🎤 Quotable Quote: "Keep it smart, keep it concise."
This week on Leadership Rules, we had the pleasure of speaking with Andrew Levine and Scott Johnson, the innovative creators behind Slightly Smarter. Their newsletter offers a unique approach to leadership and learning by distilling complex ideas from top business books into accessible, impactful insights.
Join us as we explore the practical wisdom and dynamic leadership strategies shared by Andrew and Scott, who are redefining the art of quick learning for busy leaders.
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🔍 This Week’s Deep Dive: Andrew and Scott have mastered the art of making every word count. Their philosophy? Great leadership and learning come from focusing on quality over quantity. Here’s what we uncovered:
💡 Efficient Learning: Discover how Slightly Smarter helps leaders absorb key concepts without the overwhelm of reading entire books.
💡 Community Building: Learn how Andrew and Scott cultivate a community of learners who are ready to lead faster and more effectively.
💡 Actionable Leadership: They shared how leadership isn't just about ideas but about actionable insights that can be implemented immediately.
One of the most striking aspects of our discussion was their belief in the power of simplicity and focus in communication.
More Musings
🍪 Biscuits with the Boss:
Challenge of the Week: "Condense your mission."
Inspired by the Slightly Smarter approach, try to distill your leadership or project mission into a single, compelling sentence. Share this with your team and see how clarity transforms your collective focus and productivity.
🏅 Whistle. Whistle.
KISS! (Keep It Simple Stupid - hear it in Roy Kent growl)
"Focus on the essence." Andrew and Scott emphasize the importance of getting to the heart of the matter. This week, ask yourself:
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What is the core purpose of my leadership?
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How can I simplify my message to resonate more clearly with my team?
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What one thing can I do today to demonstrate my leadership philosophy in action?
📚Beard’s collection:
📖 Wood, Jenny. Wild Courage: Go After What You Want and Get It. Portfolio, 2025.
Hot off the presses - this is a brand new release! Wild Courage is your gutsy guide to being unapologetically ambitious, showcasing how to harness your unique quirks and turn them into your superpowers.
📖 Stockman, Marnie, and Coniglio, Nick. Lead It Like Lasso. Year of the Book Press, 2023.
Cheer for a cheeky shoutout! Lead It Like Lasso made a star appearance in Slightly Smarter's 15th edition. Grab a copy for a friend (or boss) who needs it ;)
📖 Grant, Adam. Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know. Viking, 2021.
Grant’s Think Again challenges us to overturn our mental coffee tables and rearrange our intellectual living rooms. Considered indispensable by leaders and lay-readers alike, it’s a tour de force in humility and curiosity, proving that the smartest among us are always ready to relearn and rethink. A must-have on your shelf for those moments when you need to shake up your certainties and refresh your perspectives.
🌎 This week in Here - There - Every F’ing where
If you missed the big news last week, we are adding a satirical sidekick to this newsletter (It is called Work in ProgMess - come on - Ted would love that ;) ). You can get a taste for our humor (have Roy Kent in mind) by checking out the first couple of issues here. We would love to have you subscribe!
Big shout out to Chelsea Kieler from Retirement Planning Center for taking a flyer on the fact that Ted Lasso folks are nice folks and asked us to join their book club discussion of our book. What a great group!
And... we wound up Season 2 on Lens of Leadership with an amazing guest, Jessica McLeod-Waddell - check out her episode here:
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Barbecue Sauce!
Marnie & Nick
🎁 Bring a Friend to the Weekly Curiosities!
Who in your life might smile with some curiosities in their inbox? Who might be a good guest for one of our podcasts? (Would you? Let us know!)
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