 years. But far more impressive than this stat line has been his leadership.

This championship was actually won back in 2024. That was the moment Brunson signed a contract extension that sat more than $100 million below his maximum market value. He voluntarily sacrificed $113 million in immediate personal compensation because he understood exactly what was needed to assemble the championship pieces.

His playbook offers an incredible blueprint for leadership:

• Strategic Flexibility

  • Every leader faces capital and resource constraints. By intentionally taking less personal payroll, Brunson granted his organization the financial freedom required to acquire and retain elite, high-performing talent. It was a deliberate pivot from prioritizing individual metrics to securing collective wins.

• Setting the Cultural Tone

  • When the leader of an organization displays an authentic, team-first mentality, the internal signal becomes clear. The mission matters more than the individual. This level of selflessness creates psychological safety and serves as a powerful motivator for the entire team to pull in a singular direction.

• Playing the Long Game

  • It is always easy to chase an immediate payout or a short-term victory. However, sustained, scalable excellence requires patience and a relentless focus on multi-year horizons.

True leadership isn’t about demanding sacrifices from the people in your charge; it is about making the foundational sacrifice yourself to give everyone else the room to grow, execute, and win. With Colin living in New York, our household has officially become pseudo-Knicks fans this year…we did kick off the NBA season at the Garden this past October. This has been a fun team to follow this past year…

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What I’m Pondering…

“I insist on a lot of time being spent, almost every day, to just sit and think. That is very uncommon in American business.” -Warren Buffett

In our leadership circles, we talk a lot about the necessity of getting off the dance floor and up onto the balcony…stepping away from the immediate, daily choreography of our roles to gain a broader perspective. Too often, during the busy seasons of life, creating that space is difficult. It requires intentionality.

We have to actively fight to create time to think.

Recently, I shared a daily routine designed to build this idea into the morning framework. Staying with that topic, our best defense against falling into a purely reactive mode is to intentionally build think time into our daily routines.

This practice looks different for everyone and occurs at different hours of the day depending on your specific rhythm, but the requirement remains critical. If we want to move forward rather than just managing the friction of the present moment, we must be disciplined about protecting this space.

As you look at your calendar for the upcoming week, I would encourage you to be entirely intentional. Block out the time, clear the desk, and give yourself permission to just think.

What I’m Excited About…

The AASA Aspiring Superintendents Academy

This past week officially kicked off the next cohort of the AASA Aspiring Superintendents Academy. I am looking forward to another year of participating as one of the mentors.

I always look forward to this opportunity. While there is certainly a component of sharing my own stories and experiences, as well as our district’s playbook, with aspiring superintendents from across the country, it is equally about learning from them.

Over the past few years, I have been fortunate to make some great connections with rising leaders. Many of them have shared innovative ideas and practices that we have integrated directly into our own buildings.

This reminds us that leadership is a continuous loop of development. I am looking forward to a year of collaboration, shared growth, and bringing tactical tidbits back to our district along the way.

What I’m Reading…

American Icon: Alan Mulally and the Fight to Save Ford Motor Company

Coming off of Indra Nooyi’s autobiography, I wanted to stay in the business world for a few more weeks. I was looking for something that maintained the human story of a leader’s career development while also peeling back the curtain on high-stakes leadership decisions made behind the scenes. That search led me to Bryce Hoffman’s American Icon.

I am not a “car person,” nor am I a Ford person. In fact, I am much more interested in the future of autonomous electric vehicles….Perhaps a future post incoming about Rivian…But this book is widely billed as “one of the greatest management narratives of our time,” and up to this point, it has lived up to the hype.

Hoffman does a nice job of guiding us through the history of the Ford Motor Company, including the deeply ingrained cultural flaws and infighting that nearly led to the company’s ruin. The chapters detail the courting of Alan Mulally to bring him over from Boeing, his onboarding process, and his early days as CEO have proven to be fascinating. This is one of those books I get excited to wake up for with my morning coffee.

From a leadership perspective, this book reads like a qualitative case study with powerful ethnographic elements, yet Hoffman writes it with the pacing and tension of a novel. It is an entertaining read and really well done from a journalistic perspective.

I highly recommend….Complex organizational turnaround efforts, accountability frameworks, and corporate culture shifts…

What I’m Listening To…

The Knowledge Project: Stephen Schwarzman (Episode 69)

I have been spending some time exploring Shane Parrish’s podcast, The Knowledge Project. This has proven to be a solid listen. I appreciate the intellectual rigor behind this show; Parrish does a nice job of interviewing elite operators to deconstruct their mental models, decision-making frameworks, and habits for high performance.

This episode goes back to November 2019. A sit-down with Stephen Schwarzman, the co-founder, Chairman, and CEO of one of the largest private equity firms, Blackstone. I previously read and enjoyed Schwarzman’s memoir, What It Takes: Lessons in the Pursuit of Excellence, and this conversation provides some of those same high-caliber nuggets.

The part of the interview I have thought about most this week is his discussion of The 10-Point Talent Scale. Schwarzman grades potential talent on a strict 1-to-10 metric. In a high-performing culture, 1-through-6s simply do not exist, or at least, they shouldn’t. He breaks down the upper tier like this:

• The 8s: Reliable performers who are successfully able to do exactly what they are told.

• The 9s: Elite executors who can deliver in their specific field and naturally level up the direction they are given, though they don’t necessarily invent the playbook themselves.

• The 10s: The true, rare game-changers. These are the visionaries who intuitively spot complex systemic problems, create massive new avenues of growth, and single-handedly alter the trajectory of the entire organization.

When Parrish asked him how he handles the 7s, Schwarzman’s response was simple and definitive…he actively helps them find new organizations where they have the opportunity to become an 8 or a 9. This was a reminder of the discipline required to maintain a culture of excellence.

What I’m Watching…

NBA Finals…

How good have the first two games been? In the mix with the NCAA Baseball Regionals and Super Regionals, Women’s College World Series, the NHL Stanley Cup, and the upcoming World Cup, June is proving why it is the best sports month!

Here are my quick takes…

• NBA Finals

  • This one feels far from over, even with the Knicks’ 2-0 lead. It almost feels like a New York heartbreak may be on the horizon…This week will be incredible as the series shifts to The Garden…Good luck with tickets!

• NHL Stanley Cup

  • I am not sure how excited the casual sports fan is about Carolina and Vegas playing for hockey’s biggest trophy, but come on. All three games decided by one goal, and two of those going to overtime. We’ve seen a lot already…

• NCAA Baseball

  • I love this time of year…By the end of tomorrow, the field for the World Series will be set. It will be loaded with teams from the SEC as well as West Virginia, which really isn’t that big of a story since Troy has punched their ticket???

• NCAA Softball

  • Texas again…what a ride they’ve been on. Three straight championship series and two titles…How good is Teagan Kavan?

• World Cup

  • Check back in a week…To be honest, all I know is that all of the matches are sold out, but not really, and I think you can bring water bottles in (maybe, sometimes, some places), and apparently the subway ride to the game is super expensive…

    

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What I’m Excited About…

The June Edition: The Power of the Stop and Start

For most people, the arrival of June signals the official kickoff of summer and vacation season. For us in the world of educational leadership, June really means something entirely different…it is the official launch of the next school year.

This week, we kick off our annual Administrator Institute. We are bringing our leadership teams together to reflect on this past year and to begin developing their high-standard goals for the future. This week is an intense, deep dive focused on reviewing student achievement data, analyzing our effectiveness surveys, parsing High Reliability Schools quick data, and game-planning for the 2026–2027 school year.

One of the things I love most about our field of education is the predictable ebbs and flows that define our calendar. Our entire system is built on strategic stops and starts. The end of a school year, the launch of a new one; the close of a semester, the beginning of the next.

These natural inflection points provide a perfect structural window for reflection and execution. We get a clean break to stop, reflect on what worked, and then immediately launch into the next phase. Just as the calendar year has New Year’s Eve for personal resolutions, June is the educational leader’s New Year. It is when our most critical, organizational resolutions are born.

So, the next time someone casually asks if I enjoy having my summers off, the answer is an absolute no. The summer months are when we get after it. We use this quiet window to reflect on the past year, establish our “Narrow and Deep” levers of excellence, and aggressively chart the course for the future.

What I’m Pondering…

A Cautionary Tale on Life Partners (and Endurance Sports)

It has been a busy past few weeks in our household. Both of our boys are navigating some life transitions over the next month…moving into new apartments, starting new jobs, and, in at least one instance, navigating a new relationship.

Watching this play out got me thinking. Not in a way that overanalyzes an early-twentysomething relationship, but it is worth reflecting on the fact that they are entering the stage of life where relationships can become lifelong commitments. Emily and I recently had a conversation with them about how choosing a life partner is, without exception, the single most important decision they will ever make. You have to choose wisely…

Now, I like to think I have some real authority in this arena. In fact, I can serve as an excellent cautionary tale of what happens when you don’t evaluate your life partner with extreme caution. Looking back, there were clear warning signs along the way that I completely missed.

My urgent advice for the boys was to watch out for these exact, glaring red flags:

• “I signed us up...”

• “It’s really not that bad...”

• “We have plenty of time to train...”

• “It’s mostly downhill...”

• “It’s more mental than anything...”

On second thought… maybe those aren’t red flags at all. Maybe those are the ultimate green lights. The reality is that I think Emily and I are the authorities in this area. If you find someone who forces you out of your comfort zone and down a technical descent, maybe you didn’t make a mistake. Just buckle in and enjoy the ride along the way.

What I’m Reading…

My Life in Full by Indra Nooyi

One of my favorites over the past month is the autobiography of former PepsiCo CEO and Chairman, Indra Nooyi, titled My Life in Full. Her name is one that kept popping up in my leadership studies. After the third separate recommendation, I knew I needed to take the dive.

This has quickly become one of my top recommended leadership reads. Nooyi ran one of the most complex global corporations, and her “Performance with Purpose” framework delivered results while actively creating working conditions that value the holistic lives of her employees.

I found this one incredibly accessible, moving chronologically through her life to highlight critical inflection points, the power of grit, and the mechanics of massive strategic pivots. I have also shared this with my own children as it serves as an example of the power of an unyielding work ethic, capitalizing on opportunities, and intentionally seeking out mentors.

This one is worth a summer dive…

What I’m Listening To…

Climbing Gold Podcast: Jon Krakauer (Episode 61)

This episode is a banger.

Jon Krakauer, best known for his 1996 Everest chronicle Into Thin Air, as well as Into the Wild and Under the Banner of Heaven, was a recent guest on Alex Honnold’s Climbing Gold podcast. While the world knows him as a journalist, this episode reminds you that Krakauer is, at his core, a climber.

The conversation surrounding this episode has been fairly widespread…I found this one to live up to the hype. The interview explores the fascinating, unintended paradox of his career. Into Thin Air, a book written to expose the brutal realities and commercialization of Everest, actually inspired an entire generation of amateur climbers to flock to the mountain…

More importantly, there is a vulnerable look at Krakauer as he speaks honestly about his long journey navigating survival guilt and PTSD. I walked away with a new appreciation for him. This is a solid hour of audio worth tuning in during your next training ride or morning commute.

What I’m Watching…

A Weekend of Rituals and The Dark Wizard

The television has been exclusively tuned to the NCAA Baseball Regionals all weekend. This has been an annual ritual for us, although I am finding that with both boys out of the house, I am getting a lot more pushback from Emily than in years past.

That said, we did dive into the four-part HBO documentary series, The Dark Wizard: Dean Potter.

This one is well-executed. We both enjoyed the examination of the legendary extreme athlete Dean Potter, tracking his pioneering feats across rock climbing, BASE jumping, and high-lining. The added layer to this one is the capturing of the psychological torment, isolation, and sometimes toxic competitiveness that fueled his pursuit of these extreme endeavors.

It was also interesting to see Alex Honnold serve as the antagonist, offering a contrast in risk management and mental frameworks. This was a multi-layered character study that we both enjoyed…Worth the time.

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What I’m Excited About…

Greetings from Durango…

Fresh off the excitement of promotion and graduation ceremonies over these past couple of weeks, Emily and I took the opportunity to use the three-day weekend for a quick trip up to Durango. There is something about the mountains…the cool mornings, the long mountain bike rides, and that distinct mountain town vibe.

This is Colorado…this is the outdoors…This is life at its highest level.

What I’m Pondering…

One of the best parts of the windshield time we had together this weekend was revisiting some of our goals for the year. These aren’t professional goals, per se, but rather overarching frameworks for how we planned to move through 2026. They are the Six Intentions for 2026 that I originally shared back in the January 4th edition:

• Documenting the Joy

  • Candidly, I actually don’t think I have been that great at “sharing my experiences” better this year. I definitely continue to focus on the moment, but for this summer, I will look to recommit to digital storytelling and to capturing and sharing experiences better… hopefully, evidence of a life well lived.

• Guarding the Conviction

  • This has been a win…Two simple steps…

• 15-Minute Closeout Prep: I end each day by identifying the next day’s 3 MVPs (Most Valuable Priorities), ensuring my calendar is fully oriented around them, and eliminating any friction in advance (making copies, opening files, clearing the desk).

• The Kickstart Session: I start each morning with the first hour (at least 30 minutes) focused entirely on those MVPs. No emails, no meetings, no interruptions.

• Seeking the Hard-Fun

  • 2026 is about getting back into triathlons and introducing some heavy gravel-biking adventures. Check, and almost check! Oceanside 70.3 was a success. Now my attention turns to the Arizona Gravel Series this fall. I am looking forward to that specific fulfillment that only comes through grit, endurance, and physical testing.

• Closing the Distance

  • As Colin and Cade continue to build their own lives, we are making it our mission to show up in their world. New York City and Tacoma are locked in. We have booked our trips to go see the boys on their turf this summer, focusing entirely on intentional proximity and creating new memories.

• Mastering the Dual Act

  • The “Empty Nest” isn’t a void; it’s an arena of opportunity. We are loving this phase of life. From Oceanside to connecting with friends in Sedona to being in Durango right now, we are intentionally reclaiming our time as a duo.

• Expanding the Contribution

  • I am thoroughly enjoying my work on the national level this year. I’ve had incredible opportunities to collaborate with aspiring superintendents, lawmakers, and educational leaders on policy, ensuring we continue to elevate and support the student experience for the future.

2026 feels like a year of expansion. We are making headway…

What I’m Reading…

The New York Times: Why U.S. Test Scores Are in a ‘Generation-Long Decline’

Maybe the most important piece I have read over the past week was an analysis of student achievement data from the Stanford Educational Opportunity Project. The New York Times does a nice job of summarizing this work, highlighting an important truth in that reading and math scores have declined steadily across the U.S. between 2015 and 2025. This “learning recession” cuts across income, geographic, and racial divides, and while the pandemic certainly accelerated the slide, the decline actually began a decade ago, in the mid-2010s.

There is a critically important, high-stakes conversation to be had here, but I remain highly skeptical that we have the leadership at the national level ready or committed to truly engage in it.

Predictably, some will use this data as a weapon to label the public education system a failure. That is a lazy argument.

We know that a child spends roughly 10% of their time between the ages of 0 and 18 inside a school building. To ignore what is happening to our children during the other 90% of their lives…where constant digital stimulation has displaced focus and stamina, food insecurity remains an issue, and early childhood education opportunities are inconsistent at best…is willfully blind. That said, using that 90% as an excuse to shrug our shoulders and deflect accountability is an equally lazy argument.

There is a necessary conversation to be had around federal policy (and private tech algorithms). There needs to be a willingness to engage in conversations around the complex realities of childhood poverty and rising special education needs, while also aggressively deploying the tactical levers within our immediate reach.

While missing data also skews some of these conclusions, the data do prove that school communities can buck this trend through high-impact, non-negotiable strategies. From rethinking classroom technology to embedding data-driven tutoring directly into the school day, and executing aggressive, principal-led interventions to combat chronic absenteeism, there are examples of success. But true, sustained, and scalable success will require meaningful dialogue across the entire ecosystem that impacts a child’s life and, in turn, their opportunities for success.

This article is worth the time and effort. The decline is an enormous challenge, but it is not an inevitability. The conversations are necessary, the work is urgent, and excellence remains a choice.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/13/upshot/test-scores-school-districts-us.html

What I’m Listening To…

The Rich Roll Podcast: Roll On (Episode 983)

“Stop optimizing your life and start living it.”

Roll On is easily my favorite version of Rich Roll’s podcast. The topics are consistently timely and entertaining. I also enjoy the chemistry between Rich and co-host Adam Skolnick, which makes for an easy, engaging listen.

In typical fashion, this episode covers a good amount of ground. The core theme emphasizes the importance of focusing on actually living your life rather than constantly reading, watching, or listening to instructions on how to live it. There is a fine line between intentional personal growth and getting trapped in an algorithm of endless self-help…This conversation navigates it well while also acknowledging their own podcast genre…

Beyond this, there are some fun deep dives into the cultural landscape. They provide some music recommendations for groups I don’t typically listen to…Geese and Turnstile…and they handed me my next documentary watch: The Dark Wizard: Dean Potter.

This is just a solid format. It delivers a fun, smart mix of pop culture, current events, and a healthy, critical look at the very self-help industry we all consume. Definitely worth the listen…

https://richroll.com/podcast/roll-on-983/

What I’m Watching…

The Iron Horse Bicycle Classic…

Not much television this week…

This past week has been filled with late nights and travel, though all with great intentions. Because of that, our viewing has shifted from screens to streets. We are spending this weekend taking in the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic right here in Durango, where the downtown vibe is fantastic…

Saturday featured the classic road race where cyclists race the historic Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad train up to Silverton. It’s a 50+-mile road ride that takes riders over both Coal Bank Pass and Molas Pass. Because Durango is a mecca for cyclists, the pro field always features elite American professional riders prepping for their seasons, and this year was no different.

Sunday brings the mountain bike race and gravel ride. The mountain bike course includes a pretty cool feature as the looped course brings riders right through the middle of the Steamworks Brewing Co. restaurant before dropping out the back door and descending out onto Main Avenue.

This is always a fun weekend with a phenomenal community energy…a great way to kick off the summer months.

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What I’m Pondering…

“Rules are for people who can’t follow directions; Standards are for people who aspire to do special things.” -Tim Corbin

I love this quote and this distinction…Rules often serve as narrow and basic guardrails, necessary for those who need explicit directions to function. In contrast, standards represent the elevated benchmarks that high performers set for themselves and others.

They are a declaration of aspiration, pushing individuals beyond compliance to achieve exceptional results. The best leaders understand this distinction by embodying high standards and fostering an environment where every team member is inspired to hold themselves and their peers to the same elevated expectations. This collective commitment to high standards propels organizations from good to genuinely special.

What I’m Reading…

“How do you know when to sell a stock?”

One of my go-tos…Sahil Bloom’s The Curiosity Chronicle. Bloom’s newsletter provides actionable ideas for building a high-performing, healthy, and wealthy life. His writing is easily accessible, and his weekly insights provide a nice little motivational punch.

I love this deceptively simple yet insightful question posed to investor Bill Ackman’s partner, Ryan Israel: “How do you know when to sell a stock?” The initial context was the world of investments, but Bloom expands upon Israel’s principles guiding smart investment exits by applying them to various aspects of our lives…from careers and relationships to personal pursuits. Here are the three reasons to “sell”...anything in life:

• You were wrong about the investment

  • Recognize when new information contradicts your initial understanding or the original logic no longer holds true. Separating emotions from this decision is crucial, whether it’s a stock or a chosen path.

• You’ve already been paid too well for what’s left

  • Understand when something has already delivered significant value, and future growth is likely limited. Avoid expecting past success to automatically continue, whether in a job or a relationship.

• The opportunity cost of holding is too high

  • Acknowledge that staying on a current path may mean missing out on more valuable alternatives, whether financially, emotionally, or in terms of fulfillment. This applies to projects, commitments, and even personal identities.

The bottom line…it’s okay to change your mind…and it’s important to acknowledge when an opportunity and/or relationship has hit a ceiling lower than your own…

What I’m Listening To…

“Every day you have a choice about how you will choose to attack the day…choose excellence.”

T went back to the Success Hotline podcast with Dr. Robert Gilbert for this one…This came from a conversation with one of my children…These daily devotionals are typically very hit-or-miss. That said, Message 12,496, titled The One Word That Will Be On My Tombstone, is one I keep returning to. In this episode, Dr. Gilbert uses the word EXTREME in the same way we have discussed the idea of Choosing Excellence.

Dr. Gilbert talks about two types of people in this world…the Doers and the Don’ters.

Let’s focus on the Doers, I don’t have a lot of time for the Don’ters…This category is broken further down…

• 10% of the Doers…are those who simply show up…that’s all…These were the ‘D’ students we went to school with.

• 60% of the Doers…are solid! They get the job done…they work 9-5…nothing more…These were the C and B (maybe B+) students.

• 27% of the Doers…show up and do a little more…You can count on these people…they were the ‘A’ students.

• 3% of the Doers…are EXTREME (I would say CHOOSE EXCELLENCE)...These are the Steph Currys, Michael Jordans, Oprah Winfreys, and Serena Williams…They are extreme in the training and their preparation…They study more, work out more, practice more, and do more…As a result…They get more…They get more because they give more…

  

What I’m Watching…

There is so much good stuff going on… NBA playoffs, the NHL (these have been incredible and are heading toward some great finales), the PGA Championship (21 golfers within four shots of the lead heading into today’s final round)...

But I wanted to share a hidden gem that has been airing on PBS over the past several weeks: The Count of Monte Cristo. This might be the best version I’ve seen in terms of sticking to the book. Through eight well-paced episodes, the 2026 series does a great job of walking us through Alexandre Dumas’ classic story of vengeance and redemption in a justified manner.

The ending pulls in a touch of Hollywood, but ultimately presents the narrative as it was told, for the most part. Highly recommend. It’s a solid period piece with great acting that hits the mark…

What I’m Excited About…

It is graduation week!!! At least here in Arizona…

There is an energy that comes during these few weeks! The promotions, the graduations, the ridiculous end-of-year complaints…What a week! What a year!!!

My favorite question now is, as a superintendent, do you get your summers off, too?

The simple answer is…no. Actually, no one in education gets the summer off. Over the next few weeks, we are quickly transitioning to planning for the future.

June provides two critical opportunities. First, it is an opportunity to reflect on the past year and consider what worked and what you want to adjust. As John Dewey once said, “We do not learn from experience... we learn from reflecting on experience.” Second, this is the time for careful planning for the upcoming school year. “The best way to predict the future is to create it.” Peter Drucker sets you up in this regard. Your big moves in 2026-2027 will be the result of careful intention…

That said, I have asked my principals to start thinking about several things as we head into June…

• Review the school’s accomplishments and highlights from the past year and share them with Senior Staff.

• Clean out your files and desk; ask your administrative assistant/ secretary to do the same.

• Review last year’s calendar and consider revisions and additions

• Prepare your personal calendar for the upcoming year

• Set goals and/or focus areas for the upcoming year

• Review and update student and employee handbooks

• Establish summer hours, submit to the district office, and post

• Plan to leave town for at least part of your vacation time, and communicate vacation dates to Senior Staff

• While on leave, use your ‘out of office reply’ and turn off your cell phone and computer

• Review classroom and building cleaning and repair schedules with facilities and operations staff.

• Put professional development activities on your calendar and plan to attend several, staying an hour or the entire time, not just dropping in.

• Meet with parent association groups to gather dates for major events for the upcoming year.

• Review and revise communications documents, including your one-page highlight document, the website, and the key communicators’ email list.

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What I’m Pondering…

“Americans spent over $109 billion on lottery tickets last year.”

I came across this staggering statistic this week. To put this in perspective, that is more than people spent on movies, books, concerts, and sporting events… combined.

This is a pretty sobering reflection on where we are as a culture. It seems people are spending more money hoping for a “chance” at an incredible life rather than doing the actual work required to build one.

It seems we would be better off investing in the work rather than betting on the odds…

What I’m Reading…

What to Make of a Life

I picked this up in the airport last week and was immediately reminded why I enjoy reading Jim Collins so much. From Built to Last to Good to Great, Collins does a nice job of taking rigorous, data-backed research and turning it into a sensible, actionable narrative. Storytelling backed by research…

This is an interesting book, and one that is easy to digest. Collins places his focus on matched pairs of well-known people (where data is available) to investigate how they were able to align their internal “encodings” with a clear Hedgehog Concept…and then, when faced with a “cliff” or career “fog”, launch a meaningful second act.

A few stories from the book that have particularly fascinated me:

• John Glenn - The transition from an astronaut to a long-serving U.S. Senator.

• Michael J. Fox - The evolution from an A-list actor to a world-changing health advocate.

• Alan Page - The trajectory from a Hall of Fame defensive tackle for the Vikings to an Associate Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court.

• Katharine Graham - The “accidental” CEO who led The Washington Post through the Pentagon Papers and Watergate.

This has been an enjoyable read. There’s a reminder in here that our “encodings”...the things we are naturally wired to do…can be applied across different arenas throughout the different stages of our lives.

What I’m Listening To…

Lucky Man

From the Jim Collins book, I jumped into Michael J. Fox’s 2002 autobiography, Lucky Man. I highly recommend the audiobook version, as it is narrated by Fox himself… this personalizes the story. Upon its release, the book was a critical success, with reviewers praising Fox for his raw, authentic look at his early struggles with fame and alcohol, and his eventual pivot to coming to terms with Parkinson’s disease.

I was never a major follower of his career and only knew the broad strokes of his story. I have found this book, especially in its format, to be highly entertaining. It tracks his journey from Canada to Hollywood…“If you want to be a lumberjack, you better live in the forest”...through the whirlwind of Family Ties and Back to the Future.

Beyond the celebrity memoir, Fox does provide an interesting blueprint for resilience, proving that a life-altering diagnosis doesn’t have to be a “cliff”...it can be a new direction. “Acceptance doesn’t mean resignation; it means understanding that something is what it is and that there’s got to be a way through it.” High recommend, and I am looking forward to diving into some of his later books…

What I’m Watching…

Cocodona 250: History in Our Backyard…

This past week, we were consumed with the livestream of the Cocodona 250. This is the 250-mile trail run that starts in Black Canyon City and winds its way up to Flagstaff. The route is a gauntlet with 40,000 feet of total climbing…let that sink in…runners climb up to Crown King, traverse Prescott, summit Mingus Mountain, and then drop into Jerome and Sedona before the final push into the high pines of Flagstaff.

The live stream was pretty solid and on our television each morning and evening this past week. We were following the elite runners chasing 60-hour finishes while the bulk of the field fought simply to beat the 125-hour cutoff.

The real story this year was Rachel Entrekin…

Rachel didn’t just win the women’s division…she was the outright winner of the entire race. She became the first woman in history to win the event overall, crossing the line in 56 hours and 9 minutes, shattering the previous overall course record by over two hours. This is crazy!!!

Her secret to maintaining her pace over 250 miles of Arizona terrain…“Mashed potatoes and 19 minutes’ worth of sleep on the ground.” This is just one of those rare moments in sports where a performance is so dominant that it redefines what we thought was possible...

What I’m Excited About…

Being home…

April was a high-mileage month. Between work functions, checking in on the boys, and a few fun events, I spent a significant amount of time living out of a suitcase. While it is good to be home for the next several weeks to catch up on life, the travel time gave me a chance to reflect on a few of my favorite things when I’m on the move:

• Airbnb > Hotels

  • I’ll take a house over a hotel room any day. There is a sense of comfort that comes from having actual indoor and outdoor living spaces. I also feel like you get a much better “sense of place” in a neighborhood than you do in a hotel lobby.

• Quiet Mornings

  • My non-negotiable travel ritual. Coffee, a good book, and a walk through a new neighborhood before the rest of the world wakes up. This is not dissimilar to my usual mornings…

• The “Local” Hunt

  • I love the challenge of avoiding the chains and finding a local café or restaurant that the residents actually frequent.

• The “Scouting” Run

  • An early morning jog is the best way to get the “lay of the land.” If you’re in a major city…book a guided bike tour.

• The Flight Ritual

  • I am not super productive on planes…I actually enjoy the forced disconnect of a flight. This provides deep-reading time. No Wi-Fi, no texts…just a book and a notepad.

• Light Packing

  • I am 100% on Team Carry-On…It forces you to prioritize the essentials, which might be a pretty good metaphor for life in general. More importantly, you avoid the baggage claim stress.

    

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What I’m Listening To…

I’ve been spending time with the Founders podcast (Episode #350), which features a deep dive into the autobiography of Roger Federer. For me, it is easy to fall into the trap of thinking of Federer as someone for whom greatness came naturally; he has a relaxed persona on the court. It is not surprising that this episode reveals that this persona is one born out of a hard-won professional construction.

This episode covers his early “racket-smasher” days to his journey to the top of the tennis world….There is a professional evolution that every leader can learn from.

Here are the takeaways that have stayed with me:

• The Emotional Pivot

  • Federer realized that losing his cool was a “leak” in his performance. He traded the “racket-smashing” for a stoic professionalism that allowed him to stay present.

• Selective Amnesia

  • This one is fascinating!! One of his greatest strengths was the ability to forget a bad point instantly...Fun fact: Federer won 82% of his matches, but only 54% of the points played….The Lesson: You don’t have to win every “point” to win the “match.”

• The “CEO” of the Court

  • I love his level of professionalism…Federer treated his support team like a high-performing Board of Directors. By ensuring his coaches, physios, and family were perfectly aligned, he cleared the “mental clutter” so he could focus 100% on execution.

• Intensity vs. Stress

  • He mastered the art of being 100% “on” during a match but 100% “off” and relaxed the moment he stepped off the court. He understood that true longevity requires a switch; you cannot stay in “red-line” mode indefinitely and expect to last 24 years at the top.

The lesson here is clear: The “grace” we see under the lights is a professional choice made in the dark.

What I’m Pondering

One of my favorite listens lately has been Scott Galloway. Galloway is an NYU Stern professor, entrepreneur, and author known for his unfiltered, data-driven takes on business, tech, and modern life. He is often found exploring the intersection of economic success and personal well-being.

In a recent podcast episode, he shared something so simple, but something that has stuck with me…

“The greatest wasted resource in history is good intentions that don’t get articulated.”

The simple idea is that no matter how famous someone is, they love affirmation as much as anybody else. The problem is that we often think positive things about someone but fail to reach out and share them…Good thoughts that don’t get articulated are wasted.

Top 20% Challenge: Think about those people in your organization that you consider to be your top 20%. These are the people you would clone if you could. Take a moment this week to reach out and share a positive note…Text message works, but even better is a handwritten note sent to their home…

What I’m Reading…

As a superintendent, I am frequently drawn to the literature our students are engaging with in our classrooms. This past week, a middle school team shared a copy of Alan Gratz’s Refugee with me. It is a fast-paced, highly entertaining piece of young adult fiction that follows the stories of three young people fleeing for their lives in three different eras:

• Josef - A Jewish boy escaping Nazi Germany in the 1930s.

• Isabel - A Cuban girl seeking refuge in Florida during the 1994 economic crisis.

• Mahmoud - A Syrian boy seeking asylum in Germany in 2015.

While the writing is engaging, especially for a middle school audience, Gratz does a great job of attaching a name, a face, and a story to a humanitarian topic that is often oversimplified.

Too often, we see the dehumanizing tactic of referring to people solely by their group status or through detached pronouns. When we move beyond these overgeneralized and oversimplified labels and replace them with a name and a face, our perspective shifts. We move from “managing a problem” to “understanding a person.”

With an actual story behind the headline, we can begin to think much more critically about the world. I am looking forward to the thought-provoking discussions our students will have as they realize that while the settings of these stories change, the universal desire for safety and dignity remains the same.

What I’m Excited About…

“Champions create distance on Fridays…Don’t be like everyone else waiting for the bell to ring.” -Ben Newman

If you happen to work in schools, you know that we have entered into what we affectionately call the 100 days of May…

I love this time of year. It is incredibly busy. The kids may be testing us a little…certainly not as much as some of the adults…But this is also the best time of the year!

This is the time when leadership becomes crucial. As leaders, your energy and optimism will set the tone for these final few weeks. Lead with intent and finish focused and strong. These final weeks can set you apart, establishing a standard for others to follow.

What I’m Watching…

One of the shows Emily and I have thoroughly enjoyed over the past couple of weeks is the new HBO series, Rooster, starring Steve Carell. While the reviews have been a little mixed, we love this one. It’s an easy watch. I actually think the characters are great in this one.

The show follows Carell’s character, a successful author who heads to a small college campus to support his daughter as her personal and professional life begins to unravel. Through a few series of events, he eventually becomes the “writer-in-residence,” leading to a messy and funny exploration of their relationship…

This is just a really good, solid show with some great dialogue. I highly recommend…

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What I’m Pondering…

Last weekend, we were in Sedona for Emily’s 50 miler…

With Emily tackling a 50-mile trail run, I found myself fully immersed in the role of full support crew.

This had me thinking about the famous Joe Louis quote: “Champions are not made in the ring; they are merely recognized there.” We often celebrate the finish line photo or the “National Championship” moment (like Cori Close and the UCLA Bruins), but the real greatness is found much earlier.

It is found in the quiet service. In the professional world, this is the work that happens when the cameras are off and the boardroom is empty. It’s the late-night strategy sessions, the “Green Time” on your calendar spent thinking instead of reacting, and the relentless support you provide to your team and from your team so they/you can shine under the lights.

So….from the dusty trailhead at 4:00 AM with a hydration pack or sitting in a cabinet meeting mapping out the Fourth Quarter, the mission is the same: The roadwork happens in the dark. The ring is just where people find out about it.

What I’m Reading…

Trail run course maps…

Actually, it may be a little too late to read these maps…Emily’s 50-mile race in Sedona last weekend ended in the kind of disappointment that only an endurance athlete can truly understand. At mile 48, with the finish line nearly in sight, a wrong turn took Emily and another runner off-course. This turned into an ordeal of coded text messages, a search and rescue mobilization, and ultimately, an official “Did Not Finish.” Despite running 52 miles that day, the official results won’t show a completion.

It’s easy to view the day solely through the lens of frustration. Months of training, early mornings on the trail, and long days in the mountains logging miles. Then…you put together a near-flawless performance for 48 miles, not just surviving the trails, but competing for a podium spot. To have the day end in a DNF is a heavy weight to carry.

There’s a better story here…

Why do we choose to do hard things in the first place? Why train to run 50 miles? The ultimate goal is to test your limits, or maybe find out what your limit may be. That question was answered…Emily answered that question with a resounding “No”...we now know that 50 miles is not her limit.

It’s worth celebrating the grit and resilience…The work ethic in the “dark of the morning” for months was inspiring. Then handling the heartbreak of that 52-mile run with grace is a masterclass in character. Once again, I am proud of her dedication…she proved that while the “ring” didn’t recognize her this time, the champion was already made.

Off to the next one…

What I’m Listening To…

In a recent episode of The Learning Leader Show (#680), Scott Galloway, an NYU professor and serial entrepreneur, shared an idea that has stayed with me…Routine speeds up time; novelty slows it down.

In a time in which we are bombarded with longevity experts and hacks, we often forget that the simplest way to extend our lives is to actually live with intention. Galloway’s point is that if you want life to move fast, simply stick to a rigid routine. When every day is a carbon copy of the last, our brains stop logging new memories…Suddenly, our months feel like weeks, and weeks feel like hours.

So, how do we slow time down?

Galloway emphasizes the idea of novelty. What makes life rich is diversity in people and experiences…creating novelty. By intentionally seeking out new environments, traveling to unfamiliar places, and making time for connections with friends, we force our brains to create new memories that actually make us feel like our time is being extended.

As I reflect on this further….It is those who live the richest lives well into their later years who are almost always the ones engaged in unique activities and travel. I see this as a vital reminder to prioritize our own longevity, both personally and professionally. When we step out of the office, get off the keyboard, and lean into novel experiences, we aren’t just “taking a break”...we are resetting our perspective. Beyond this idea of slowing time down, novelty is the antidote to burnout. It ensures that we aren’t just “managing” the same year thirty times over, but truly leading with a renewed spirit for the work.

What I’m Excited About…

The Color-Coded Calendar…Priority Audits

This is a bit of a follow-up, but after working with a colleague this past week on a “Priority Audit,” our results were impactful and provided a jolt of excitement into our work. We revisited the system of color-coding calendars to audit workflow and energy. As they say, show me your calendar, I’ll show you your priorities.

The system we put together was fairly simple. Identify your core activities and assign them a code. For our audit, we used:

• Yellow: Coaching / Speaking

• Green: Strategic Sessions (The “Dark Morning” work of the District)

• Red: Required Meetings / Maintenance (Uggh!)

• Blue: Personal / Deep Work

• Purple: Time in the Field

Our next step was the audit itself. We coded our calendars for a two-week period to track how our energy was actually being spent. When you step back and look at the “heat map” of your week, the colors tell a clear story:

• Heavy in Yellow and Purple: This shows you are out front and investing in people. This demonstrates a High Visibility Strategy.

• Heavy in Red and Blue: This shows you are in danger of being buried by the “maintenance” of the role rather than the mission. This demonstrates Administrative Survival Mode.

• Heavy in Green and Yellow: This shows you are performing the heavy strategic lifting while simultaneously coaching your team. This demonstrates the Leadership Sweet Spot.

All categories are required, but this activity allows you to review your priorities and ensure you are maintaining a balance of proactive, high-energy activities that actually move the organization forward.

Challenge: Take a quick look back at the week that just passed…How did you do? Now, look ahead to the next couple of weeks…How can you be strategic and intentional with your time?

What I’m Watching…

Beyond the NHL postseason, which has been tremendous in the early going despite a questionable playoff format, we’ve been following a few shows…

That said, the biggest disappointment recently has been Season 2 of Beef. What started as a sharp caricature of social status and generational tension turned out to be a miss. For four episodes, the writers delivered an entertaining commentary, diving into the stereotypes tied to generational friction. It initially felt like it was following the White Lotus blueprint: exploring great themes through a cast of deeply unlikeable characters.

Unfortunately, the second half of the season collapsed…it missed both the mark and the opportunity to land its message. There are some highlights, and the critical reviews have been mixed, if not skewed positive. I’d recommend skipping this one…but if you have a different take, I’d love to hear it.

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What I’m Watching…

The UCLA Leadership Masterclass…

The highlight of the week has to be the UCLA women winning the national championship. While much of the modern sports conversation is dominated by the “one-and-done” transfer portal on the men’s side, Coach Cori Close won with a high-retention, veteran core that grew together.

Close has proven to be a great study in leadership…a blend of John Wooden’s timeless philosophy and a modern CEO’s strategic adaptability. The standouts include:

• The “CEO” Mindset

  • She has turned the Los Angeles market into a strategic advantage, pitching UCLA’s NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) offerings as a “floor, not a ceiling” for her players.

• Radical Vulnerability

  • She continues to model growth by openly sharing her own “roadblocks and failures.” Following a period where she felt the program had plateaued, Close sought external “challenge feedback” to overhaul her offensive schemes and incorporate advanced sports science.

• The “Mind Gym” & Analytics

  • Her approach to analytics is incredibly impressive. In the championship game, the game plan was built on a specific, measurable goal…move South Carolina’s offense back 3 feet. By forcing them out of their comfort zone by a mere 36 inches, they fundamentally impacted their shooting percentages.

*South Carolina scored 49 points and shot 29% from the field after averaging 85 points per game and 50% during the season…

“Talent is our floor, character is our ceiling.” This week, watching her team reset instantly after turnovers using physical and verbal cues, it was clear that their “ceiling” is exactly why they were the ones cutting down the nets…

This has been fun to follow over the past few years….

What I’m Listening To…

I feel like Ryan Hawk has been a little bit of a heater lately with his podcast guests…The latest episode on his Learning Leader Show featured Will Guidara. Guidara, the man behind the world-class Eleven Madison Park and the best-selling Unreasonable Hospitality, argues that hospitality is the only remaining competitive advantage. You can always build a better product, but you can’t easily replicate how you make people feel.

Key Takeaways:

• Adversity is a terrible thing to waste… We can’t control the friction, but we control the perspective and our reactions.

• Take Care of the Team First…The best way to serve the customer (or the student) is to obsess over the person serving them.

• Shop Your Own Business…Stay in your own hotel; walk your own halls. You can’t fix what you haven’t experienced as a “guest.”

What I’m Reading…

“How do you know when to sell a stock?”

One of the weekly newsletters I have been enjoying lately is Sahil Bloom’s The Curiosity Chronicle. Bloom’s newsletter provides actionable ideas for building a high-performing, healthy, and wealthy life. His writing is easily accessible, and his insights each week provide a nice little motivational punch.

This week, he dove into a deceptively simple yet insightful question posed to investor Bill Ackman’s partner, Ryan Israel: “How do you know when to sell a stock?” The initial context was the world of investments, but Bloom expands upon Israel’s principles guiding smart investment exits by applying them to various aspects of our lives…from careers and relationships to personal pursuits. Here are the three reasons to “sell”...anything in life:

• You were wrong about the investment

  • Recognize when new information contradicts your initial understanding or the original logic no longer holds true. Separating emotions from this decision is crucial, whether it’s a stock or a chosen path.

• You’ve already been paid too well for what’s left

  • Understand when something has already delivered significant value, and future growth is likely limited. Avoid expecting past success to automatically continue, whether in a job or a relationship.

• The opportunity cost of holding is too high

  • Acknowledge when staying on a current path means missing out on more valuable alternatives, whether financially, emotionally, or in terms of fulfillment. This applies to projects, commitments, and even personal identities.

The bottom line…it’s okay to change your mind…and it’s important to acknowledge when an opportunity and/or relationship has hit a ceiling lower than your own…

What I’m Pondering…

I saw a recent post that struck a chord:

“I once tracked my calendar for a month. 43 hours of meetings, and only 6 hours of real ‘thinking.’ No wonder I felt busy without being productive.”

Leadership requires space. If your calendar is full, your thinking is empty. We have to be intentional about how we build our days, or we risk becoming solely reactive.

The Challenge: Look at your calendar for next week and color-code it:

• RED: Administrative/Status Meetings.

• YELLOW: Coaching and Mentoring.

• GREEN: Strategy and Deep Thinking.

For this week, let’s just make sure we all have a little Green on the map.

What I’m Excited About…

Transition mode…

From Oceanside to Tacoma to a quick weekend at home…

This past week has been a welcome period of downtime as we shift gears toward. Next week, Emily takes on a 50-mile trail run, and I get to step into the role of full support.

There is a different kind of excitement that comes from managing the logistics, the nutrition, and the “unreasonable hospitality” required to help someone else reach their finish line. It’s a core part of our Fifty Project…recognizing that sometimes the most important “grind” is the one you do for your partner. More to come on the Fifty Project next week after we head to Red Rock country…

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What I’m Excited About…

Greetings from Tacoma, Washington…

I am excited to be back in the Pacific Northwest this week. I’m spending the weekend visiting my younger son, who is having a great experience during his college years. It has been fun to watch him grow over the past few years and truly find and lean into his independence.

I think there is something powerful about getting away from home to find your own way. For him, this opportunity has been a catalyst for building resilience and developing a distinct identity entirely his own.

I’m also grateful that he chose a school in a place that is fun to visit. The North End is great! It is full of great little restaurants, historic charm, and a walkable urban area that creates a sense of community. Plus, it offers unbelievable views of the Sound and the Olympic Mountains, rain or shine. Fortunately, this weekend, it has been shine.

What I’m Watching…

I am spending the weekend following Cade around the golf course. It’s been a great trip, but a challenging season for him. After two years of 2nd-team All-Conference honors, his game has taken a fairly large step back this year.

A big part of this regression has been the arrival of competing priorities…not uncommon for college juniors…While golf was the center of his universe for his first two years of college, he has seen his focus shift over the past year. We have spent a little bit of time digging for more substance in his game through a Priority Audit: Is this a shift in intention or a drift? As his focus moves toward internships and postgraduate plans, we’re discussing the difference between a “balanced perspective” and a “total re-commitment.”

For the weekend…we’ve set a four-point plan that applies as much to our professional lives as it does to the tee box this weekend:

• Be Committed - It’s better to be 100% committed to the wrong shot than 50% committed to the “right” one.

• Don’t Play Defense, Play Offense - When in doubt…hit driver, always have 2 distances measured for each shot, stick to the game plan.

• CCE (Chin Up, Chest Out, Eyes Forward) - Your confidence is directly correlated to the distance between your ears and your shoulders. Carry the right posture.

• Tap-In Champion - Don’t compound mistakes. Take your medicine and reduce the stressful four-footers.

What I’m Listening To…

The “Residency” Strategy for Life….

I caught a segment on SiriusXM this past week about “Match Day” for medical school residency announcements. They shared a piece of advice a parent had given their child that caught my attention. In fact, I’ve shared this with both of my kids, as one prepares for a summer internship and the other begins a new job…

• Lower the Stress: You’ve Earned This

  • You are no longer the applicant hoping to be noticed; you are the professional who was chosen….Stop playing like you’re in a tryout and start playing like you’re on the roster.

• Grind now, ‘soft’ life later

  • Getting ahead is often a matter of outworking the room during the seasons that count. Equally important, lean into the challenge early…build your systems, learn the technical craft, and put in the reps…you create the leverage to enjoy a life of balance down the road.

• Lead with Confidence

  • You’ve earned this opportunity, embrace it and carry yourself like it. If you are in the room, your voice is required. Confidence isn’t about having all the answers; it’s about having the poise to find them.

• Network, Network, Network

  • Excellence is a social gear. The “grind” is important, but the relationships you build are the most critical aspects of your early career. This is the fuel that will move the machine and create future opportunities.

    

What I’m Reading…

I am continuing my modern noir kick. From what I gather, modern noir just means well-written mysteries or thrillers. Nonetheless, after wrapping up Dennis Lehane’s Small Mercies, which was great and I highly recommend, I returned to Don Winslow for City on Fire. This was a solid read. Winslow does a good job with his characters and puts together a highly entertaining plot…That said, I wanted to jump back into something with a little more substance…Thus, I am in the middle of the Lehane classic, Mystic River.

I am finding a little more ‘literary’ weight to Lehane’s writing…Mystic River is from 2003, but I am seeing why it earned the hype decades ago. This feels less about “who done it” and more about how a single moment of trauma ripples through a community for generations. I am really enjoying Lehane’s style and atmospheric writing.

What I’m Pondering…

“Make your days challenging enough where going to sleep feels pleasurable. Make your mornings personally important enough where getting out of bed feels exciting.”

I’ve been sitting on this Sahil Bloom quote this past week. Thinking about these past few weeks….recent training and professional goals for the fourth quarter…I’m reminded that excellence isn’t just about the grind; it’s about the symmetry between the effort we put in and the purpose we wake up for. This symmetry is where the real growth happens, not in the exhaustion but in the alignment…

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What I’m Excited About…

Oceanside 70.3 is in the books!

Why Oceanside? I LOVE OCEANSIDE…This is a great race, and a great town. Plus, I grew up here, so it’s always nice coming home. More importantly, this is a race I have done multiple times, so it always serves as a nice gauge to where my ‘reboot’ might be…

As predicted, yesterday proved to be my slowest Oceanside race…I expected this, a little undertrained, a little overweight, and a little injury-prone…That said, for the first time in several years, I feel like I have found a cadence and a rhythm to training and health…

The swim…It’s been a while, so I figured that returning to open water swimming with a couple of thousand athletes would be a little bit of a challenge. The rolling start helps with this, but I still felt like I was fighting in a group for the entire swim. My sighting skills were a little rusty, but overall, I put together the swim I expected to. I had hoped to be out of the water in about 35 minutes, and I hit that target pretty much right on.

Bike…This is a sneaky hard bike course. For the first 25 miles, you travel along the coastline on a mostly flat course, albeit on bumpy roads…it cost me both my water bottles…At the 28-mile mark, you head inland to hit the rolling hills of Camp Pendleton. This is where we hit Hell Hill, Junior Hell Hill, and Mini Hell Hill (fortunately in that order). I managed to stay in perfect control throughout the ride and executed it really well…this went as well as I could have expected.

Run…This is a great run course…you spend two loops in the beach crowds, running along the strand, the pier, and into the neighborhoods of Oceanside. Again, my plan was to stay within myself (read…slow) and focus on pacing and nutrition…This went fairly well. My favorite thing about triathlon is that there is no luck; you will always get what you train for…this is what I got yesterday.

Overall…it was a long, slow day but a great day. I am excited to be back in the cadence and flow of training with the pretest under my belt…

What I’m Watching…

“We’ve had a few instances this year where it’s been a little bit of a melee. And we’ve participated in that as well. We want to play championship basketball. You can’t just throw down. They have high character, and they’re winners. We have to have a plan on how to respond to that chippiness, give Murph (asst. coach) credit. They did a great job on focusing at the task at hand, which is winning the ball game.” -Tommy Lloyd (Arizona basketball Coach)

I loved this quote from Arizona basketball coach after the Arizona/Arkansas game Thursday night. This was a great game between two really good teams. Arizona came out and just played an incredibly disciplined brand of basketball…it really was a master class. As the game went late and the outcome became inevitable, chippiness became part of the game. This included technical fouls and an ejection, though only on the Arkansas side. I am not suggesting that they are a ‘’dirty’ team, and I don’t see a Calipari-coached team as one that falls into this category, but their frustrations definitely got the better of them.

The masterclass was the Arizona team’s lack of response. Championship teams have championship goals, and championship goals require championship habits. Champion habits mean not allowing yourself to be pulled into the mud. This was on full display. There are a lot of lessons to be learned from this….

What I’m Reading…

This past week, I came across a compelling Harvard Business Review piece by James Fulton and Todd Warner titled “How to Turn Individual Talent into Organizational Excellence.”

The authors do a nice job of summarizing the intentionality behind organizational excellence. It is a simple read and a simple formula, but the use of Steph Curry’s brilliance is a nice example of how we may see the output, but the actual brilliance comes from a system of coaches, routines, and expectations that made his growth unavoidable.

When looking at true organizational excellence, the authors highlight three gears that must connect:

• Talent

  • Development is the work, and excellence happens when we design daily work that builds capacity through high-level exposure and frequent feedback.

• Team

  • Elite organizations succeed because peer expectations outweigh hierarchy. High standards aren’t just a memo from the Superintendent’s office; they are the “social tax” teammates pay to one another.

• Routine

  • High-stakes moments…meetings, hand-offs, reviews…are the critical routines that should be your “signature moves.” For athletes, think practice, film review, nutrition, and pre-game rituals…

As leaders, the key question becomes, “What is our system teaching our people every day?”...This subtle shift in perspective can drive our final quarter.

HBR

What I’m Pondering…

What is Balanced Living?

Like many, I have always had one of those jobs that can easily consume your life. This has included my time as a coach and teacher, principal, and today as a superintendent. There are times when my day begins at 4 AM with an unfortunate text message about a water shut-off and ends close to 10 PM after a late-night board meeting. There are days I meet with students, parents, coordinators, principals, lawyers, contractors, and politicians. I actually love these days…the diversity of this job is what keeps it fresh each and every day.

However, with this energy and activity…this job can quickly become overwhelming. We can all relate to feeling overwhelmed by our own jobs. I think this is where a diversified life becomes critical. Too easily, we fall into the trap of allowing our emotional health to become solely dependent on one aspect of our lives; oftentimes, it’s our jobs that dominate our emotional health and mood. This is not healthy. I think we all need diversification…a balanced life, if you will. A balanced life allows us to navigate stress while remaining emotionally healthy. A particularly stressful situation at work, a difficult parent, a contentious legal situation, or misguided political action (it is Arizona, after all) can be worked through with a great track workout or swim to keep me emotionally balanced. Likewise, terrible runs and rides where my efforts are flat can be overcome with highly engaging, exciting expansions of personalized learning for our students…I see living a purposeful, balanced life as simply a way to maintain a healthy emotional state.

What I’m Listening To…

Not a lot…

Road trips typically mean podcasts…we had a little luck on our way over to Oceanside. Here’s hoping for a better experience on our way home later today. Hopefully, next week’s newsletter will reflect better luck for this category….

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